NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

 Squandered opportunities can haunt a recruit for years.  The Pittsburgh Post Gazette checked in with one of college football’s most notorious recruits, Willie Williams, to detail his last chance. You may remember Willie as the high profile recruit who went to Miami after being arrested a staggering 11 times in high school.  After the Hurricanes stuck their neck out for him, he rewarded the school by promptly transferring to Louisville after discipline issues arose.  Louisville was in turn rewarded with an embarrassing failed drug test.

So Willie is down to his last chance at small Division II Glenville State in West Virginia.  He will be senior on Scholarship in the fall and plans to graduate.

The former Parade All-American is taking his game to Division II Glenville State in West Virginia, a place known for giving second chances to tarnished athletes.

Miami and Louisville it’s not. The hilltop college is in a town of 1,500 people and in a county with only two grocery stores and four gas stations. The nearest big city, Pittsburgh, is 157 miles to the north.

“I’m using that to my advantage,” Williams said. “It’s best sometimes to fly under the radar. You’ll get more things accomplished.

Williams said there were no promises exchanged with Fiddler like those made — and later broken — with Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich.

“It was just like ‘Willie, you know what you’ve got to do,’” Williams said.

“I realize the mistakes I’ve made in the past. All I can do is change and grow from it. Coach talked to me like I was a grown man. I interpret that better than a promise or something because he came to me like it was man to man.”

Welcoming players who were rejected by other colleges for past indiscretions has been well documented in West Virginia.

The poster child is Rand native Randy Moss, who lost scholarships at Notre Dame and Florida State before starring at Marshall a decade ago. There’s also Ahmad Bradshaw, who was kicked off the Virginia football team and flourished at Marshall.

Now, there’s Williams, who knows this is the end of the line.

Behave and perform.

NFL teams might be watching, and even then, they’ll have reservations about his character.

I’m all for second chances, but I want everyone out there to realize that 3^rd chances are rare.  Willie has been given one last get of jail free card, but is the exception due to his NFL talent.  Athletes need to remember to not waste their first chance because they probably won’t be as lucky as Willie Williams.

 I was recently reading a few posts from blogs that I frequent and the topic that athletic scholarships are not guaranteed for four years but rather a renewable contract that is signed each year at the discretion of the head coach came up a number of times.  I suppose this information is new to many parents and student athletes, so I encourage you to read more about the specifics, but I would rather focus on a different aspect of this topic.

There are certain reasons for a college coach to not renew an athletic scholarship that most reasonable people would find understandable.  Failing to meet academic requirements, legal issues away from the field, and poor work ethic on the field all seem like logical reasons for a coach to decide against renewing a scholarship.  The most controversial and least publicized reason for a college coaching neglecting to renew the scholarship is the student athlete simply not being good enough to play for that program.  The reason this issue is controversial is because coaches do not take advantage of it enough!

The reality is that college coaches are fearful of negative publicity when they decide not to renew a scholarship which will frighten potential recruits in the future.  Rather than experience this backlash, the coach will often times become brutally honest (or manipulative in my opinion) with the athlete and let him or her know that the chances of them playing anytime in the near future are very slim in the hopes that this will discourage the athlete from staying with the program and maintaining their athletic scholarship.  To me this seems cowardly. 

***Warning…What I am about to write might upset many people***

I believe college athletics would be better served if the college coaches would simply tell the student athlete they are not good enough to play at their program and they have decided not to renew their scholarship.  While this might upset the student athlete, at least they will have an opportunity to pursue a school where they will have a realistic chance to play.  I realize the downside to what I am proposing, but I ask the naysayers this; is it that much worse than what is currently being done?  Wouldn’t we all prefer the coaches actually be honest with a student athlete rather than give some distorted version of the truth in the hopes that the student athlete will do them a favor and leave the program on their own accord, thus saving their reputation for future recruits?

If you are a graduating senior and you have no offers to play your desired sport in college it may not be too late for you.  Often times as a teacher and as a college recruiter I have heard the desperate cries of parents and student-athletes that they waited too late and their sports careers are ruined.  Whether through injury or under exposure, those collegiate opportunities still may be out there for you, so don’t give up!

First and foremost it is essential that the student-athlete remain involved in competitive play for their sport, either through a college club team, or by walking on.  If a student athlete plans to transfer from one college to another it is essential for college coaches to see that you have not take a year off from your sport.  Whatever college or perhaps prep-school the student-athlete become involved with, get on that club team or attempt to walk on.  When walking on and you feel that you have no chance to ever start or earn a scholarship, transferring to a new school may be your solution.  There are plenty of colleges out there looking for transfer students to play for their programs.  If you are qualified to play at the school and you will make an impact on the team, the coaches will want you.

However, they will not be able to find you unless you promote yourself.  Lucky for you, you have learned your mistakes from the first time around.  Self promotion and massive exposure are your solutions.  In the mean time, you first year of college should be a focus on grades, and remaining competitive as an athlete.  There are second chances out there, but it depends upon the student-athlete and their determination to give themselves the opportunity to succeed.

The Pac-10 Conference is called the “Conference of Champions” for a good reason.  In 2007-2008 the conference captured 13 NCAA Team Championships far more then its runner up, Big Ten (5).  These 13 championships is one shy of the record 14 set in 1996-1997.  The Pac-10 has lead the nation in NCAA Championships 41 of the last 47 years.  They also finished second five times in that span.

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.