NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

Coach Taylor – Do I have to make a commitment on “signing day?”

College commitment times usually follow along with the signing period for that particular sport.  When people refer to “Signing Day” ) it is actually the beginning of a “signing period.”  You can sign your National Letter of Intent at any time during this period.  Below is a chart with the various signing periods:

If you have any recruiting questions, send them to askcoachtaylor@ncsasports.org

To speak with a NCSA Recruiting Coordinator live, call 866-579-6272 or click here.

Coach Taylor – Last week your showed us an example of a NAIA scholarship.  What exactly is the NAIA?

Here are some quick facts about NAIA athletics:
• Stands for National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
• It has been around for 67 years
• NAIA is a separate association/governing body of colleges who compete in intercollegiate athletics; similar to how the NCAA governs DI, DII, and DIII.
• These are generally smaller schools
• The NAIA has 50,000 student-athletes participating at nearly 300 member colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada.
• Divided into 25 conferences and the Association of Independent Institutions, the NAIA offers 23 championships in 13 sports
• Many NAIA programs are located in the Midwest because it originated in Kansas City, MO, although the schools can be found across the US.
• NAIA gives out athletic scholarships, unlike DIII schools.
• In some sports, NAIA offers more scholarships than NCAA DI or DII  programs
• Scholarships usually depend on the funding at the school.  Some sports may allow for many scholarships, but the school may not choose to fund them. You should ask the NAIA coach how many scholarships are available in your sport.  “Do you have a fully-funded program?”
• NAIA schools put financial aid packages together similar to DII schools, with a combination or grants and athletic scholarship.  Most schools are allowed to “stack” money making for very good financial aid packages. 
• Very often they give generous academic scholarships and grants
• Rarely give out full ride athletic scholarship
• Most NAIA schools cannot afford to pay for all portions of the trip on a visit

If you have any recruiting questions, send them to askcoachtaylor@ncsasports.org

To speak with a Recruiting Coordinator live call 866-579-6272 or click here.

Coach Taylor – What is the National Letter of Intent?

The NLI is a voluntary program consisting of 610 DI and DII schools.  DIII, Junior Colleges and NAIA universities do not participate in the NLI program.  The NLI is a binding agreement between the student-athlete and the college that, when signed, indicates the student-athlete has agreed to attend the chosen college for one academic year and the college has agreed to provide athletic financial aid for one academic year.

Coach Taylor – Do you have to sign anything if you are a walk on?

Since there is no National Letter of Intent that you are signing, there is no specific signing period.  You only are signing a National Letter of Intent if you are receiving athletic scholarship money, not need based aid, school grants, or academic scholarships.  However, you will still need to be a qualifier through the NCAA Eligibility Center to participate in team activities so it is vital you are registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center.

If you have any recruiting questions, send them to askcoachtaylor@ncsasports.org

To speak with a NCSA Recruiting Coordinator live, call 866-579-6272 or click here.

I wanted to share some feedback I received from several NCSA basketball athletes that are getting ready for their first college basketball season to start.

“Its perfect the only big change is strength but I have been in the weight room.”

“So far things are going fine. Preseason practices started 10 days ago and it looks like I’ll have a pretty good chance to play as a freshman.”

“NYU is great! I’ve had a very smooth transition thus far. Pre-season work outs have been very challenging, but manageable. I couldn’t be happier here at NYU. I absolutely love my team and the school! I can’t wait for the real season to start. Thanks for all your help getting me here!”

“College life I going good so far. It definitely is a huge step up from high school but I think I am starting to get the hang of it. Conditioning has been really tough but I know it will help me in the long run. All of my teamates are really cool we all hang out with each other and look after one another.”

“Everything has been going fine since I began class here at Austin College. We have 6 a.m conditioning 3 times a week and we have an open gym where the basketball team runs 5on5 3 times a week for right now.”

“I will say that college is totally different from high school. But I love it; still adjusting though. I have actually been red shirted due to a knee injury. Conditioning is brutal but awesome! We have been having 2-a-days which are killer. Again I can’t thank you guys enough for everything you have done for me!”

“Conditioning has been very hard, they are pushing us to our breaking point. There is a bunch of stories, I have a great roommate, who I found out also is with NCSA.”

“Hey, school is great, we just finished conditioning today. We have been conditioning for about 3 weeks now we lift and do plyos from 630 to 800 on Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays and on Tuesdays and Thursdays we play for a couple of hours and then we have to shoot two days a week on top of that. Its really tough but I’m seeing serious gains and I think the team is looking really good. I’m extremely happy with how everything is going.”

“Everything is going great so far. Conditioning is obviously pretty tough, but I love it. I’m having fun with the guys.”

“So far college has been good. It was a little different at first but I’m finally getting used to it. Conditioning is going good.. I don’t think I have ever ran this much in my life (lol), but I like it because I know I’m going to be in shape.”

“College has been going great. Conditioning is going great as well. I am almost over my homesickness and starting to get into the groove of college life.”

“I have been a little busy out here. But I had a pretty smooth transition from high school and college is great. Conditioning is a little harder then I expected it to be at the begining but I am getting used to it now.”

“iHoops, the official joint youth basketball initiative of the NCAA and the NBA, has launched its Web site, http://www.ihoops.com/, to provide support services and programs for parents, players, coaches, officials and administrators of youth basketball programs.”

“The site includes training techniques, rules of the game, educational programs for coaches and officials, health and wellness tips, and information on the importance of education and life skills.”

