NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

College recruiting can be an intimidating entity.

It’s a long and elaborate process that is chock-full of questionnaires, phone calls, letters, brochures, summer camps, campus visit, interviews, etc. Don’t believe me? Check this story out.

What’s probably the most frightening, though, is what happens at the end of all this work — your final college decision. Take Zeke Motta in the story:

“I’m just trying to weigh out what ultimately I want to go to — a top-10 perennial school that is going to be competing for a national championship every year or going to a school that has great academics but is maybe only going to qualify for a BCS Bowl once every two years or something like that,” Motta said. “I am trying to find a mix of good academics and great football.

“It’s a big decision.”

Indeed it is. But luckily, it doesn’t have to be the only decision. Let me explain.

Here at the NCSA, the end goal is for all of our student-athletes to attend a college with the right academic and athletic fit. And the vast majority of the time, that happens.

But sometimes, something goes wrong — the head coach who recruited you leaves, you’re not getting enough playing time at your current school, you decide you don’t want to play your sport anymore, you want to attend a larger school, your sport takes up too much time. Whatever the reason, people will change their mind about things, including what college to enroll in.

But does that mean you have to be miserable for however many years you have left of college? Of course not. If you don’t like the situation you’re in at your current university, transferring always is an option.

This isn’t to say that every time something doesn’t go your way, it’s time to back your bags and head for the hills. College is designed to prepare you for adulthood, and part of that means learning how to make the best of a not-so-great situation. And with transferring comes the chance of having to sit out a year, losing a year of eligibilty or not being able to play your sport at all, so definitely make sure to do your research and talk to the college coaches at the other schools you’re interested in.

Ultimately, however, if you’ve found yourself unhappy with your college choice for an extended period of time, transferring to another school that has what you’re looking for might be, and usually is, the best path to take.

The college recruiting experience has many twists and turns.  There are many factors that play into recruiting for a student-athlete but one they have control over is doing the research.  Every student-athlete’s process is completely unique and different.  Doing research on the colleges and the process should be one of the top priorities!

Not only is the Stanford University one of the top academics schools in the country but it is also one of the best athletic programs (Stanford has won 14 consecutive Directors’ Cup).  The Stanford baseball program is a regulaly in the College World Series and is a two time National Champion. 

The Baseball Assistant Coach Dean Stotz at Stanford talks about the importance of research and choosing a college; “I have been doing this a long time, and if I may be so bold, I would like to help you simplify the process of selecting what college you will attend. First of all, please have respect for the magnitude of this college decision. You will live with this decision THE REST OF YOUR LIFE! This is not a “four year” decision, but a “FORTY YEAR DECISION”. There are no “mulligans”, no “do-overs”. Consider the task as if you are doing the most important research paper of your young life. The title of your research paper is: Where will I attend college? Now, how do you do well on a research paper?–RESEARCH!!!

There are three broad areas of risk in your college decision. You must decide what type of “academic challenge”, what type of “baseball challenge”, and what type of what I call “social challenge” you wish to take on.  In Coach Marquess’s and my 31 years we have not graduated 9 people who attended Stanford for four years.” What do you think?  Please post a comment on this topic!!

So you think you are being recruited because you received a questionnaire?Did you know that the Mississippi State baseball program sends out an average of 1,500 prospect questionnaires each year?

Facebook. MySpace. YouTube. Video conferencing. Web sites. Text messaging.

My oh my, how much recruiting has advanced in the last 15 years.

As Adam Diorio noted in his post, “Want Athletic Scholarships? Use Technology!”, recent technological advances have allowed NCAA college coaches to explore new methods of reaching out to potential student-athletes. It has also allowed them to tip-toe around quiet and dead period restrictions (what’s a “dead period”?).

Adam details two questions in his posting before jumping into the hi-tech hot tub. The one that I’m going to focus on is:

1. Do we know how technology can and cannot be used to maximize my student athlete’s recruiting process?  Basically, do we know the rules?

And for a good long while, the “can” heavily out weighed the “cannot.” Up until August of last year, text-messaging was a popular way for coaches to get recruits to call them. But slowly but surely, things are changing. As Paul Steinbach dictates in “Technology Rules”:

“Existing NCAA legislation limited how many calls a coach can make to a prospect, but placed no limits on the number of prospect-initiated calls, so coaches targeted the recruits with text messages that read simply, ‘Call me.’ The practice became intrusive, and often expensive, for highly sought-after athletes. (See ‘No EZ Answers,’ November 2006, p. 141.) The new rule, which went into effect Aug. 1, is just one of many related to technology found within the nearly 50 pages that address recruiting in Article 13 of the NCAA Division I Manual.”

That manual can be found here. The specific bylaw restricting text messaging, as well as other kinds of electronic communication, is found on page 99. But in addition to that, if you or your son or daughter is even considering playing a college sport, make sure you all read over most, if not all, of Article 13.

