NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

 I am constantly advising NCSA student athletes to pro-actively research schools at different division levels.  I want them to understand the academic and athletic differences of every level.  Many are shocked when I tell them stories of athletes turning down higher levels when they find the right fit.  Most of the underclassman I talk to have Division I dreams and are reluctant to “settle” for a lower division.

Today’s Houston Chronicle discusses the rise of international players in college tennis.  It specifically focuses on the Division II level where international players seem to be taking advantage of opportunities that Americans aren’t enthusiastically pursuing.

Precise figures for the current season aren’t available, but in recent years, about three-quarters of the top 125 Division I men have come from other nations, compared to about half of the women. The ratio is seemingly even more skewed toward internationals at the highest echelons of Division II because the most talented foreign recruits, unlike their American counterparts, don’t have any built-in prejudices against the smaller, less-known schools in the class.

“There’s a stigma attached to D-2,” Earnshaw said. “The best American kids want to play D-1, for schools with the big-name reputations. The international kids don’t care.”

Indeed, ask Armstrong Atlantic’s No. 1 player, Iuliia Stupak from the Ukraine, about the “Dawgs,” or about the famous Hedges in Athens, where Georgia football rules, and she’ll give you a blank look.

How did she hear about Armstrong Atlantic? By Googling.

“My only requirement for a school (in the U.S.),” she said, “was that there had to be one player from Russia, Ukraine or Belarus. I wanted to learn the language better and meet new people, but I need one person to support me. I’m very happy I came. We are a big family. We will all be friends for life.”

The debate over allowing foreign players to take scholarships away from American kids has alternately simmered and boiled in the past, with some coaches lobbying hard for a quota system.

NCAA president Myles Brand, who came to Houston to attend the Division II sports festival, thinks the melting pot approach is beneficial for all, bringing kids from different cultures together on American soil. He can’t envision restrictions being placed on international recruits.

“Some of the tennis coaches have been concerned about which international players are eligible to play in the U.S.,” Brand said. “The big problem wasn’t the number of them as much as it was to what extent they have had professional experience, because that would represent unfair competition. If they’re eligible according to our standards of amateurism, meaning they haven’t been taking money over and above necessary expenses, then they’re eligible to play.”

Athletes can’t afford to play the name game with so much competition for scholarships.  Also need to pro-actively search for the right college fit at all levels.  You never know what is out there until you take a peek!

 If you have been reading this column for the last few weeks, you have no doubt seen the infamous Brennan Carroll USC walk-on video.  This actually led to reports of Coach Rick Neuheisel of UCLA showing the video to prospective recruits.  The LA Times reported on the fallout from the video:

An attempt at humor — something that Coach Pete Carroll said “we were just having fun with” — backfired on the USC program this week, prompting the school to pull a video off youtube.com.The footage was of Carroll’s son, Brennan, the Trojans’ tight ends coach, putting a group of potential walk-ons through a series of drills during a tryout.Throughout, Brennan Carroll is shown hamming it up for the camera — and using language laced with profanities.The video was produced by USC and originally posted on Pete Carroll’s website as part of a “mic’d up” series. It was taken down from the site when the school started getting negative feedback from those who didn’t perceive it as a joke.“It was just a silly thing we wanted to do because Brennan takes so much ownership of the walk-on tryouts,” said Ben Malcolmson, director of online media for petecarroll.com. “That was our goal. It was taken by a lot of people in the way it was not intended. It wasn’t serving its purpose if it wasn’t being received in the right light.”Malcolmson said when the video was first posted April 8 it was “overwhelmingly well received. But as time went on, I think it sort of shifted to a more negative perception.”Pete Carroll said the intent of the video was a “spoof.”Pete Carroll’s recruiting machine will continue running smoothly and Rick Neuhesisel still has a lot of ground to gain before Cal is on the same plane as USC, but the incident highlights the importance of impressions.  Coaches are always looking for an edge on each-other to make a great impression on prospective Student Athletes.  But, in all likelihood any mistakes they make will cause only a minor blip on the radar.

More on the Mayo Mess:  NY Times, TrueHoop, Newsweek

Nick Saban’s webcam continues to grow in popularity, while Ron Zook tries a different approach

The importance of Combines

Changes in Baseball transfer rules

Even when you are a high profile transfer, character matters

Recruiting is always a year-round activity

Nothing to do with being recruited, but it’s a great story to begin your week

by Chris Krause, NCSA Founder and President

Getting a call from a college coach:  That’s the goal for most college athletes, especially those of you who are finishing up your Junior year and looking at getting the attention of a college coach before time (and opportunities) run out.  I know that was my goal when I was in high school as an up-and-coming linebacker dreaming of playing at the next level.

