NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

 Former Recruiting Coordinator at Notre Dame and University of Michigan and current NCSA Speaker, Bob Chmiel, recently presented a Recruiting 101 Seminar at Owensboro High School in Kentucky.  Senior Guidance Counselor from Owensboro, Jane Prince, played a key role in bringing Coach Chmiel to educate families and student athletes. 

Aside from her role as Senior Guidance Counselor and high school coach, Jane is the mother of a current collegiate athlete and wife of a former collegiate athlete.  The bottom line is that Jane has experienced recruiting from several perspectives.  NCSA caught up with Jane to discuss the importance of recruiting education.

NCSA: What motivated Owensboro to bring in an expert to educate families about the recruiting process?  Why NCSA and Coach Chmiel?

We will be working with NSCA this January to help my son achieve his goal of playing college football.  He is currently a sophomore in high school.  I’m also a Senior Guidance Counselor at Owensboro High School in Kentucky and coached high school tennis and swimming.  Over the years, I worked with many high school athletes.  My husband is the Head football coach at OHS and played college football at The University of Kentucky. My daughter plays college basketball at Georgetown College (NAIA).

Five years ago, another teacher and I formed a program at this high school to prepare high school athletes to become college athletes and I thought the NCSA presentation would be an excellent opportunity for parents to hear information about the college recruiting process from an outside source.  We were just lucky that our guest speaker was Coach Chmiel.  He is able to tell stories about his life experiences that get the attention of his audience and pull them in for the real message.

What was the most valuable information that Coach Chmiel passed along to families in your opinion? 

He had some excellent suggestions like:

• Don’t send film to a college without the specific name of the coach that you are sending it to…..unidentified film goes in the trash”
• Separate yourself from problems or problem people

He also talked about three important aspects of an athlete necessary to be successful: (1) Strong academics, (2) good character, and (3) always give 110 % on every play and in all preparations to play.

What are some of the most common misconceptions about the recruiting process that families have?

Most families wrongly believe several basic concepts:

(1) That most athletes are discovered like a Hollywood movie star for their scholarship

(2) DI level of play is the only one that provides financial assistance

(3) It is the high school coaches’ responsibility to get their athlete a scholarship

(4) Academics really are not that important if they are talented enough athletically

(5) Every scholarship, in every sport is a full-ride.

What type of advice would you give families who are going through the process for the first time as not only a guidance counselor, but also a mother and wife of collegiate student athletes?

• Start preparing your potential student/athlete in the 9^th grade by explaining the core GPA and the NCAA process. Register at the beginning of their junior year with the NCAA Eligibility Center. Keep constant tabs on their transcript and daily grades.

• Build a resume of sports accomplishments and awards as well as community service and inter-scholastic activities and honors. Save it in your computer and update it with everything they have accomplished each month. This resume should be sent to college coaches. This allows them to see the student/athlete as a person that is active and has good character.

• Choose a few good sports photos to have on hand to send with your resume and other sports related scholarships that they may apply for, such as state sportsmanship scholarships for example.

• Form good relationships with high school coaches; remember they will give the final recommendation.

• Learn how to speak to the media; you are representing your family, community, school and yourself. Complement your teammates and coaches in interviews; you didn’t get there on your own.

• Play other sports in high school, it’s good for you and makes you a more appealing athlete.

• Fill out all sports questionnaires, even to schools you may not attend. It’s a small world and coaches change jobs every day and may remember you.

• God gave you a certain body size and ability. You may be of size for the big time and you may not. Be thankful for whatever opportunities may come your way at any level whether it is DI, II, III, NAIA or Jr. College.

I really could go on and on…….there is so much for them to know……

Would you encourage other high schools to provide recruiting education similar to the seminar at Owensboro?  If so, why?

Yes, it was very helpful to hear Coach Chmiel.  He didn’t try to force the NCSA on his audience. He simply gave his educational message about the recruiting process and informed people about the NCSA at the end.  I think this made people more interested in the NCSA material. Parents are really misinformed about athletic scholarship and need a lot of help in the process.

 If you would like to learn more about potentially scheduling a Recruiting 101 Seminar, click here.

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.

 I never like getting a phone call from a student-athlete telling me they want to transfer to another school. Transferring is another way of a student-athlete telling me they made a bad decision. They didn’t do their home work on a school, coaching staff, or the roster. In today’s recruiting, coaches are taught to sell their program to the best of their ability. A huge selling point is “Your son/daughter has a great chance to play early!” The reality is everyone on the team has a great chance to play early and it’s the coach’s job to determine who is going to play by the end of the first practice.If I could give any of our student-athlete’s advice on playing at the next level, it would be to understand there is competition everywhere. It is on you to find out where the best fit is both academically and athletically. Here are some tips for our current college athletes looking into transferring.

• Don’t be discouraged if you’re not playing

Sometimes, you have to wait your time to get on the field. Just remember, you’re only a play away from getting out there. Work hard on the practice field and prove to the staff you’re the one who is supposed to be playing.