This was announced on the NCAA website Monday, to see the announcement please click here.

To view iHoops, please click here.

Readers of this blog are probably very familiar with the story of Myron Rolle, the former Florida State cornerback who is pushing off a potential NFL career to study at Oxford.  Rolle made major headlines throughout the last football season as he bounced between games and the Rhodes Scholar interview process.  Then he shocked even more observers by actually pushing off his NFL career for the opportunity to study abroad.  The New York Times check back in with Rolle and he confirms it was all worth it.

“I feel a little disappointed when I see guys playing on Sundays, especially guys I’m friends with,” said Rolle, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound safety. “But when I walk out of my accommodations in Norham Gardens and spend time with my friends and go to class, I realize that I did make a good choice. It’s been worth it.”

Although he misses football, Rolle has forged friendships that cross cultures and continents. He takes stimulating classes in which discussions and engaging classmates matter more than papers and tests.

“I think it’s a great message for all of us,” N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell said of Rolle’s decision to attend Oxford. “Even the greatest players don’t play forever. And they’re going to have to think about other careers, and he’s obviously thought about that at a young age.”

He still works out every morning and practices with the rugby team in preparation for next year’s draft, but Rolle is living proof that the student-athlete is very much alive.

Coach Taylor – My son is a freshman in high school and is starting freshman and jv football.  When should I start giving colleges a summary on how he  is doing statistically and how should I go about it?

It is never too early to start thinking about recruiting. Your son should start building his scouting report, researching schools and educating himself about the recruiting process right away if he has not already done so. Generally, college football coaches will only evaluate players with varsity experience however there are some exceptions. By properly preparing for the recruiting process now, your son will set himself up for success so he can have a head start as soon as coaches are ready to evaluate him.

Remember that if you send the college coaches information about your son prematurely, it might eliminate his name from their list.  Once you have recieved an objective evaluation that indicates your son qualifies for a school, I encourage you to send an online recruiting resume to the coach through email and follow up with a call.

If you have any recruiting questions, send them to askcoachtaylor@ncsasports.org

To speak with a NCSA Recruiting Coordinator live, call 866-579-6272 or click here.

Today NCSA was named #12 on Brill Street’s Top 50 Generation Y employers in Chicago.  Attached below is Brill Streets synopsis of the NCSA work culture.

It’s been said that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. For the Gen Y sports fans and athletes who hold positions at the National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA), the adage is right on. Opportunities for advancement, a flexible schedule, and–of course–plenty of time to workout are just some of the perks that keep the company’s young employees in the game.

NCSA helps college coaches locate recruits and offers education to high school athletes and their families about the college recruiting process. CFO Luke Adrian says that Generation Y talent is crucial in keeping this process moving. “It is constantly changing here,” he says. “Being tech-savvy, Generation Y employees are great for the culture of the workplace. The impact that technology has had on recruiting has completely changed the game. Their expertise and knowledge is vital to our business being successful.”

And success is what the employees want, too, for the company and for themselves. Luckily, the two aren’t mutually exclusive. “I had the opportunity to create my own role here at NCSA and re-shape a portion of the business,” says Brian Davidson, Director of Social Media. “I basically created my day-to-day activities. I’m currently writing a video script for a TV show that Gatorade is sponsoring. It is predicated to have 1.5 million viewers this year. I have no experience writing scripts, but I’m taking on this project.”

Other projects regularly cooking at NCSA provide benefits not just to the college students and colleges they assist. Employees reap the rewards, too. For Recruiting Coach Ryan Newman, the job is satisfying on a deep level. “To help these kids find the perfect school and right fit for their skills and to see the process go full circle is really something special,” he says. “I see myself in the kids’ shoes. It’s great being able to help these people live their dreams.”

NCSA regularly hires people with experience in sports, so they take physical fitness seriously. Employees who want to workout during lunch get an extra 30 minutes to do so, and receive a gym reimbursement, too. Cubs and Bears tickets are offered as performance-based awards, and the nature of the job puts sports-centric people in their element. “I’m in my third year into my job and I’m getting to interact with millionaires in the NFL,” says Davidson. “To have that opportunity says a lot about this company.”

College Coaches often rely on a certain level of theatrics to show recruits that they are interested.  Wait check that.  Really, really, interested.  So of course it makes perfect sense that the newest trend in recruiting is college coaches using helicopters (Yes, you read that right. Helicopters) to shuttle across town on Friday nights visiting as many games and recruits as possible.  While this lets coaches check out some more snaps, there is a lot more going on than just a coach hungering to see a recruit in action.  Coaches are using helicopters to make a statement.

The New York Times interviewed Cincinnatti head Coach Chick Kelly and recruiting coordinator Tim Hinton on why UC is using a chopper.

“We said, ‘Let’s really make a presence, let’s do a Tom Cruise fly-by and make sure that we drop it down where we make a good impression,’ ” Kelly said. “We’re using it to get to games, but if by chance you make it a big event, so be it.”

“It wasn’t an evaluation process,” Hinton said. “It was a sell process, that’s what it was about. It gave us an opportunity to take the time and effort to do things as first class as we can.”

I’m sure many would criticize a coach for running up thousands of dollars on helicopter bills during tough economic times, but that is the age of recruiting we live in.  Recruits need to understand this and play the same game.  They need to do whatever it takes to get in front of a college coach and prove they can play.  This is true in every sport.  One great way to start that process is talking to collegiate scout at NCSA.