Subscribe to the NCSA BlogAcademics and Character in Collegiate Recruiting
June 23rd, 2009 - byIt is well known that hard work is a necessity if any athlete wants to achieve their dream of competing at the collegiate level. Hours in the gym, countless repetitions, sound recruiting strategies, and good old fashion luck are required if they want to make it to the next level. However, it is often seen that these are not the only factors that coaches look at when deciding whether or not a student-athlete is worthy of a scholarship, or even a spot on the roster. It is becoming more and more evident that a student’s academic accolades as well as their overall character are able to make or break their chances of continuing their athletic careers. Academic merits are able to make a recruit more appealing to a coach. First, if they qualify for academic scholarships, it lowers the burden of a coach to divide limited athletic scholarships throughout an entire team. Secondly, academic failure can lead to sanctions against a program. A recent example would be that of the Florida State University football team. The NCAA recently divulged information of academic indecency at the school, including 61 players within the football program. The result of these finding could be head coach Bobby Bowden losing 14 of his career wins (his current 382 puts him one win behind Joe Paterno for the title of all-time winningest Division 1-FBS coach). The scandal does not reflect well upon the program or institution as a whole. It is a scar that will mark the prestige of a program, costing it alumni dollars as well as student interest. Academic failure can also result in the loss of scholarships for a program, thus making them less able to compete at the highest level. The final example of the importance of academics within college recruiting is that a high academic standing is often associated with a high moral standing. Coaches are committed to winning, and that requires coachable players. Players with off the field issues are shied away from by recruiters. Lance Stephenson deemed as “once the most-hyped recruit in the country” by Chris Chase of Yahoo! Sports “enters June without a school, without much hype and with many recruiting circles saying he’s not worth the trouble”. Stevenson has pending criminal charges and some question his amateur status. This has led most college coaches to lose interest in him because of the burden Stephenson would be on the chemistry of their team. Even Gary Williams who Chase describes as being “desperate to sign a big-time national recruit” following some disappointing seasons has deemed Stephenson’s services unworthy of the baggage that would follow him.
These examples make it obvious that a prospective collegiate student-athlete cannot simply concentrate on improving their athletic premise. It is necessary that an athlete stay out of trouble and in the classroom. With the competitive state that college recruiting is in today, athletes cannot afford to give coaches a reason not to recruit them.
