NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

USA Swimming will host their National Championships and World Championship Trials this July 7-11 in Indianapolis, IN with big adjustments as they adhere to FINA’s new rules regarding swimsuits.  On, June 1st, USA Swimming announced an amendment to it’s rules that reflect the changes that FINA made back in May.  Earlier this week, USA swimming also confirmed that it has adopted the newly revised list of approved suits released by FINA. 

The protocol for swimmers and swimsuit manufacturers will change dramatically this year and this should be quite evident as they all gather for the USA National Championships.  Swimmers will have to undergo a swimsuit evaluation before entering the water.  

Swimsuit manufacturers will be limited to bringing only FINA/USA Swimming approved suits to the Championships.  

Once an athlete has been recruited, offered and is officially on the roster of a collegiate athletic team the responsibilities of both the institution and the athlete are not finished. The athlete must obviously carry his or her weight in terms of performance in the classroom and on the athletic fields. It is their own future they are most responsible for but, at the same time, the college or university and the coaching staff have specific obligations to fulfill in order to give the student athlete the opportunity to succeed while on campus and after they leave.

Bill Conley worked at Ohio State for 17 years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.

Education

Good college athletic programs have a strong academic support program. They provide the structure to help the athlete succeed and compete in the classroom. For the program to be successful it’s not the number or quality of the athletes that are “brought in” but the number that “stay in” and complete their eligibility. Study table, tutors, counselors and all types of individual academic support tools should be used to give the athlete a chance to receive the ultimate educational reward; a college degree. The NCAA along with certain conferences has passed legislation to require and encourage athletes to be working toward a degree as they progress academically. This is a good thing, but the schools and coaching staffs that demand excellence in the classroom in order to maximize career opportunities once the playing days are over are the models that need to be followed.

Opportunity to Compete

Everyone knows that every coach must put the best team on the field or court in order to survive. Not every athlete can be a starter and the battles become more severe at each level of competition. The athlete themselves have more to determine how far they progress in their particular sport than anyone else. The only obligation for the coaching staff, and a very important one, is to give each one of their players the opportunity to compete. Most high achieving programs know they must do exactly that in order to be able to go back into the specific high schools to recruit future athletes.

Parental Contact

This is the one area where college programs often fall short. The parent(s) are worked hard by the coaching staff while their sons and daughters are being recruited but many times the relationship breaks down once the student athlete is enrolled. Obviously, the time commitment for college staffs is huge and especially for the high profile and large participant sports. Nevertheless, coaches must go out of their way to keep the lines of communication open with the parents of their athletes. Parents often just get one side of the story if there are academic, athletic, or disciplinary issues. Minor situations can blossom into major problems if not diffused early. The better the communication between all parties, the less chance of a problem being magnified.

Character Development

This may be the toughest of the obligations to achieve since personality development is largely developed even before the athlete gets on campus. The college staff, however, can reinforce qualities such as discipline, hard work, individual responsibility, dedication, positive attitude, teamwork, etc. The same qualities that will help the individual achieve in any future endeavors. The means of reinforcement may be through training rules,
Sports psychology, counseling, peer leadership or various other methods. The important thing is for the athlete to leave the institution a mature and responsible person.

Coaching staffs are often looked upon as the parents away from home by families. Mom and dad want to make sure of their children are taken care of in terms of opportunities, achievement, injuries, and discipline just to mention a few areas of concern. The college programs that can best satisfy these needs gain a reputation that is “worth its weight in gold” in terms of recruiting for the long haul.

Many recruits struggle with the decision to walk on at a big school or receive a scholarship and a better shot at playing time at a smaller school. Many recruits picture Rudy and other famous walk-ons toiling in practice only to one day get their shot at glory on national TV.  They assume that one shot will make all the work worth it.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out that way.  Most walk-ons leave the program well before the get a whiff of playing time.  Even those that do end up making it don’t always find their small role on a team worth it.

