NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

The first possible day a college coach can call a junior prospect is April 15th, the last day is May 31st. This is called the spring evaluation period.Each prospect is allowed to receive ONE phone call during this period. The call has to be received by the prospect or a family member and a conversation has to take place. If a coach leaves a message on a machine or with a family member (that isn’t more than a message only) this doesn’t count as the one call.

Here are some important points to realize about this call:

When the head coach calls a prospect on the first day that prospect should know he is on the very top of “the list” on the recruiting board and is most important to that staff.

• When the head coach calls a prospect during the first week he is very high on the list and very important.
• If the head coach calls later in the period, the prospect is still important but the decision was made by the staff to wait for some reason (I will go through several of the discussions that take place in the “war room” to determine the timing and organization of these calls).
• If the defensive coordinator or offensive coordinator calls a prospect during the first day, week, etc. that prospect knows he is important to the staff but either doesn’t warrant a call from the head coach or the coordinator needs to talk to the player to sell him on the offense or defense.
• If the position coach calls the prospect, he’s important to the position coach and the staff but doesn’t warrant the head coach or coordinator calling.
• If the area recruiting coach calls, the prospect is important to the area coach but hasn’t been elevated to the level on “the list” to warrant others to call. This call is often made to “keep the prospect warm” until more of a decision can be made to elevate his status.
• Remember that the later in the period a prospect is called either he’s down “the list” or a decision was made to get more information, that is, the coaches wanted to see the prospect in person to “eye ball” the player or check out the young man’s transcript and test score, etc.
• If a player doesn’t receive a call during the spring recruiting period he’s on the staff’s lowest list or they don’t know enough or anything about the prospect.

Of course these decisions are never made easily.  There are a number of discussions that need to take place in the War Room before April 15^th.

• Discuss the prospects that the head coach must call the first day or even the very first call the head guy has to make to let the prospect know he’s the #1 prospect on the board regardless of position.
• Discuss the prospects that must get a call from the head coach the first week, second week and so on.
• Make a decision whether the player the head coach calls is done in conjunction with an assistant coach so the head man can handle the PR portion of the call and the assistant can take care of business like academics, when he or somebody will be at their school, getting tape, etc.
• Decisions need to be made if the coordinator needs to call especially if the prospect needs assurance of how he’ll fit in the system or if there’s a new coordinator, etc.
• Further discussion is about the position coach involvement or whether the area recruiting coach will handle the call.
• There’s also a list of players that will get calls later in the month based on late decisions by the area and position coach.
• Additionally, the two graduate assistants are allowed to call prospects as well. These prospects are on the “keep warm” list.

• The recruiting coordinator is in the room and offers suggestions throughout the meeting and is responsible for the coordination of the head coach’s calls primarily and that only one call is made to each prospect. He then is responsible to document all of the coaches’ calls for the compliance office. Each coach is responsible for not violating the call rules and proper documentation.

As you can see these calls mean a great a deal to recruits and coaching staff.  By understanding where you stand on a recruiting board, you can properly target the schools that have an interest in you.

The athletic department arms race has really heated up in the last decade.  New stadiums with luxurious new locker rooms and training facilities became the norm rather than the exception.  Coaches and administrators sold alumni that these new facilities were vital if they were to compete in the emerging landscape.  Along with the rising buildings being erected on campus, coaching salaries exploded as well.  Men’s football and basketball coaching salaries naturally led the way since their sports funded the rest of the athletic department.  Just as interesting though, is the rise in coaching salaries across non-revenue sports.  The Columbus Dispatch took a closer look at the Ohio State Athletic Department and their rising pay scale.

In the decade following 1998, salaries for some coaches and department administrators doubled and, for others, tripled, in inflation-adjusted terms. The pay raises were funded not by tax dollars, but largely by revenue surpluses in the football and men’s basketball programs.

Names such as Jim Tressel and Thad Matta might come to mind when you think of increasing salaries for coaches, but you could just as easily throw in the names of Bluem, Joe Breschi, Linda Kalafatis, Bob Todd, Anne Wilkinson and many other lower-profile coaches and assistant coaches.

All have benefited from the rising tide of college sports pay.
One way that Athletic Departments have funded these huge raises is by allowing and assisting coaches in earning supplemental income.

Breschi, the men’s lacrosse coach until he left the university last year, made the equivalent of $63,100 in 1998. Last year, Breschi made $232,500, fueled largely by a camp that pushed his bonus to almost $140,000. Overall, his pay increased 268 percent over the decade. Nationally, the average total pay for a lacrosse coach is about $197,000.

