NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

At NCSA we encourage our athletes to look at every division level.  The reason is to open the maximum amount of options for student athletes.  Even the very best recruits should at least look at smaller schools to see if the smaller student bodies and different approach to athletics fit what they want from a college experience. 

As you can see from ESPN’s coverage of Mount Union 10th championship this weekend the excitement and effort put forth by the athletes on the field is no different.  They compete just as hard on every single play.

The NCAA Eligibility Center has recently adopted a new policy for high school student-athletes who have demonstrated a high level of academic achievement during their first six semesters of high school. Qualified student-athletes will receive an early certification waiver prior to high school graduation.

In order to qualify for an early certification waiver a student must meet the following criteria:

A minimum SAT (math and critical reading) score of 1000 or minimum sum score of 85 on the ACT;

For Division I:  Core-course GPA of 3.0 or higher in a minimum of 13 core courses:

• 3 English;
• 2 Math;
• 2 Science; and
• 6 additional core courses.

For Division II:  Core-course GPA of 3.0 or higher in a minimum of 12 core courses:

• 3 English;
• 2 Math;
• 2 Science; and
• 5 additional core courses.

During their senior year, the student-athlete will receive confirmation that he/she has met the academic certification requirements.

If you have any questions about early certification you may contact the NCAA Eligibility Center directly at 877-262-1492.

Athletic recruiting has come a light year in the last 25 years.  Most fans of college sports focus on the changes in men’s college football and basketball, but women’s sports have come just as far.  Becky Martin was initially hired 27 years ago by McDaniel College as a teacher, assistant volleyball coach and as the head basketball coach,  For many years she successfully juggled jobs, but that all changed when recruiting became a priority.  The Carroll County Times discussed the grind that Coach Martin goes through to land top recruits.

 The grind

The latter is far more grueling and turns coaches into salespeople.

 doesn’t involve being on the court in practice or gameplanning or roaming the sidelines. It’s all about convincing a high schooler that your program is the right one to join.

The process is similar for Division III coaches, but there is no letter of intent. The player can verbally commit, but it’s not official until a non-binding tuition deposit is made and the kid shows up to school.

Now imagine going through that grind on a shoe-string budget.  For these reasons coaches turn to NCSA to help identify talent all across the country.  Our Recruit-Match database allows coaches to streamline a large part of their early evaluation process.

The other take away from looking at the breakdown of the process is to understand how hard college coaches work to build relationships.  Recruits can take control of their own scholarship search by being equally aggressive in contacting college coaches.  The recruiting game changes every day, but in the end its all about finding the right fit.

 I had the opportunity to be on Regional Radio Sports Network (http://www.rrsn.com/) Thursday night to talk Recruiting with high school football coaches. Show host Paul Condry and co host Donnie Smith produced a show called “Coaches Box” that was soaked with insights on Recruiting.

The show was at an Applebee’s, so we all got to eat a great meal before air time. I sat in a booth and visited with Fairfield HS (Goshen, IN area) head football coach Bob Miller, who guided his team to a 10-1 record this year. He told me about a former Fairfield player named Derek Yoder who excelled in the classroom, SAT’s and community and was a darn good high school player. He said Derek is now playing at D-3 Wabash College, one of the top schools in the Midwest and the nation. He said a Wabash education is about $150,000 over four years. Derek is only paying about $2000. That is an example of what can happen when you nail your academics, test scores, and community involvement and are capable of playing at the college level.

Coach Miller had a story about persistence that about knocked me off the table. He is also the Track and Field coach. He said back in 1997 he had a very fast track kid named Matt Rush. He was a two time state qualifier. Matt was determined to get an engineering degree from either Notre Dame, Western Michigan, Purdue or Tennessee. He was also going to run track. His challenge was that since he was from a small school out in the corn fields no one had really heard of him, especially at places like Tennessee.

Coach Miller told me Matt called these schools about three times a day. “He would do it before Weight Lifting and after school,” coach Miller said. “They kept telling him ‘the Coach wasn’t in.’ He didn’t quit, though.” Now, for some kids that would be like beating your head against the wall, but Matt had blistering times. He knew he was capable of playing at that level. Eventually, he would get through to them. Finally, Tennessee listened and brought him down. They had never heard of him. He fell in love with the place. They liked him. He got partial athletics scholarship. His 3.9 GPA in high school really helped his overall package.

Coach Miller said Matt was part of four NCAA D 1 Outdoor Track and Field national championship teams. He got his engineering degree.

“You have to be persistent,” Coach Miller said. “I tell my kids at Fairfield High that you have to have a way to market yourself or be marketed. Colleges are not going to find every kid.”