Yesterday’s news from the University of Illinois that Jeff Jordan, son of Michael, is leaving the program is one more example of a walk-on not lasting four years.  He turned down the chance at a full scholarship at Valparaiso to walk on for the Illini.  Last year he succeeded in earning a scholarship and averaged 8.4 minutes a game as a sophomore.  Apparently, that was not enough as he announced that he was leaving the program to concentrate on his studies.

“I loved playing for the Fighting Illini and appreciate the support I was given by my teammates, coaches and the great fans here,” Jordan in a statement. “But I have come to the point where I’m ready to focus on life after basketball.”

Hats off to Jeff, for realizing the importance of his studies but it does make you wonder if things would have turned out differently had he accepted the Valpo scholarship.

SI has posted a story entailing how the future of media broadcasts of prep games may be decided through a recent legal dispute.

Ownership of scholastic athletics coverage is at stake in a legal tussle brewing over a Wisconsin newspaper’s decision to carry a high school football game live on its Web site last fall.

The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association sued The Post-Crescent of Appleton and parent Gannett Co. as well as the Wisconsin Newspaper Association after the newspaper carried the state playoff game on its site Nov. 8.

The association said it believes it owns the rights to the online footage because it organized, supervised and sponsored the football tournament. The lawsuit, which is scheduled for trial Feb. 8, also said the association’s ability to generate revenue needs to be protected. The association has a $7.1 million budget this year.

WIAA executive director Doug Chickering said the association is seeking only a ruling about its role and rights, not monetary damages.

Dan Flannery, executive editor of The Post-Crescent, said local sporting events represent the essence of local news coverage, and media outlets should be able to provide Internet coverage the same way they write stories or produce videos.

The newspaper wants the court to recognize that the WIAA is working on behalf of public schools and declare its no-bid, long-term contracts for TV coverage and photography unconstitutional.

Peter Fox, executive director of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, said the case “has advanced further in the legal system than in any other state.”

Athletic associations and newspaper groups elsewhere are closely watching.

“Fundamentally, this comes down to TV revenue for the associations,” said Don Craven, an attorney who worked for the IPA and helped settle the dispute two years ago. “They don’t own a commodity to sell, market or otherwise control. They should put on a very nice tournament and get out of the news business.”

If the WIAA is successful in barring the free online broadcasting of prep games it may cause other high school sports associations to consider doing the same. Athletic associations may begin to use high school games as a source of revenue by selling the games to the highest bidder. Games between nationally ranked teams have shown to draw huge ratings as ESPN has recently broadcasted several high school games.

How would this effect recruiting? It limits athletes’ exposure by taking away an outlet for coaches to see game film. This makes it even more important that a recruit find other ways to display their highlight films and game films, as well as showcase their athlete resumes to college coaches.

Summer is officially upon us!  And for college softball coaches, that means the busiest and most important recruiting time.  They are in the midst of their most active evaluation time and a majority of them will spend this time at college exposure tournaments throughout the country.  Coaches can see a huge number of athletes in one quick weekend, at one major tournament.  For NCAA Division I coaches, rules and regulations limit them to a certain number of dates they can go out and recruit.  

So, what does this all mean for you?  The greatest advantage you can give yourself at this time of year is letting these coaches know who you are BEFORE they leave for tournaments.  Their time is limited and they can only see so many games and so many players in one tournament.  If you desire to be one of those players, then give the coaches a reason to find you and watch you play!  

Have a complete resume of who you are as a student-athlete and get that into the hands of the coaches you would like to play for.  This resume should include your summer tournament schedule, statistics and contact information for you and for your current coaches.  You should also have a sample of skills available in a video format (DVD).  Your academic information should also be included.  Once you have all of that ready to distribute, you need to identify what schools you are most interested in and familiarize yourself with their softball programs.  Look at their roster and see if you would be a good fit.  Check out the background info on current players.  This will help you get a good idea as to whether or not you have the skills and resume to compete in their program.  It’s great to aim high, but being realistic is important so you will have options of schools where you can be a contributing player.

