What Do Recruits/athletes Want In A School?

[Charlie NT 73]

Lets assume that you are a good HS football-or any other sport-athlete that has

a real chance for a scholarship. You are not a 5 star recruit-but a good recruit that

schools want. I see on the recruiting boards, that some athlete's have multiple

colleges listed as their schools of interest.

So, what would be your criteria in choosing a school? Would your choice of a school

be based on the degree programs, win/loss record, coaches, what your parents want,

close to home, etc-

For me, if I were being recruited, I would choose a school because of:

#1. Has the degree programs that I am interested in.

#2. Close to home-I want my family to see me play

#3. Player/coach/coaches--bonding, I want to play for a coach that I like, and the coach

views me as a person, not a star stud athlete.

#4. Good living facilities for the next 4-5 years.

#5. Good advisors/tutor program if need.

See, I did not mention win/loss record, conference, or schedules.

This is my personal criteria for choosing a school.

Name your criteria for choosing your school/scholarship.

[bigrobdsp]

Win/ loss record, conference or schedules. the reality is that is what kids are looking for, and it is what I would look for.

Edited May 17, 2007 by bigrobdsp

[PHSCoach]

Charlie not disagreeing with your list as it is valid.

Many students change their degree program several times before they finish school.

Player/coach/coaches bonding the coaches change schools long before your six years are done. Remember these kids are now Jr. in high school when starting to pick a college.

Good advisors/tutor program the larger school have it set up so the player do not go to classes they have a tutor go to class so they can workout or review film.

Here are my five.

1. What are the workout areas like and what type of training staff do they have.

2. What is the town like where I will be living

3. What type of support will I receive (workout clothes, travel clothes, equipment, playing field)

4. What are the current player like will I fit in this style of life

5. What can I do when we have breaks in the area (skiing, beach, hunting, fishing, something to relax)

[NCMeanGreen]

Good list, Charlie...

I seriously doubt, however, that most teenagers/freshman actually have any clue what degree they want. I would venture to say most of them have to get into a school, and are then influenced into a degree program. SOme kids probably do have an idea. I wish I had...I would have graduated a year sooner, most likely...

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

---I am guessing, but I think most recruits will fall into two groups... Some love football but want an education as well,--- but some just want to play football, be the center of attention of fans and don't think much about life after football. My list.

___________

1. Playing time available, they want to have an decent opportunity to play some by sophomore year. Part of this is just personal but they also know they can not gain the attention of fans or the NFL by just sitting on the bench.

2. If they are thinking they could be a possibly a NFL player then they look at the schools history in that area of producing players and at the same time pay some attention to which conference they will play in.

3. The smarter ones will think about "Do I really want a degree from there also can I get the education I need?" **

4. Location is important, some want to be closer to home so family and friends can watch them and some want to be in a location that has plenty to do in their spare time. More that likely some will just try to avoid some remote distant location more than just picking a certain favorable location.

5. The environment at the school-- meaning how they percieve that the coaches will treat them, living conditions (dorms, food, etc), how they will be treated on campus in general which could be a negative issue at some places, and if they think they have a decent chance to pass and stay in school.

____

** I have been amazed by how many soccer parents (some in other sports) who think their kids are going to earn scholarships to get them through school.... The crazy thing is how much money they pay out for these "select" teams instead of just rat-holing the money. Play for fun and don't pay out $1000's each year on trips etc. with expectations of getting it back.... In the case of boys there are not a large collection of schools that play soccer that I would want my kids to attend... who wants a degree from Northwest South Dakota State ?? (made up) or from the College of the Southwest (it exists about 80 miles from me with about 400 students, mostly locals who can't afford to leave town) I know of some soccer kids that went there....crazy... most people in this town doesn't even know it exists. .

Edited May 17, 2007 by SCREAMING EAGLE-66

[shutter]

How about STAR status at a big school? Just a little in the back of their mind such as the Rudy syndrome? I dont know why else good talent would sit on the bench.

[FirefightnRick]

Per Star Telegram article from '05.

Coaching top draw for recruits

JOHN MILLER Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Time for another list. Everyone likes lists, don't they?

Quick, name the No. 1 reason football recruits pick the schools they do.

What's that you say? Early playing time? Nope, that's all the way down at No. 7.

You didn't just say uniform colors, did you? I won't even dignify that with a response.

No, it's not academics. These guys are football players, not bookworms. But it's...

Published on 2005-01-31, Page 1D, Fort Worth Star-Telegram (TX)

Evidently coaching is the #1 reason recruits choose the school where they will play their college ball according to the article above. Playing time, in this list was #7, although many of the NT athletes I have spoken to over the years said that playing time was their top priority. I don't have a subscription to link the entire article, but above is the start of the article by John Miller. It's in their Paid Subscription archives search in case someone else here has a subscription and would like to post it.

Rick

Edited May 17, 2007 by FirefightnRick

[footballmaniac]

Per Star Telegram article from '05.