Fortunately, I achieved my goal.  I had a great career playing football at Vanderbilt, and the advice I’m going to pass on to you is from a guy who has been through the recruiting battles that you and your family are going through right now.

I’m going to give it to you straight today, and tell you how to start getting phone calls from college coaches in the coming months.  Pick a few of these and try them (I strongly suggest our #1 secret, by the way) and start getting pro-active in your efforts to attract the attention of as many college coaches as possible:

#10  Fill Out a School’s Online Recruiting Form.  For many coaches, that is the way the recruiting process starts, along with getting information sent to them directly by NCSA.  Many times, coaches who get an athlete that submits a form online through the program’s website will call the athlete immediately, or at least send them information about the program.

#9  Return a Recruiting Questionnaire.  You know those recruiting questionnaires that often come along with a letter from a coach?  It’s critical that you fill it out and send it back.  Most coaches will not contact you if you don’t take that first step and return the questionnaire.

#8  Go to a Summer Camp.  Most college coaches hold summer training camps for prospective athletes.  Try to get to a couple of camps this summer (or at least one) and make a point of expressing your interest in going to the school with one of the coaches that works with you there.  Camps, which give you a personal face-to-face meeting opportunity with a coach, are a great way to spark conversations with a coach.

#7  Be Interested.  What should you do when a coach contacts you from a school you’ve never heard of before?  Be interested.  What should you do when you get something in the mail from a coach you’ve never talked to before?  Be interested.  Not replying to a coach is a great way never to play college sports.  Remember, the time to say no to a college is at the end of the process, not at the beginning.

#6  Ask Your Coach to Tell You Who They Know.  Your high school or club coach probably has names and contact numbers of college coaches that they’ve talked to before.  Ask him or her for those contacts, and give them a call to inquire about possibilities.

#5  E-mail a Coach.  Tell them you are interested, and ask them what the best way to go about getting recruiting to their school is.  E-mail, for many coaches, may be the best way to strike up a conversation with a college coach.  At NCSA, we’ve developed really good back-and-forth e-mail communication with thousands of college coaches, so we know it works.

#4  Look for Out-of-State Programs.  Sometimes, college coaches notice out of area athletes and reply to them right away.  For many schools, getting out of state players is rare so the fact that you are expressing interest in their program might spark their interest.

#3  Keep a Coach Updated.  Don’t just send one letter or e-mail.  Don’t just place one phone call to their office.  Keep in regular contact with coaches that you have an interest in.  Give them an ongoing reason to keep in touch with you and keep abreast of your progress.

#2  Show Them What You’ve Got!  Sending a highlight DVD, or posting your video online through a trusted recruited source, is something that can get a coach’s attention.  Give them a look at you right away.  Then, after you know they’ve had a chance to watch the video, send a follow-up e-mail and ask them if you would be a good fit for their program.

And the #1 way to get a call from a college coach is…

Register as a NCSA Student-Athlete.  For athletes that want to be proactive, there’s simply no better way to do it.  We actually do all of the things we just talked about on your behalf, saving you the time and potential mistakes in how you present yourself to college coaches.  I founded the NCSA organization years ago because I saw that athletes needed help going through the process…help that I wish I had received when I was in your shoes.

This summer, you can get a jump on your competition when it comes to getting noticed by college coaches.  Summer is a time when many coaches “reload” their recruiting files with new prospects.  Shouldn’t you make sure that you are one of the athletes that they find out about?

Whenever a prospective student-athlete and his or her family look into accepting an invitation to be a part of NCSA, the natural thought that runs through their mind is, “Do colleges really use NCSA to find prospects?”

We understand the question.  There are a lot of “services” out there that make big promises, but often don’t have the relationships with college coaches or the internal staff to handle each client effectively.

NCSA is different.  NCSA has an office staff of 80+ former college athletes and coaches who know what coaches look for, and how to present information to current college coaches.

Earlier this week, we gave you an example of a satisfied student-athlete who just completed the NCSA experience successfully.  Recently, one of our top NCSA Recruiting Coaches, Adrienne, heard from a college coach who relied on NCSA again this year to find a great prospect for their program.  Here is what the note said:

Adrienne,

Thank you again for the services of NCSA.  We just received a 2009 verbal commitment from Ally Gatti!  This is the second year in a row we have received a commitment from a California player through NCSA (first was Taryn Dietrich).  Your information and Ally’s footage was extremely important in our decision. 