Being persistent and playing college sports can lead to incredibly exciting lives. Matt is now in Norfolk, VA. He is a civilian contractor with the Navy and redesigns battleships and aircraft carriers. “He emailed me a picture of him flying to a carrier on an F-14,” Coach Miller said. “He said look at my life now! Not back for a kid from Indiana cornfields!”

The radio show also included legendary former Penn High football coach Chris Geesman. I could listen to his stories all day and night. He had a story that said a lot about how challenging D3 sports can be. He said he had a former player at Penn High that was at first courted by Purdue. The player got excited. Purdue dropped off and then Ball State got interested. That had him excited. Hey, it was still D1. They decided to sign a kid from Michigan instead. Then, Franklin College got interested in him. He took a trip down and came back and said, “Coach, our high school is bigger.” He didn’t think the D3 thing was his cup of tea, so he backed off. Then, he called Coach Geesman later and ask him to call the Franklin coaches to say he did want to play college football.

A few days into his first days of practice at Franklin College that August, he called up Coach Geesman. He said he was thinking of leaving and coming home. Geesman thought that the young man didn’t care for D3 football. That wasn’t the case at all.

“Coach, I am thinking about leaving because I am the worst player on the team!”

All of the coaches on the radio show shook their heads at the misconceptions that D3 football isn’t as tough as nails. I was a sportscaster across America for 23 years who covered college sports at all levels, and I can tell you they are intense! I loved covering D1, D2, D3, NAIA and Junior College because I found that coaches and athletes at all levels compete fiercely!

Charlie Adams

NCSA Educational Speaker

Last week NCSA Educational Speaker and former Dallas Cowboy, Izell Reese, had a chance to return to his home high school to help potential recruits learn some of the lessons he learned from going through the recruiting process.  Izell learned these lessons the hard way when he was forced to walk-on at UAB after being overlooked by virtually every college program.  He sat down with his hometown paper to share his experience.

“I want to get the kids from the Wiregrass more exposure,” Reese said.

As a high school star at Northview, Reese received letters of interest from many colleges.

“I put some letters on the wall and others in a shoe box under my bed,” Reese said. “Guess which ones made the wall? Auburn, Alabama, LSU, Georgia Tech.

“I thought it was only a matter of time that coaches would be knocking on my door. I was in the Honor Society. I took academics very seriously. I was a standout player.

“Guess what? There wasn’t a scholarship for me.”

Reese points out that the real opportunities for him rested in the “shoe box under my bed.”

That was a big part of his message to the students.

“What they see on ESPN is the Top 25 teams,” Reese said. “There’s over a million kids playing high school football across the nation. Only about one percent get a scholarship to a Division I school.”

After not receiving a scholarship offer following his successful high school career, Reese decided to walk-on at UAB, which at the time participated as a Division II football program.

Willard Whitcomb was the Northview coach when Reese graduated in 1993, and Whitcomb’s son, John, was a quarterback for the Blazers.

“I was considering going into the military,” Reese said before giving UAB a try.

Once he got back on the football field, Reese knew he belonged.

“The first thing I thought about is there were a lot of guys I played with or against in high school that could have played college football,” Reese said. “I led the team in interceptions and didn’t get a dime (school funding) for it.”

During his career at UAB, the program went from Division II to Division I-AA to Division I-A status.

Reese eventually was put on scholarship and became the second player in the school’s history to be selected in the NFL Draft when the Dallas Cowboys picked him in the sixth round in 1998. He spent seven years in the NFL, playing for Dallas, Denver and Buffalo before retiring in 2005.

“My personal story is a Cinderella story,” Reese said. “It doesn’t happen very often.”

Which is why Reese is so passionate about providing information, exposure and opportunities for others.

“When I look back, I shouldn’t have been a walk-on in college,” Reese said. “Don’t have tunnel vision and just focus on the big-time programs.”

Reese finished his speech Wednesday night with encouraging words.

“I’m here to tell each and every one of you, you can live out your dreams,” Reese said.

Recruits always dream of running out onto the field under the bright lights with thousands of fans cheering.  They think how much joy they will feel while playing college sports.  I just wanted to take a minute to remind everyone just how much work it takes to play at the next level.  The New York Times examined the work habits of Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.  I am sure many will be shocked at the extra time Tebow puts into the game outside of practice.

But one aspect of his life has gone virtually unnoticed outside the team: In his evolution from a run-first battering ram to a polished passer and decision-maker, Tebow has found paradise in the flickering light of game film.

