NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

 The market stinks.  Unemployment is soaring.  You certainly do not need me to tell you how bleak the economy is and unfortunately, no one is certain when things will improve. 

As most would expect, the tough financial times are having a strong impact on new college grads seeking employment.  A recent article in the IndyStar outlined just how ominous the job market is for upcoming college grades.  “New graduates are facing the perfect storm,” said Erik Sorenson, chief executive officer of Vault, a career management and job search company. “As one of the largest and most talented graduating classes ever, they are entering the worst job market in decades.”

The article also provides some startling statistical data to backup this pessimistic outlook.  “In the first decrease in recent history, employers expect to hire nearly 22 percent fewer grads compared with last year, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Hiring increased 8 percent in 2008 and almost 20 percent in 2007.”

While no one is immune to the economic troubles, one theme that is relevant and has constantly been discussed on this blog has been the proven advantages that college athletes have when attempting to find a job after college.  Countless numbers of studies have been conducted which show that because of certain characteristics that are especially attractive to employers, college athletes have an easier time getting a job after graduation.

Unfortunately, I do not have any numbers to show that college athletes are having an easier time finding employment than non-athletes in the current job market.  However, I believe that this recent financial downturn has only re-emphasized the value in being a college athlete.

Does being a college athlete guarantee a job after college?  Of course not.  Are college athletes having trouble finding employment in the current economy?  Most likely.  However, if I had to take my chances given the current state of uncertainty, I would much prefer to enter the job market with “college athlete” on my resume.  Who knows, it might make all the difference. 

Should teams within the same conference be held to different standards? Last week Baylor coach Scott Drew led his team on a miracle run through the Big XII tournament narrowly missing the NCAA tournament.   However, much of the media attention was on the school’s decision to hire Dwon Clifton to fill a newly created position of director of player development.  Mr. Clifton is not the typical new staff hire.  He happens to be the former AAU coach of John Wall the nation’s top prep player in the class of 2009.  The New York Times ran a feature on the situation.

While the practice of hiring AAU coaches as a means to lure top players in college basketball has become common place, it is being heavily questioned by other coaches and the media.  Baylor of course, is quite familiar with rule violations stemming from former Coach Dave Bliss’ tenure.

When asked about the hiring Coach Drew responded with a laugh.  Texas Coach Rick Barnes did not.

“We don’t believe in doing that,” Barnes said. “We just don’t. Obviously, if we wanted to do it, we could do it. We just don’t believe in it.”

Obviously the practice has skeptics but it IS legal.  I was personally offended when my alma mater hired a prep star’s AAU coach.  Many of my friends thought otherwise, but the media largely left the story alone.

Should the media and other coaches question a school because of its recruiting violations under a past regime? What do you think?

To be realistic about what level of soccer you are qualified for can sometimes be a daunting task. Most student-athletes want to play Division I soccer, but only .019% have the opportunity to do so and an even smaller percentage have the opportunity to be a starter or see vital minutes. An easy way to see what level is best for you is to pay attention to the contacts you are receiving.Recruiting begins freshman year, as that is when coaches at every level can begin to contact you in some form. Follow this timeline to get an idea of where you fit in. If coaches are not coming to you, you will have to work twice as hard to get noticed by them.

Freshman year – Top Division I prospects start getting evaluated by Division I programs their freshman year; it starts that early. Even though those coaches can’t contact you with personalized emails or phone calls yet, they will be watching you at tournaments and will send you camp invitations, questionnaires or general information on the school. For Division II, III and NAIA schools, they may be sending you questionnaires and camp invitations as well, but its still a little too early for a lot of schools at these levels to be looking at potential recruits.

Sophomore year - You can still only receive this type of general information from all levels, but if you are a top prospect you should notice an increase in the amount. For top Division I programs, sophomore year is their biggest year for evaluation. Coaches will be attending the major tournaments throughout the country and solid Division I athletes will be evaluated and identified during this time.

Junior year - Division I prospects should be receiving personalized emails or letters from Division I coaches after September 1st. Solid prospects will be invited to campus on unofficial visits and most Division I recruits will have made their verbal commitments by the end of their junior year. Even though it may seem early, you need to be aware that this is how it works and in most cases, the higher the division, the earlier they will finish up with their recruiting. It’s done this way because coaches know if they don’t move fast, the top athletes will choose other schools and their opponents will be stronger.

For Division II, III and NAIA prospects, you will be receiving personalized emails, letters and camp invitations as well. Some schools might be inviting you to campus on unofficial visits, but it will depend on the school and program.