It is vital for you as a student-athlete, to be realistic about your skill level and to seek out schools and coaches you can truly play for.  Keep in mind that by this time, approximately half of NCAA Division I softball coaches/colleges have identified their top recruits of to-be seniors.  If you are a top softball player, the summer going into your junior and even sophomore years of high school are when coaches will be evaluating you.  During those summers, it would be most beneficial to you to be playing on up level teams such as U16 and U18.  If you are a higher level player and can compete at the Division I level, be sure and include all of your awards and accolades in your resume (being one of the top players in your area and state, playing at the varsity level, etc.).   

Have a game plan this summer!  Get your resume set up and be sure to include all of the info listed above.  Identify colleges you can play for.  Let those coaches know of your interest in their programs and be prepared to have a skills DVD for them to view.  Lastly, let them know where and when you are playing so they can get out to see you.  Be proactive.  Out of all of the athletes that coaches will see and hear about, be the one they are going to recognize and remember!

Yesterday was the 37th anniversary of Title IX, the federal law that outlaws sex discrimination at schools receiving federal funds.  The White House administration honored some of the most influential women in sports by hosting a round table discussion at the Eisenhower building discussing the challenges of furthering the letter and spirit of the law.

However, against the backdrop was a study released Tuesday showing 12,000 more athletic scholarships available for females than males in sports played by both men and women.  The huge disparity is largely because football was left out of the study.

The College Sports Council, a watchdog group that charts the impact of Title IX on men’s sports, says the NCAA is not making decisions based on interest when it comes to women’s sports but is looking for sports with large rosters “to satisfy the gender quota,” said chairman Eric Pearson.

“If you are focused on just putting numbers out, you are inclined to go to sports like rowing,” Pearson added.

The CSC was not at Tuesday’s panel discussion.

Providing opportunities proportional to the student body for men and women athletes is one way schools can comply with Title IX.

According to figures for 2006-07, the latest available from the National Federation of State High School Associations, 5,048 girls wrestle in high school while 2,685 are on crew teams and 1,341 are on equestrian teams. Yet, women’s wrestling is not an NCAA sport while those others are.

“You can have strong interest in a women’s sport, but if it’s not a large-roster sport, the NCAA doesn’t go for it,” Pearson said.

The CSC study does not include football, which has 85 men’s scholarships. Pearson said football was left out to shine the spotlight on sports played by men and women. He says scholarships should be equal and schools should determine how they are used to meet Title IX guidelines.

The statistics raise a number of questions.  Does Title IX discriminate against men particularly those in smaller team or individual sports?  Does title IX discriminate against smaller women’s sports?   Have we reached the day where title IX can be discarded?

Senior Courtney Kupets, a female gymnast from the University of Georgia has been named the top female athlete in 2008-2009 according to an ESPN article.

She [Kupets] led Georgia to its fifth straight NCAA crown in April, amassing individual titles in the all-around, bars, beam and floor competition.

On Monday, Kupets won the Honda-Broderick Cup, given to the nation’s top female college athlete. She received the award at Columbia University.

“One person cannot win a team sport alone,” Kupets said. “It was because of the great team camaraderie.”

In 2003, Kupets tore her left Achilles tendon, but recovered in time to compete in the 2004 Athens Olympics. On the world stage, she won the Olympic silver medal in the team all-around and captured individual bronze in the uneven bars.

In her junior year, Kupets tore her other Achilles tendon while performing the floor routine and needed surgery in March 2008. She gained strength from her older sister, Ashley, who also competed in gymnastics despite numerous injuries.

At the NCAA championships in Lincoln, Neb., Kupets’ four titles in April tied the record for a single national meet. She earned three 10s the first two days of the meet and came close to another one on the balance beam.

Coupled with a win in the vault in 2007, Kupets became the first gymnast to win a national title in each event. She clinched it by winning the floor exercise.

Kupets ended her career with a record nine individual titles in just three seasons, beating the mark of eight by Kentucky’s Jenny Hansen over four seasons in 1995.

Kupets is talented in the classroom as well, where she’s majoring in housing and consumer economics. She won Georgia’s Marilyn Vincent Award as the senior female athlete with the highest GPA (3.78).

Congrats to Courtney, she is an example that with enough hard work and dedication, anyone can achieve their athletic goals despite adversity.