“He’s as hard of a worker as I’ve ever had,” said Coach Urban Meyer, whose No. 5 Gators (7-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) face No. 8 Georgia on Saturday in a game that will essentially eliminate the loser from the SEC and national title races. “From the weight room to film prep to practice, when he’s your leader and quarterback and he works as hard as he does, it has a positive effect on the team.”

Tebow said he voluntarily spends 20 hours a week digesting film of opponents, far more time than he devotes to studying for school. (He has a 3.81 grade point average.) And he said he spends about twice as much time with Mullen than he does with anyone else. Mullen said he shares more time with Tebow during the season than he does with his wife, Megan.

A recent afternoon spent watching film with them made it apparent that the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Tebow derives as much joy from poring over the nuances of the game as he does from lowering his shoulder into an oncoming safety.

“I love it,” Tebow said as he flipped through film of Georgia’s defense on Sunday. “I love just studying teams. I just love football and everything about it in general. You just have to have a passion for it.”

I bring up this point to make sure athletes understand the type of work it takes to be successful at the highest level of college sports.  During my time at NCSA I have seen numerous athletes turn down Division I scholarship offers simply because they feel more comfortable with academic/athletic balance at Division II, III or NAIA schools.  Their path may not fit conventional wisdom, but it is the right fit for them.

Almost every recruit dreams of the day they will be playing under the brightest lights possible with the world watching on network TV.  However, not every recruit gets the chance to perform at the highest competitive level.  For some potential recruits this news can be devastating.  They have spent their entire lives working to be an elite athlete and now they are being told that they essentially aren’t good enough to compete at the highest level. 

Some athletes keep waiting by the phone for a call that never comes and are deprived of the chance to continue playing the sport they love and miss out on the chance to receive any scholarship.  Some keep waiting because they are naive to the process, but others keep waiting simply because of pride.  However, if the majority of these athletes took the time to really investigate the different levels of collegiate athletics I think their attitude would quickly pull a 180 degree turn.  Take for instance Naples’ High Senior tailback Greg Pratt, who took the time to visit some smaller schools and had his eyes opened.  The Naples Daily News sat down to get his take after visiting Liberty in the Division formerly known as D 1-AA.

“I talked to some NFL scouts and they told me you don’t have to go to a big school to get looked at,” Pratt said. “The (Liberty) coaches said I have a good chance of playing.”

Pratt even has several BCS schools offering him scholarships, but because he took the time to investigate things a little further, he now has one more option on the table.  That is why I always encourage athletes to take as many visits as possible so they can make an informed decision and find the right fit!

It is pretty clear that the players on the field aren’t too worried that they aren’t playing for a major program. They aren’t too worried about a lack of media exposure.  They aren’t worrying about being perceived as a “D-1 Players.” 

 Players like this make up the majority of college athletes.  NCSA is proud to help recruits all over the country continue with their athletic careers at schools like James Madison and Villanova. 

In every sport an athlete must condition and strength train.  How you perform this activity is just as important.  If you are a baseball player, would you go for a long distant run?  Baseball consists of explosive movements that are short to moderate.  So why would you go on a three mile run?  Endurance can be established with long sprints.

Now that baseball players are in the off season it is important to establish a strong base for the upcoming season.  A player must “report to camp” in top physical condition in order to compete at the highest level.

A baseball workout must contain some key ingredients.  1) Work on your baseball skills such as hitting, fielding and throwing. 2) Strength train in the weight room.  3) Conditioning by running poles, base running and long sprints. 4) There must be a proper warm up and cool down routine.  5) There must be a proper core (your core is you’re your knees to chest) routine. 

Division III athletics often comes with the negative connotation of “lesser quality athletics.”  Yes, this can be true in some cases, however I know of some Division III programs that would demolish a Division I team.  When I was a senior in high school, I had a lot of offers from varying levels, but ultimately chose to play at the University of Chicago, a D3 program.  Why?  Well, there were a lot of reasons, but mostly, I realized that the chances of me going to the league were slim to none, no matter which program I played for.  Instead, I chose to prepare myself for the future by getting a degree from one of the top universities in the nation.  I still got to play the sport that I love. The only difference is that I didn’t get paid to do so, and honestly, I’m so passionate about basketball, I would pay to play it. But what about the other perks of playing at the D1 level?  Well, my travel schedule was better than most programs all around.  Every year we flew to New York, Boston, Atlanta, Cleveland, Rochester, Pittsburgh…and that was just for conference play.  Every four years, our athletic programs have the opportunity to play out of the country.  While I was there, we went to Italy for 10 days.  Just something to wrap your head around.  Don’t get me wrong, not ALL D3 programs are like this, but that’s why we tell you to research schools.  See what EVERY school has to offer before you cross them off your list.