Also something to consider: New legislation is put into effect on Aug. 1 (one month away), so make sure you stay up to date with the ever-changing restrictions.

And of course, there are still a few loopholes out there and a couple of ways coaches can get around restrictions, such as not being able to track text messages or online social networking sites. But to put it into perspective, if technology has advanced so much in 15, 10 or even 5 years (Facebook became mainstream only four years ago), imagine how long it will take the powers-that-be to find ways of tracking the currently un-trackable.

Big Brother might not be watching right now, but could be soon. 

A great article from “March Madness All Season,” written by University of Delaware student Jeff Borzello.

For those of you who don’t like reading 2.300-word articles in their entirety, in a nut shell, Borzello describes his angst toward student-athlete’s rights, or lack there of, to rescind their letter-of-intent once a school’s head coach decides to leave a job. The story highlights a Marquette basketball recruit named Tyshawn Taylor, who, after multiple requests and forms for a release, was finally let free after he learned of Marquette former coach Tom Crean’s departure from the university.

Borzello’s main point is that it’s unfair for student-athletes to be stuck in a situation they weren’t intending on happening, whereas coaches seem to be able to hop from team-to-team at their discretion.

While I agree with Borzello that student-athletes should be allowed to terminate their commitment if a not-so-ideal situation comes up (he sites a clause that Indiana University basketball recruits had allowing them to terminate their commitment if former coach Kelvin Sampson was fired … which he was), I can’t stress enough that at times, these situations can be avoided.  As Lisa Meyers noted in her post “What will you say when college coaches call?”:

“5) Ask questions! Prepare a list of questions in advance.”

On page 23 in the NCAA Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete, there is a list of some sample questions to ask the coaches concerning athletics, academics and college life. And, sure enough, the NCAA has a few really big questions they list to help you avoid scenarios like the one above. I quote:

• When does the head coach’s contract end? How long does the coach intend to stay? The answer could be helpful. Do not make any assumptions about how long a coach will be at a school. If the coach leaves, does this change your mind about the school/program?
• What happens if I want to transfer to another school? You may not transfer without the permission of your current school’s athletics administration. Ask how often coaches grant this privilege and ask for an example of a situation in which permission was not granted.

Of course, this way isn’t necessarily fail-safe. Like you and me, coaches might say something one day, and nine months later, change their mind. But still, asking these questions at least improve your chances of not getting caught in a school’s web if the head spider leaves for a new job.

Every year on the center stage of collegiate sports, we hear the story, often told by television announcers, of the touching tale of the courageous walk on.  Visions of Rudy instantly come to the forefront as the journey of the underdog warrior starts to unfold.  “He was never recruited out of high school by any of the major programs . . .” says the announcer during his crescendo to the game breaking play.  “He has waited his whole life for this moment, battling disappointment after rejection.”  It is heartwarming.  Life is fair again. That could have been me.

There are few stories that compare in nature.  There are fewer that compare in occurrence.  The closest relative to Rudy would be the 71 year old retired truck driver who on his last few dollars cashed in on millions playing the random pick’m game at the local gas station.  The only difference is, that story happens more frequently!

For the serious competitor, walking on to a collegiate athletic team can be compared to earning a medical degree and then working as a custodian.  You both work in a hospital but unlike all of your classmates, you’re not actually doing what you trained so hard to do for so long.  Most collegiate athletes have played their sport since before they could remember, years and years, always starting, usually better and often in the spotlight.  To cash in a lifetime of hard work and natural talent for a dream that was forged from within a child’s perspective seems foolish.

Take football for example.  There are over 800 colleges that offer football as a varsity sport.  Most sports fans in this country can name up to fifty.  In baseball there are over 1000 colleges that offer the sport.  How many can you name?  There are numerous opportunities to explore if the desire to actually play exceeds common ignorance and childhood fantasies.

Walk-ons, just like custodians in hospitals, have vastly different experiences than the scholarship players.  First, the ceremonial National Letter of Intent signing day - that does not happen.  Next, the preferential class scheduling - no.  The second, third, or fourth pair of coaches’ eyes watching you to make sure that you’re taken care of - not so much.  You are a necessary tool to help the real players practice, rarely taken serious, rarely awarded a scholarship and sparingly shown respect.  Rudy was a great film but I hope it is not your story.  Below is a short video of how USC treats its potential walk ons.  There are a few questionable language choices in this clip so do not watch if you will be offended.  USC Walk On Clip

In summary, if you work your entire life to achieve the goal of becoming a college athlete, find a place where you are wanted.  Find a school where you will play and make an impact.  Go somewhere that will set you up to have a great experience while you earn your degree, an environment that will help provide you with teammates for life.  Step outside of your comfort zone and learn all you can of what is out there.  You just might find something that is priceless.

Why do people play sports?

Some play for fun. Some play for glory. Some play for exercise. Some play for competition.

