Applicable in some degree to the NBA too

"Information wars: How teams get the REAL draft intel" -- Conor Orr

"The draft is buyer beware," one AFC general manager told me. "We've had schools that we simply won't draft players from. At all. Just because we can't get good information. The most important thing is information, so if you can feel really good about getting accurate information from a school, you feel good about drafting that player."

and

"Recruiting," he said. "In today's world, they gotta try and protect their players. If word gets out that they're saying negative things about their players -- and trust me, a lot of them do -- they have to be discreet about it. And that goes back to relationships. You have to have the right relationships."