Does a college’s mascot name matter to recruits?  Sound absurd? Remember that part of the Fab 5 recruiting myth is the lure of Michigan’s new long basketball shorts.  The College of William & Mary is considering several extremely unique, some might say absurd, replacements.  Their old current mascot a green blog named Colonel Ebirt (Tribe spelled backward) was dropped in 2005 and the school is now searching for a new mascot (interestingly enough the y are still keeping their nickname the Tribe).

Does anyone care if their school has an extremely unique mascot?  Does a school’s desire to be extremely politicallyy correct matter?  What do you think?

Do you know the contact rules? Do you know when a coach can call or email you? I wanted to make sure as a basketball recruit you understand what coaches can and can’t do, depending on your grad year and the time of the year it is. It’s extremely important that everyone has a copy of the NCAA Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete, as it will give you the following information and more!

 
When can a DI coach respond to my email if I’m a 2011 grad?

Men’s Basketball: You may begin receiving recruiting materials June 15th after your sophomore year.

Women’s Basketball: You may begin receiving September 1st of your junior year.

*Once this dates hits, you need to be proactive! Research schools and send the coach an introduction email to start building a relationship!

When can a DI coach call me or return my call if I leave a message if I’m a 2011 grad?

Men’s Basketball: Once per month beginning June 15, before your junior year, through July 31st after your junior year.

Women’s Basketball: Once per month in April, May and June 1st-20th. Once between June 21st and June 30th after your junior year. Three Times in July after your junior year (max of one call per week).

*You may make calls to the coach at any time! Don’t wait for a coach to call you!

What if I’m a 2010 grad who is heading into my senior year, what are the rules?

Men’s Basketball: College coaches may call you TWICE per week beginning August 1st.

Women’s Basketball: College coaches may call you ONCE per week beginning August 1st.

*Coaches are still limited, but able to reach out and call you, so it is still important that you are being as proactive as possible.

What about DII programs?

Phone Calls: Across the board DII coaches may call you once per week beginning June 15th between your junior and senior year.

Recruiting Materials: This means printed recruiting materials, like emails and letters may be sent on or after September 1st of your junior year in high school.

*DII coaches have less opportunities to call you, so again, you need to reach out to these coaches.

What about DIII programs?

You may receive printed materials at any time. There is no limit on number of calls or when they can be made by the college coach.

*Even though DIII coaches are able to contact you day ONE of your high school career, does not mean they will. Most DIII programs recruit later in the process, like your senior year, so this is why it is so important to do your research and reach out to coaches.

Good Luck!

Bob Howdeshell, a former Philidelphia Phillies player and an associate scout for the Cinicinatti Reds, has written an article on the common pitfalls of high school athletes. While the article is targeted towards baseball players, athletes from every sport can learn from his advice. Howdeshell lists “The Big Three” mistakes a player can make as them having:
•  No sense of urgency that time is slipping by
•  Inability to listen to Coaches and Teachers
•  The way I dress and act is just “my style” and if they want me, they know where to find me, then I will change

He continues to say that

Believing that attitude has very little to do with your appeal to a college coach and My poor work habits will improve when I get around a college coach are also ideas that can hurt a recruits chances.

He finishes the article by pointing out things that do not go unnoticed by college recruiters. Some negative are:
•  Long Hair & Facial Hair
•  Earrings & Tattoos
•  Poor fitting uniform
•  Being unprepared to play
•  Being late for a game
•  Being rude or obnoxious
•  Tantrums, swearing, helmet or bat throwing
•  Arguing with Umpires 
•  Always having an excuse
•  Immature behavior

Some positives:
•  Clean, well kept appearance
•  Wearing the uniform correctly
•  Hustle and Enthusiasm
•  Encouraging teammates
•  Arriving early to game
•  Helping clean up gear after the game
•  Good speaking abilities
•  Working hard in the classroom
•  Addressing adults with respect (yes sir and yes ma’am, etc)

For a player of any sport interested in having the chance to continue their careers past high school, this should be a great guide as to how to make yourself look more appealing to college coaches. Because of his position as a professional scout, Howdeshell obviously understands the inner aspects of recruiting.