And some play so they can dream. This is one of those stories.

On the field of play, anything is possible. On the field of play, everyone is equal. On the field of play, anyone can win and anyone can lose.

Fresno State’s baseball team did a lot of that this year, losing that is. 27 times in 60 regular season games the Bulldogs came out on the wrong end of the final score. They were wildly inconsistent at the least, underachievers at best. In a word, they were average just like each of us. But that’s the thing about sports, even the most average of players, the most average of teams, can become something more. All it takes is some collective dreaming.

A month and a half later, the Bulldogs are still dreaming. With a record of 33-27 heading into the WAC tournament, they weren’t even under consideration for an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament. But my how things have changed.

Do or die in the WAC tournament? No problem. Four straight wins later and their prize was the #4 seed in the four-team Long Beach Regional, which featured three nationally ranked teams. Only one #4 seed had ever won a NCAA Regional. Strike that. Make that two. From there it was on to Tempe, AZ for a date with the Sun Devils of Arizona State, the nation’s #3 ranked team. After dropping the first game and facing elimination, they reeled off back to back wins and a berth in the College World Series. Once in Omaha, down went #6 Rice, #2 North Carolina, and last night #2 North Carolina again, in a winner-take-all bracket championship game.

So that brings us to tonight. The giant-killers from Fresno will take on the other Bulldogs, the ones from Georgia, in the first game of the Best-of-3 College World Series Final.

This team wasn’t supposed to be here. #4 seeds aren’t supposed to make it out of the regional. They aren’t supposed to win 8 NCAA tournament games, all against nationally ranked teams. They aren’t supposed to do all of these things without one of their stalwarts, senior SS Todd Sandell who was thrown off the team mid-season.

But they are, and they did.

The beauty of college sports is that it gives 18-22 year-olds in all corners of the country the opportunity to run with a dream like Fresno State has this month. Any opportunity to compete is an opportunity to dream.

Some play sports for the love of the game. Some play because it is what they are good at.  Some play sports in hopes that greatness is just one play away.

Dream on Fresno State. Dream on.

    After spending the last two years speaking with families about the recruiting process, two clear themes have emerged.  The first is that 99 percent of the families that I speak with are ignorant to the process yet unwilling to acknowledge the fact.  The second theme is that people are typically hesitant to invest in professional assistance.

            The first theme is understandable as most families are navigating this process for the first time so their ignorance is due to lack of education about the process which is not always readily available.  The second theme is rather alarming.  The recruiting process will affect a student athlete’s entire life for better or worse.  Knowing the impact the process might have on their child’s future and the lack of experience most families have, one would think that every parent would want to pursue every avenue possible that might help their child succeed in this process.  Unfortunately, most families hear the word “investment” and immediately eliminate that avenue.  As a former athlete who failed at successfully finding the right school and being forced to transfer colleges, I wish I had as much help as possible even if that meant investment money into some sort of professional assistance. 

            The harsh reality is that even if the family chooses to navigate this process by themselves, it will cost money!  To successfully handle the process, an investment will have to be made financially.  Between videos, mailing profiles, visits, camps, etc. the process will most likely cost a family quite a bit of money.  The irony is that families spend hundreds of dollars on camps, combines, and tournaments thinking they will provide the exposure that is lacking only to realize they rarely do. 

            Just one of these days I would like to ask a parent who seems hesitant to invest money in professional help what they plan on doing with the money they are saving from “saying no” to the service…and better yet, how that expenditure could possibly benefit their son’s future more than helping him make the right college decision professionally?  I have yet to think of an answer that would satisfy me after seeing so many families fail to maximize this process…

   The NCAA and NBA are getting together, and high school basketball players could be the ones who get hurt the most.

   A potentially monumental change to the way youth basketball is structured is in the works. The end goal: to win Olympic gold medals. As outlined by Christopher Lawlor of ESPN, the world of college recruiting could be changing before our very eyes. The idea that high school athletes will be “found” simply by playing for top AAU and club teams is no longer valid. By further restricting the April contact period, many so-called “exposure tournaments” will lose any ability to create exposure for student athletes.

Think AAU will get you a college scholarship? Think again.

   So what is a high school athlete to do now? If you’re committed to playing in college, the onus is on YOU. Your AAU or club team is not going to get you a scholarship. If you want to play in college then you must fully commit yourself to this process and take the initiative. You must create your own exposure by being proactive.

   You only get one shot at being recruited. Are you going to sit back and hope that someone finds you? Or are you going to take ownership of your own future? The decision is yours.

Clearinghouse? Official Visit? Dead Period?  After speaking with hundreds of families and student-athletes on a daily basis about their recruiting experience, I’ve been able to draw a simple conclusion; most families have no idea what these terms mean.  When it comes to recruiting there are a lot of specific guidelines that college coaches have to follow and they are put into terms that most families that aren’t familiar with recruiting don’t understand.