Artificial intelligence is being used frequently across many aspects of everyday life, including college athletics. However, its growing sophistication could create problems in the future, distinguish real highlights from AI-generated ones early in the recruitment process.
Front Office Sports reporter Sam Becker reported that more recruits are using AI to enhance their highlight videos to generate interest from colleges is becoming more common, with football appearing to be the sport where it is most prevalent.
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“We’ve seen one or two isolated incidents with it,” Washington State Executive Senior Athletic Director and Football General Manager Brad Larrondo told Becker.
Larrondo added that coaches have noticed irregularities in videos that led them to realize the footage was created by artificial intelligence.
Becker spoke with people who said AI-altered videos have not been noticed frequently in basketball, but the fear is that it will begin appearing soon.
With the amount of money at stake in college sports — players are sometimes paid millions through name, image and likeness deals — the temptation exists to mislead recruiters. Several websites and apps are also available to help recruits create the videos.
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Any player caught using AI in recruitment videos could face severe penalties, especially if they are projected to play at the highest levels of college athletics.
“They’ll be blackballed,” said Dan Cornely, Florida Atlantic University assistant director for the MBA in Sport Management program. “It’s a small coaching fraternity, and word gets around. If a guy projects D-I and he does this? He’ll probably go down an entire division.”
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