Senior year - Solid Division I recruits will start receiving phone calls on and after July 1st.  These recruits have most likely already visited the campus and met the coach, but they will go back to campus on an official visit after the first day of classes their senior year. In many cases, they have already made a verbal commitment, but if they haven’t yet, they will commit during fall of senior year.  They will receive phone calls from the coach fairly often throughout the year just to check in.  If offered an athletic scholarship, they will sign the National Letter of Intent on the initial signing date in early February.

Division II coaches can begin calling their prospects starting June 15th before senior year. Prospects will be invited to campus for an official or unofficial visit in the fall to meet the coach and players; offers are usually extended at this time. Most Division II schools, like Division I coaches, would like to get their recruiting done early in an attempt to obtain the highest caliber athletes.

Technically, Division III and NAIA coaches can call at any point, but most of these coaches start making phone calls on July 1st of senior year.  If the recruit has been in contact via email and has been evaluated prior to this date, they will most likely receive phone calls if they are a top recruit.  Commitments can happen at any point during senior year and can go into summer after senior year.

This timeline isn’t set in stone, but it is generally how the process works. If you have reached out to coaches the right way but still aren’t hearing from Division I schools in a personalized way by junior year, then that level probably isn’t the best fit for you and it would be wise to look at some other levels. There are many great opportunities at Division II, III and NAIA schools; you just have to be willing to look! If you are hearing from mostly Division III coaches, that is most likely the level that would be best for you athletically. Pay attention to the signs to help you stay realistic with regard to where you fit in with college soccer; it will make the process much easier on you.

Last week we ran a poll if the time has come to start paying college athletes.  Of course the opinions varied greatly with both sides passionately arguing they were correct.    This question is extremely relevant on the opening day of the NCAA Tournament televised in its entirety by CBS.  Keep in mind that CBS paid a staggering $6 billion for an 11-year contract to televise amateur players.

The New York Times Room for Debate Blog interviewed 7 different personalities from various to weigh in on the issue.  Their answers are far too varied and excellent for me to summarize here, so I encourage everyone to checkout the article.

I will however, have to post Bill Walton’s take (he happens to be my all time favorite NBA personality).

College basketball players getting paid? What is this – the N.B.A.?

In a world that has changed beyond belief in the 39 years since I started playing N.C.A.A. basketball, we seem to have lost the sense of what is really valuable and built to last in our society. While the exponential growth in the business of sports across all spectrums, including collegiate athletics, is undeniable – for the student athlete it can’t be all about the money, all the time. Getting paid to play ball is what professional sports are all about, and the N.C.A.A. and N.B.A. are two completely different sports, each glorious in their own way.

The young players entering the college game know the rules going in. They are being given a chance to make something of their lives in exchange for the privilege of being an N.C.A.A. student athlete. Most people would salivate at the opportunity to attend one of our nation’s prestigious universities, and then to get in and have it cost you nothing. They house you, feed you, clothe you, educate you, give you a living stipend, and you get to travel the world. These opportunities are priceless.

What’s most important is that these scholarships give students the opportunity to learn how to learn, think, analyze, and to gain some great life lessons – including humility and how to rebound from failure.

Paying the players more than what they are already receiving for their scholarship is a bad idea – how would it be managed? Would every student athlete negotiate a separate deal?

When I left home in the fall of 1970 as a 17-year-old on my way to U.C.L.A. on an N.C.A.A. basketball scholarship, I thought I was getting the greatest deal in the world. And I did. I got an education, I got to meet and learn from the most interesting people (including Coach Wooden), and I got to be a part of a most remarkable team – the U.C.L.A. family. Outside of my health and family, they are the most valuable possessions that I’ve ever had. While at U.C.L.A., I had summer jobs and I was most fortunate that for the rest of my life I never had to go back to my working-class parents for another dime.

Every one of our games was sold out; every one was on TV. I felt then, as I do today, that I got the better end of the deal. (Considering our late career collapse at U.C.L.A., they’re probably still debating whether it was even worth it to offer me the scholarship that I so desperately needed.)

If I hadn’t gone to U.C.L.A., I shudder to think where and who I would be today. I always counsel young dreamers who are searching for their own path to happiness and success in sports, to use basketball to make a better life for yourself; don’t let basketball use you.

I will be watching the N.C.A.A. tournament with great interest, as I do every year. I love the passion, the excitement, the pride, the beaming alumni, the song girls, the pageantry, and maybe mostly – the bands. I’m really hoping that this year’s playlist will include “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” and “Teach Your Children.”

The NCAA basketball tournament is set to begin in a few hours and hoops fans across the nation are eagerly waiting for the excitement to begin.  Many fans eyes will be focused directly on college basketballs most recognized player, Tyler Hansbrough.  Hansbrough’s college career has been littered with great individual success, but ultimately team failure in the tournament.  He has turned down overtures from the NBA after each of his seasons and as a result pro scouts see little of the all important upside that is used to grade draft stock.  Many are already declaring his entire career anything from a failure to incomplete if he does not lead his team to a national championship.