The eye-popping statistic isn’t his total salary, its the $140,000 he made through bonuses like his camp.  Keep in mind the Ohio State team only had 9 freshman last year!  Just imagine how many hopeful recruits attended camp with little to no chance of being recruited!

Large camps like this are proof that athletes need to be in contact with college coaches before they commit to attending a camp.  Once they have been identified as a bona fide recruit attending a large camp can be beneficial.  Until, you are sure that you are more than just a $dollar sign$ I recommend contacting college coaches.

An important new trend is emerging in the world of major college football recruiting.  The top players in the country are starting to flock to elite 7 on 7 passing tournaments with the hope of displaying their talent for college coaches.  Sports Illustrated’s Andy Staples on the new events:

Flenory, a former New Hampshire defensive back, readily admits he would love to create an offseason football circuit similar to the one that rules basketball recruiting. On the basketball circuit, Nike’s Peach Jam tournament is the crown jewel. The tournament in Tampa may as well have been called the Guava Gridiron, because it was organized exactly the same way: all-star teams from different regions — in this case, Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas, Mississippi and the larger metropolitan areas in Florida — taking part in pool play followed by a single-elimination tournament.

Flenory, the son of former Duquesne basketball star B.B. Flenory, said his professional idol is Sonny Vaccaro, the godfather of grassroots basketball. “I love what he did,” the younger Flenory said. “I think he’s a genius.” After several conversations during the nascent stages of Flenory’s grassroots football operation, Vaccaro came away impressed with the 25-year-old. What impressed Vaccaro most was Flenory’s desire to help players who weren’t already big-name recruits. “He’s basically an outsider,” Vaccaro said. “He started from scratch, and he did it the right way. And he did it without being a big name and without having a big-name player.”

Of course this could be seen as a bad thing by some.

Illinois coach Ron Zook, who pointed out that most high-school coaches are not allowed to coach seven-on-seven tournaments because of state association rules against extra practices. Zook worries that diminishing the influence of high school coaches combined with the NCAA’s stringent restrictions on contact between prospects and college coaches will make it even more difficult for college coaches to make informed recruiting choices. “Once you begin to take the high school coaches out of the mix, then we’re getting into the same thing as basketball,” Zook said. “The NCAA must feel that what goes on in basketball is OK.”

Of course there are fundamental differences between 7 0n 7 camps and the summer basketball circuit.  For one 7 on 7 isn’t real football.  More importantly, football coaches aren’t even allowed to attend the events while their contemporaries in college basketball have access.   With these important differences in place will the summer circuit ever replace or compete with the camp circuit?  It’s extremely difficult to make a definitive decision.  What is certain is that we have yet to hear the end about AAU football.

However, the emergence of the tournamentts is one more sign of the competitive nature of major college athletics recruiting.  Recruits will continue to always look for an edge.

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.

Any college coach with a successful program knows that things can turn south quickly with out a constant attention to detail.  Making sure their programs are stocked with top level talent has become a year round job.  Coaches know if they don’t play the game correctly they will soon find themselves out of the job.  The Detroit Free Press recently detailed the current calendar for college football recruiting.

During February and March, schools host Junior Days. These events allow potential recruits and their families visit campuses and get to know the staff, as well as the school’s academic and athletic programs.

In March and April, schools will not only have spring practice, but host prospects on unofficial visits. Coaches often encourage recruits to come and watch a practice to see their particular position coach in action. These sessions are a great opportunity for recruits to not only develop more rapport with the coaching staff, but see the players in action, too.

In May, the evaluation period begins. Over a six-week period, coaches are allowed to visit a recruit’s high school and make one phone call to him. Coaches can’t have conversations with recruits at high schools, but they can say hello and make it apparent that they are there for a good reason. One of the best ways for a recruit to judge a school’s interest is whether they send the coach to the high school during May.

Once the summer hits, it’s camp time. Michigan State has several camp sessions in June and July. It is at these camps that coaches get to work with recruits one-on-one.

After the camps come the regular season. Coaches aren’t only allowed to call home and stop into school, but they can also set up unofficial visits for recruits to visit campus and watch games. The final stage is securing official visits for the most sought-after players and their families.

Potential recruits should look at the calendar and see two things.  The first is that many of these events can only happen if the recruit is being pro-active in the recruiting process.  Unofficial visits evaluations at camp can only occur if recruits are actively contacting schools to promote interest.

The second is point is to realize the long evaluation process that needs to be set into motion as early as possible.  Unless a recruit is on the ball, the process will be going full steam before they even have a chance to get realistically evaluated.If you are hoping ot get recruited the cycle nees to get going now!