Thanks again, Neel Bhattacharjee
Assistant Coach
George Washington University

Coach Bhattacharjee has other resources, of course.  And many of the athletes that they recruit are seen personally in regional tournaments and through a network of coaching contacts.  However, college coaches are increasingly using trusted sources like NCSA to find recruits that they wouldn’t normally know about.

We love working with college coaches, and we love it when we get the chance to help families as well.

According to Florida coach Urban Meyer, the NCAA’s tight regulations have made it difficult for college coaches to judge the character of prospective recruits.

”The NCAA is pulling us off the recruiting process,” he said, in comments reported by South Florida media outlets. “I’m not allowed to go out [to visit players] anymore. I’m not allowed to text message. I’m trying to find out as best I can. You just keep re-evaluating.

“If you just look around and see some of the things that are going on, it’s amazing. It’s concerning. It’s alarming,” Meyer said. “So we take a great deal of time and effort in trying to educate guys, work with them and recruit character. Are we perfect? Absolutely not.”

At NCSA we preach that student athletes must always put their best selves forward to show coaches they are:

 -Mature

 -Responsible

 -Polite

 -Good Sports 

 Coaches do not want to bring a cancer into their locker-room, so they stay away from athletes who argue with referees, pout, yell at teammates or bang their sticks. Coaches have also told me that they will stop recruiting an athlete who is disrespectful to their mother or father.

 Are the NCAA’s strict bylaws stifling college coaches’ search for the best and the brightest?

 Fresh off Illinois’ first run to the Rose Bowl in x years head coach Ron Zook sat down with the Chicago Sun Times to discuss a variety of topics including recruiting.  He is widely regards as one of top recruiters in the country. As is usually the case, potential recruits should listen carefully and take away some valuable insight.

Q. How important is recruiting?

A. It is the lifeblood of college football. In the NFL, the draft is most important. Football is played by players. It’s all about them. Someone once told me that it is better to be known as a bad coach with good players than a good coach with bad players. I believe that.

Q. How do you evaluate a prospect?

A. Production. Football is a production game. In recruiting a player, I have to ask myself: What is his character? Can he help our program reach our goals? Will he graduate? But character is No. 1, no question about that.

Q. What don’t most people understand about recruiting?

A. Everybody has something good to sell. It is hard because you are selling something you can’t see, not a car, but a feeling, the prettiest picture. It is hard to get them to understand what a school can do for them.

Q. What separates a great player from a good player?

A. Production. I’m looking for something special, the guy who wants the ball in his hands no matter how pressure-packed the situation is, the guy who has the ability to take his level up, a winner, a guy who loves to compete.

Q. One NCAA rule you would change?

A. I would somehow allow coaches to communicate with prospects more than they can now. It takes time to develop relationships. It doesn’t happen overnight. Coaches and prospects are asked to make decisions based on what we know about that person. It is hard to get to know people in the time we have: one call in May, call once a week beginning on Sept. 1, one home visit and one official campus visit. It isn’t nearly enough time to get to know them and for them to get to know us.

Coaches always discuss how the wish they wish they had more opportunities to develop relationships with recruits to learn about the intangibles that make up their character.  The reality is that while the NCAA has placed numerous restrictions on coaches, potential recruits have constant opportunities to contact coaches proactively.  Coaches only get one call, recruits have unlimited. It’s up to recruits to take it upon themselves to put in the extra work to close the gap and establish their character early in the process.

This is the time of year when we here at NCSA get to help celebrate with families who we’ve helped.  Here’s a wonderful note that we received this past week from student-athlete Brandon Woodhouse, who wrote this “thank you” to his NCSA Recruiting Coach, Rick McDole….enjoy! 

“Thank you for congratulating me on my final and successful decision. 

It’s been a long trip but I’m finally here and I’m happy with where I’m at.  I have made critical decisions with the whole recruiting process, and it was not easy.  I started out with a hand full of Division I schools, then it became a pocket full of Division II and NAIA schools, but I ended up with a sea full of Division III schools.  Over the months I was planning and contemplating on which schools are right for me. Division I schools went out of the picture because of my on field injury, scholarships being pulled, not enough money being presented, and just because the plain fact that I didn’t want my education to be owned by a football team.  I want to attend college, get a good education and just so happen to play football.  I view Division I and II schools are for those who want to play professionally and make sports their career. 

