Network for University of Miami Football Alumni In July 2016, Richt and his wife Katharyn announced that they will be launching ‘The U Network’. “The U Network is going to be designed to help guys find work when their playing days are over whether it’s right after college or after their pro days. My wife is going to be the person kind of facilitating everything—all of the paperwork and all of the things it will take to connect people with events and connecting players with employers. It’s also going to be about reunion and connection, but the main goal is finding work for these guys and I’m talking about the guys who truly want work. We’re not just going to give somebody something. They’ve got to do their part, but sometimes all they need is a little bit of help of guidance, connection, and networking.” "(Coach) Richt is asking players to commit three, four or five years, the most important years of their lives to him and this program," said Don Bailey Jr., Richt's former teammate. "In turn, he's committing to them to make sure their professional life is forever secure after football. I think it's the ultimate payback." High school recruiting Despite joining the program with less than eight weeks before signing day, ESPN praised Richt for managing to recruit the 18th best class in the country. During this period, Richt was limited to three weeks of NCAA-allotted face time with recruits. Within two years, Richt had assembled the #2 recruiting class in the nation and had more committed players (18) than any FBS program before the early signing day period. Richt strongly opposes oversigning, a practice popular in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) that often results in older or hurt players losing their football scholarships. He believes that when a team offers a scholarship, it is a four-year commitment from the university. University of Miami athletes receive lifetime scholarships, allowing players who elect to leave before their graduation to return and complete their diploma. In 2018, Richt told ESPN that due to the nature of trust in recruiting, he feels that it is unethical to pursue other jobs since the head coach is offering a long-term commitment to his players: "I never once have tried to leverage another job for more money. I don’t think that’s right. The day we took the job, my mentality has always been, ‘If