 Maximizing your financial aid award package is a top priority for countless high school students and their families. The difficult part is learning some tips for how to go about accomplishing this. Remember, you want to think of this as a business; the more revenue streams you can tap into, the more likely you are to receive a positive end result.

Here are some places to check when looking for scholarship and grant opportunities outside of what the college or university is offering.

• 1) Websites such as collegeboard.com and fastweb.com.
• 2) Community Groups such as the Kiwanis Club, Lions Club, or Rotary Club.
• 3) Parents’ employers (Some companies provide grant opportunities for their employees’ children).
• 4) Local alumni chapters of the college you will be attending.
• 5) Local bank managers. They will most likely know what local funds are established that you may be able to apply for.

(more…)

One of the most commonly held myths held by potential recruits is the belief that their high school coach will be able to get them a scholarship.  There are numerous reasons why this myth is false starting with the fact that a college coach is the only one who can offer a scholarship no matter how highly regarded a player is by his/her high school coach.  One of the other major reasons why this myth is untrue is the fact that coaches simply don’t have the time to properly market all of their athletes.

Here is an example of that time crunch from today’s LA Times:

Lorene Morgan is an accomplished basketball coach, as her team’s 24-4 record this season and her award last season for state coach of the year indicate.But she doesn’t consider those types of success as her greatest achievements. For that, she looks well beyond wins and losses on the hardwood.Instead, she prides herself on this record: In the last three years, all 15 of her Long Beach Millikan High graduating seniors have gone on to college — 13 to continue playing basketball.“You can’t put a number on the amount of hours Lorene devotes to getting her kids to college. It’s a 24/7 job for her,” says Gayle Braun, Millikan’s girls’ athletic director.

Does your coach put in this much work?  Her persistence is admirable, but remember, she is the exception not the rule. 

 It’s common to not finish the Reading Comprehension Sections of the ACT/SAT.  That’s why reading speed is essential.

Reading Tip: Find out about your reading skills. Do you know your word-per-minute reading speed?  Have you ever trained yourself to be fast?  Find a program that teaches you how to be fast and accurate.

For help with your reading skills, turn to Academic Approach’s online SAT and ACT Reading courses at http://www.academicapproach.com/. 

All NCSA members receive a discount on Academic Approach online programs, contact NCSA to retrieve the code.

I had the chance to sit down with Gerry DiNardo, the former Vanderbilt, LSU and Indiana Coach  as well as current Big Ten Network broadcaster, to dicsuss recruiting. 

You were involved with rebuilding a number of programs, what was the recruiting experience like when you came to a new school?

Recruiting is pretty much the same, it’s about building relationships as much as possible and playing to your school’s strengths.  Relationships and the uniqueness of your campus.  At Vanderbilt I focused on the academics.  At LSU I focused on the campus and the tradition.  At Indiana I focused on the campus life and the ability to play early.

At Vanderbilt my pitch was there enough kids that are admissible to win the SEC.  At LSU it was there are so many athletes within a 500 mile radius that we have to keep.

At Indiana I did two unique things.  First, I made my offensive, defensive and recruiting coordinators all at the same level.  Their pay was the same and I held them to the same level of accountability.  The second was my last two years there I made myself the recruiting coordinator.  Most schools make their youngest assistant the recruiting coordinator. I thought it should be the opposite.

Do you have any instances where a recruit not on your board rose out of nowhere to catch your eye?

There is nothing outside of the realm of possibility with recruiting.  You are dealing with human beings so that means there are no limitations.  Sometimes can’t miss guys miss.  Other times players we thought a player who would never contribute turned out be one of our best players.  Recruiting is as unpredictable as life.

How has the internet changed recruiting?

It’s allowed us to become more time efficient.  It allows Pete Carroll to recruit players in Louisiana. 

It’s also allowed outside influences.  It has accentuated the fact that fans of schools and teams are as passionate about recruiting, and perhaps more so, than the game itself.  The passion of the college football fan is evident.

What are the other big changes in recruiting that have taken place over the last few years?

Camps have become more important.  There is now talk of an early signing period.  Schools are now filling their scholarship slots prior to the season beginning.

What sort of role did grades play in the athletes you recruited?

It runs the gamete.  For some unfortunately grades were something that allowed them to play football.  For others it was a vehicle to have the complete college experience. And then there was everything in between.

What sort of advice would you give to current potential recruits out there?

Go to a place that will challenge you to be the best you can be.  Go to a place where you can walk across that championship stage and go to a place where you can find out about your passion in life.