I feel that I can do better with another career that I will pursue in college. Which leads me to my conclusion by getting accepted at Rockford College.  I felt this was a perfect fit for me based on my current goals and situation. I’m familiar with the staff, football team, and the community. Every time I step onto the campus, a feeling on serenity engulfs me and I feel like I’ve never left home. Who would of thought that the first college to ever contact me would be the college I would attend?I remember the first time we met, I was this 15 year old small-framed sophomore whose weight room and on-field statistics were below average.  I sit here now at 18, twice my original size and boasting an average of 60 tackles and 7 sacks a season with weight room numbers as high as 600 for squatting and 330 for benching, breaking school records from left to right.  Never in my life would I have thought that I can get as far as I did today, making the achievements I’ve made and meeting the goals I’ve set. Individual recognition is far-fetched. I wouldn’t of made it half way without the support and insight of you and others that assisted me in my journey of playing the game and getting into college. You might feel that I give you too much praise, but I take my education and career very seriously. I just feel in debt to anyone who accommodates to it.With that said, I thank you for all you have done for me and my family and I will keep in touch with you in the near future, and hopefully many years to come.

Brandon, from all of us here at NCSA, best of luck at the next level.  Thank you for letting us play a part in helping you realize your dreams!

 I wrote to you last week to discuss the Realities of Walking On and ended up sparking a vigorous debate on the pros and cons of the experience.  Some highlights:

“What are you thinking? Do not turn down a smaller school if you have an offer to go “walk on” to a big school. You really don’t have much of a chance at all.”

“He chose instead to go to an excellent D3 school that offered a starting spot and grant money. It was “tennis shoe football” and no more….just awful.”

“My son turned down three DI “walk-on” and a couple of DII and NAIA football scholarship opportunities and signed with a DIII school. The financial aid package they put together for him (grants, merit scholarships, etc) will cover all but a few thousand per year…less than attending any of our state colleges. By far the best financial deal, and he will be getting a degree from an academically high ranked school.”

“If a young athlete has a dream who should say that they should not pursue that dream. So many times we want our children to be successful without facing adversity. The walk-on has to prove everyday that he or she can do it. The scholarship athlete has to show they can’t do it. Seems kind of like the real world to me!”

To follow the article up, I interviewed NCSA’s recruiting analyst, Bob Chmiel.  He knows every in and out of the walk-on process from his years as the recruiting coordinator at Notre Dame and Michigan under Lou Holtz and Bo Schembechler.  He was even awarded the Pit Bull Award from the walk-ons at Notre Dame as someone who “Exemplifies the Spirit, Heart and Integrity of Notre Dame Football Walk-Ons.” 

Coach recognized the difficulties with the walk-on process.  “If you are really competitive at the HS level it initially sounds like a great idea but in practice it can be really hard.  About 10% of the walk-ons I had actually played meaningful snaps.  At Notre Dame over 7 years, I saw 6 walk-ons elevated to scholarship status.”

Coach took the extra step of having every walk-on sign what he called the “Walk-On Contract.”

“It wasn’t legally binding, but after a while what happened was some father would call and tell me ‘Well he’s doing this and he’s doing that and the only reason he isn’t playing is because the guy ahead of him has got a scholarship’.” 

The contract stated the following:

• 1) There are no promises about scholarships
• 2) They understand the rules of the NCAA in regard to walk-ons
• 3) There is no promise that you will dress, there is no promise that you will travel, if we go to a bowl game there are restrictions on the numbers of guys we can take as a part of the official party, you may be a part of that group or you may not be

“I wanted everyone to come in with their eyes wide open and know exactly what the rules are so that later on we don’t have some criticism of the program or the coaches or that promises were made that weren’t adhered to. So we made no promises. None.

“I didn’t ask them to sign to make it binding. I asked them to sign it so I know they read it.”

“A lot of times what would happen with walk-ons is after a year they would walk in my office and say coach do you think you could call so and so for me at d2 or d3. They tried and it didn’t work.”

Coach’s answer to the million dollar question, “would you want your son to walk-on?” highlights the complex nature of the decision.

“I don’t think you can paint that question with a broad brush.  It would depend upon on a particular relationship that I may have with the school and know the coaches there would take care of him if he decided to walk-on.”

“Also what are the other opportunities, and if that school is so high-ended in what I want academically than I would say go take the shot.” 

“The other thing you have to think about is if you are an in-state walk-on obviously in state tuition plays a role.  And private versus public plays a role.”

“But the whole deal with walking on is get it all down on paper, get everything set, set nothing to chance when you make that commitment. Know what the chances are.  Know if you are going to get academic support like guys on scholarship.  Know if you are going to be able to eat training table when it’s legal with the NCAA.”