But is that analysis in any way fair?  After all when he announced he was coming back this year, he emphasized how he wanted to have fun.  He poked fun at the pictures taken of him jumping off a frat house roof.

“His career is bigger than that,” said Dave Odom, the former coach at Wake Forest and South Carolina. “There’s always one more thing he can accomplish … but if [his career ended] today he’s one of the greats in all ACC history. He plays every possession as if it was his last and conducted himself as the ultimate student-athlete.”

It should also be remembered while a select few athletes like Hansbrough are remembered for staying in school, most of the athletes in college will stay four years.  Their legacies will be defined by a degree and success later in life not by a national hampionship. It would be a shame if Hansbrough was judged on another scale.

Yesterday Bryce Brown, the top running back prospect in the country, finally ended his long strange recruiting cycle and committed to the University of Tennessee.  Much has been written about his decommitment to Miami as well as his relationship with Brian Butler.  Andy Staples weighs in on the strange saga and endorses several rule changes including an early signing period.  He also had this to say about how athlete’s like Brown have looked to “adviser’s” to help with the recruiting process.

Many prospects have unstable families or coaches who aren’t helpful, so they gravitate toward street agents or scam artists. Whereas Butler charges for training services, the street agents quietly shop players to colleges, hoping for a payday. The scam artists, meanwhile, soak unwitting parents by promising to publicize players through bogus all-star games or sham Web sites. Compared to those guys, the Brian Butlers of the world don’t seem all that bad.

But his commitment process doesn’t always have to be such a saga.

A few minutes before Brown revealed his choice, he made an admission. “It was like a roller-coaster ride,” he said. “I didn’t expect for it turn out like this.” Hopefully, it worked out best for Brown. Hopefully, the rest of us learned something, too.

It is abundantly clear that their is a void in recruiting education at high schools across America.  Their is also a lack of guidance for athletes and seeking to make the most important decision thus far in their lives.  At NCSA we are dedicated to helping athletes with this process and hope that cases like Brown’s don’t become the norm.

Consider an approach to test prep that permits students to focus their time and efforts on those areas in which they need the most preparation; such a focused, subject-specific approach can save money. Are there certain areas of weakness that need more work than others? Might a review of just basic grammar or math suffice?.

Today ESPN’s Scoop Jackson profiled a young Chicago basketball player struggling with the recruiting process.  Its stories like this that motivate us at NCSA to help student athletes and families navigate the recruiting process.

In the Chicago area, specifically, situations like Emil’s happen every year. Part of it is the way the system is set up. Part of it has to do with the high school coaches. Part of it has to do with the politics of each particular city. Part of it has to do with the cards life has dealt the kid … and his parents.

Said Clyde Travis, a sportswriter for the Sun-Times: “Parents come to me all of the time concerned about their kids and asking questions why colleges aren’t calling. In my 29 years of covering [high school basketball], I can tell you that if you ask ten top Division I coaches about a kid they don’t know about or haven’t heard of, the first question that is going to come out of their mouths is, ‘Who else is recruiting him?’ They assume that instead of a kid just being under the radar that if no one else is recruiting him, something must be wrong with the kid. It’s like, ‘If someone else doesn’t want him, why should I?’ And Emil Clayton is one of those kids. He’s great academically, can run a mid-to-lower major D-I team or be a star at a D-II, can shoot and handle the ball, but he doesn’t pass the look test. When I say that, I mean that at first look, he’s not going to blow you away. But real college coaches should be able to see through that.”

I hope this post reaches Emil soon, we definitely would like to help.

 It has been called “the window.” For example, experts say the Phoenix Suns have missed “their window” to win the NBA title.  The Cleveland Cavaliers are in “their window” to win it.

There is also a “window” to play college sports.

Last summer I was at State University of New York at New Paltz. I was talking with one of their college athletes. She said that when she was in high school she figured she had her four years of high school sports and four years of college sports and that was it. Sure, there would be adult league basketball and slo pitch softball and all of that, but she didn’t want to miss out on “the window” of playing college sports.

This past weekend I delivered “College Recruiting Simplified” at the NIKE Football Combine put on by ESPN RISE. Before speaking, I was talking to a high school football coach from Ohio. He talked about how precious the years were to play high school and college football. Once they were done, serious organized football was over for the great majority of players.

“I am over 40 years old,” he told me. “I can get a few of my buddies and we can play a basketball game. But I am not going to be able to get 21 of my buddies and play a real football game. Kids have one shot to play college football, and after that . . . ”

My advice – do everything you can to make college sports a reality. Don’t let “the window” go by.

Charlie Adams