• Transferring is not an easy task

There will be many hoops in the administration process that you have to jump through. Release forms, paperwork, and un-easy conversations. You must learn the transfer and eligibility rules-for the NCAA, the conference and the new school you plan to join.

• Sitting out due to transfer rules

If you are set on transferring and feel it’s the absolute right thing to do, then understand you have to play by the rules. Due to NCAA rules, you cannot talk to another school until you have received written permission from your current school. There are several key factors which determine when you will be eligible.

1. If you are a qualifier, partial qualifier or nonqualifier.
2. If you are now in a two-year or a four year college
3. Whether you want to go to a Division 1,2,or, 3 school
4. Which sport you play (football, basketball, additional rules apply)
5. Whether you meet academic rules for eligibility

Before you make this decision we want you to understand the situation and to do your research. Focus not only on sports but education as well. Transferring can not only shorten your playing clock, but also affect the amount of time it will take for you to earn your degree. To learn more about transferring see the NCAA guidebook on transferring at http://www.ncaa.org/. We at NCSA want our student-athletes to have a great college experience. The goal is to receive a great education and make a considerable contribution at the next level. Please let NCSA help you with any questions on transferring.

 a former D1 college football recruiting coordinator’s thoughts on what NCSA can do for every college football (all sports) coaches.

 ”If I knew then what I know now” my college coaching staffs would have had more success recruiting!

First, my background.

I capped off my days as a center for the Fighting Illini by playing in the Blue Gray All Star Game, and then signed with the Oakland Raiders. It’s been over 30 years since taking off my cleats and picking up a whistle joining coaching staffs at Illinois, UNLV, UCLA and Minnesota, many of these years as the recruiting coordinator. During that time I have been a part of a #1 ranked recruiting class, several top 5 classes and several more top 25 ranked classes in the country.

I’ve also been hired by nearly 40 D1 colleges to evaluate prospects for them.

Second, why am I writing this?

There is so much more to the recruiting process than getting your name on internet sites.

College coaches get hundreds of names and stats from the internet. What he needs to do is narrow that list of names down to a manageable working list of prospects that have the academic, athletic and social skills that he wants to recruit.

Third, how long is the recruiting process, really?

The recruiting process starts when a prospect gets the first letter from a school and ends when the prospect shows up for the first practice of the school he signed with.

Fourth, why is the recruiting process this long?

This is how long it takes the college coach to get the player on the field.

Once a coach decides the student athlete can play for his university (after a number of evaluations):

• the coach has to see if the athlete can qualify
• send many recruiting letters
• make several more evaluations (academic and athletic) of the prospect
• make a lot of phone calls
• get the prospect’s unofficial transcript and SAT/ACT scores to compliance or admissions at his/her school
• see that the prospect has registered with the clearinghouse
• check to see if the prospect will be admitted by the university
• make in person contacts
• set an official visit
• host the student athlete on the official visit
• sign a National Letter of Intent (NLI)
• financial aid paperwork
• admissions paperwork
• housing paperwork
• make sure the athlete is following the summer workout program
• help the student athlete with a summer job or get into summer school or maybe the summer “bridge program”
• have the student athlete report for orientation
• receive the final transcript
• be sure the prospect is certified eligible by the clearinghouse
• other paperwork the university needs before the player can step on the field (drug testing policy, physical, student conduct, etc.)

After all this a prospect can practice.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have, what college coaches refer to as the third party, experts like NCSA be available to advise you through the recruiting process?

As a former recruiting coordinator at several universities, “if I knew then what I know now” I’d love the help NCSA has to offer

I’ve just joined NCSA as a “Recruiting Expert” and am responsible for our relationship with college football programs. I will let every college I speak with know about our support of the student athlete’s family and how we can make the “recruiting process” work smoothly!

As I’m sure all of the staff at NCSA does.

Contact NCSA today for expert guidance!!

It doesn’t matter how good you are. If you don’t get past the NCAA Eligibility Center (formerly known as the NCAA Clearinghouse), you’re not playing anywhere. Case in point, incoming Minnesota freshman quarterback MarQueis Gray. From a Myron Medcalf article in Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

“MarQueis Gray is not with us at this time, due to an NCAA Eligibility Center [formerly the NCAA Clearinghouse] issue,” Gophers coach Tim Brewster said in a statement. “We’re hopeful, for MarQueis’ sake, that this issue will be resolved.”

You can register online at any time, though the Eligibility Center recommends you do so your junior year. For Division I and II, the Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete provides useful information regarding the high school courses you must complete, the minimum grade-point average for participation, as well as what your test scores must be at.

This further emphasizes the reason to start the recruiting process early – so you can plan your coursework according to what the NCAA requires to participate in intercollegiate athletics. I talked to a father yesterday whose son needs to take an extra semester of math (you need to take 3 years worth if you want to play Div. I) because he didn’t realize he needed that much for the NCAA. As a result, rather than enjoying the summer before college, he has to take summer school.

Need I say more?