“The very best way for anyone that wants to walk on is to ask the coach that is recruiting you to talk with a couple of walk-ons.  I always welcomed that.”

 Scandal has once again hit the college basketball world this weekend when ESPN broke a story linking former USC guard OJ Mayo and sport agent Bill Duffy.  Specifically it alleges that Mayo received payments from Duffy’s agency, BDA, that were filtered through a “runner” named Ronald Guillory.

The story broke when a former member of Mayo’s inner circle, Louis Johnson, revealed that he had paid for a variety of improper benefits including clothing, hotel rooms and a flat screen TV. 

True Hoops’ Henry Abbott on the story:

In short, this is not a story about O.J. Mayo, his confidante Ronald Guillory, the agent Calvin Andrews, or the friend of Mayo and Guillory’s — Louis Johnson — who spilled the beans to Outside the Lines.

That well-worn road Mayo is on to stardom? It often looks a lot like this.

From what everyone has been telling me, for years, this is a story about common practices in recruiting. If you get in trouble for doing what people around Mayo did — a lawyer who read the report mentioned a number of relevant codes of professional conduct, state laws about agents, and federal laws about charities and transferring funds that could apply — then who else might get in trouble?

As Naqi quotes Johnson: “This is way bigger than some ‘brand’ and money and all of this stuff,” Johnson said. “He played within the rules of the game, and this is the game. Runners, agents, shoe companies, other elements — this is the game.”

Bingo.

This is what David Falk was talking about a few days ago when he told me that in the agent business: “It’s not competition based on merit. It’s competition based on improper inducements. I think it’s an abomination.”

ESPN’s Pat Forde believes that USC should have known better

Despite that, the USC coach apparently never got around to wondering how the poor child from Huntington, W.Va., could afford the expensive clothes on his back or the expensive shoes on his feet. How about the flat-screen TV in his dorm? That never set off an alarm? If the answer is that USC coaches or compliance workers never set foot in Mayo’s dorm room … why the heck not?

You have to assume USC simply didn’t want to know. Didn’t want to know the extent to which runners already had set their hooks into their highest-profile basketball recruit ever. The Trojans knew they were in this deal for one year before Mayo turned pro, and they probably just averted their gaze, hoping nothing blew up and the victories would pile up.

It’s a scenario playing out right now on many other campuses nationwide, guaranteed. Agents and their runners are identifying who can play as early as college scouts are, and they’re commencing the jockeying for position. And we all know what wins most of those turf wars: money and favors. Most topflight young basketball players have at least been offered plenty before college, even if they haven’t accepted it.

It’s a problem the NCAA desperately needs to get a grip on if college basketball is going to maintain even a hint of a legitimate relationship to higher education. The sport’s repeatedly pilloried reputation took another big hit with this revelation, but perhaps it will spur other Louis Johnsons to tell the truth about what’s going on in college hoops and youth basketball.

The NCAA has responded to the allegations swiftly and has stepped up enforcement immediately.  The association, in an unparalleled move, is assigning 3 members of its 20 person investigative staff to monitor recruiting and other problem areas, develop contacts and leads gain an understanding on an out of control environment.  President Myles Brand spoke to USA Today:

“We have to have enough knowledge and sufficient networks … to successfully investigate these cases,” Brand told USA TODAY on Monday. “That’s why we think it’s better to have a few people, some of our leading investigators, who are focused in their efforts.”

Never before has the NCAA devoted investigators to one sport. The three, led by current associate enforcement director LuAnn Humphrey, also will attend summer camps and other events to familiarize players and others with NCAA rules.

The move could lead initially to a spike in the number of basketball infractions cases, “and hopefully that will create some kind of deterrence in the long run,” said David Price, the NCAA’s vice president for enforcement services.

So the NCAA, responds to allegations that insiders realize has been playing out for years with more investigators?  This seems to me like another cat and mouse game that is bound to leave the NCAA clawing at thin air.

I would hope that the agency explores some radical alternatives. Perhaps they should take a cue from the baseball world and demand a prospect either turn pro out of high school or attend a university for at least 3 years. 

Maybe they should look into some way to actually pay players.  After all, this is America, home of the free market.  Even Olympic athletes are now paid.

An idea like that has about as much a chance as Myles Brand hiring Bob Knight as his ethics investigator but it is an example of the type of bold thinking that will need to happen to rid the college game of the corruption currently plaguing the sport.