Evidently coaching is the #1 reason recruits choose the school where they will play their college ball according to the article above. Playing time, in this list was #7, although many of the NT athletes I have spoken to over the years said that playing time was their top priority. I don't have a subscription to link the entire article, but above is the start of the article by John Miller. It's in their Paid Subscription archives search in case someone else here has a subscription and would like to post it.

Rick

The list of schools that are on the websites are the colleges that are recruiting them not necessarily the ones that they are interested in. Just wanted to make that clear. Most students don't know what they want to do for the first couple of years, which is fine since you have two years of basics no matter what major you go into. I always told my kids to not worry to much about the major and focus on the basics, that will give you time to try to figure out what you really want to do. Also the recruit that is on the list (no names mentioned) that someone has stated that they thought that his dad coached at TCU is not right. He went to school there and played football for them, but is working somewhere else now. I think the major thing that I would consider is the academics, the kind of character that the coaches have, and the great facilities that I will be spending most of time at are at the top of the list for recruits.

[eppy4life]

3. The smarter ones will think about "Do I really want a degree from there also can I get the education I need?"

How many freshmen really know what they want to do when they are signing letters?

[AJR2010OX]

Alright everyone.... think back to when you were in college. Sure, you wanted that degree that mommy and daddy sent you to college for. But seriously, what did you do your first year of college?

Football/basketball players + some of the best looking girls in the state of Texas + fratastic greek life= PARTY

University of Texas= #1 party school as per Playboy Magazine

Arizona State= voted hottest college co-eds by the same magazine

Yes, this is college and you're supposed to get a degree. But come on, college is getting your party person out. It's for you social outcasts in high school who want to show the world what you're really made of. It's 5 minute kegstands, tailgating, waking up the next morning and not knowing who that girl is next to you, drunken nights on fry/6th/beale/northgate/fraternity house. These guys may be athletes but theyre lookin for a good party too. I remember when I went to a fraternity house over last summer to check out the action in Denton. There were countless players there, and this was the night before practice started.

Emmitt, Rick, all of you who attended college back before MADD passed the 21 law for alcohol.... you didnt exactly think about your degree plans wednesday/thursday-saturday did you????

Neither do these guys.

(all this coming from a guy who somehow made deans list this past semester)

How many freshmen really know what they want to do when they are signing letters?

[Quoner]

What up, Chris Chris?

Alright everyone.... think back to when you were in college. Sure, you wanted that degree that mommy and daddy sent you to college for. But seriously, what did you do your first year of college?

Football/basketball players + some of the best looking girls in the state of Texas + fratastic greek life= PARTY

University of Texas= #1 party school as per Playboy Magazine

Arizona State= voted hottest college co-eds by the same magazine

Yes, this is college and you're supposed to get a degree. But come on, college is getting your party person out. It's for you social outcasts in high school who want to show the world what you're really made of. It's 5 minute kegstands, tailgating, waking up the next morning and not knowing who that girl is next to you, drunken nights on fry/6th/beale/northgate/fraternity house. These guys may be athletes but theyre lookin for a good party too. I remember when I went to a fraternity house over last summer to check out the action in Denton. There were countless players there, and this was the night before practice started.

Emmitt, Rick, all of you who attended college back before MADD passed the 21 law for alcohol.... you didnt exactly think about your degree plans wednesday/thursday-saturday did you????

Neither do these guys.

(all this coming from a guy who somehow made deans list this past semester)

[GrandGreen]

The biggest factor IMO in athletes choosing a school is the athletic prestige of the university, what school has the wow element that is going to impress friends and family. This factor is largely determined by the amount of media coverage of that university. Media coverage is largely due to winning, conference affiliation, tradition/history and to some extent geography. There is an obvious wide gap between the old BCS power conferences and the rest. Even very successful non-power conference universities such as TCU are generally not able to recruit against even the lower tier of the Big Twelve for example.

In most recruits' minds, they are good enough to play anywhere so playing time is a minor point. Also I think factors like the quality of education, facilities, social opportunities, etc. are only important as horizontal decision makers. By that I mean for example; if a recruit is a top 100 in the nation, he may choose between USC and Florida based on those criteria, but teams that are not high profile are not going to have a chance even though they maybe better academically, socially, and provide a much better college experience. There are also hidden incentives such as financial support and academic fraud that exist and IMO are much bigger factors than most think.

[GrandGreen]

The list of schools that are on the websites are the colleges that are recruiting them not necessarily the ones that they are interested in. Just wanted to make that clear.

I don't agree. The list of schools is often a wish list by the recruit. Do you really think that UT is seriously recruiting hundreds of players? There are hundreds of players that are listed that are not considered major college prospects but yet list schools like UT, OU and Notre Dame. There is actually no easy way for recruiting services to even know who an university is recruiting. College coaches are forbidden to talk about recruits thus most of the info is gathered from the recruit or family as well as media coverage.

[GreenGramma]

The list of schools that are on the websites are the colleges that are recruiting them not necessarily the ones that they are interested in. Just wanted to make that clear.

Not necessarily. If the player is contacted by scout, rivals or other websites, they ask the player to list their top 5 schools of their interest. In that instance there will not be a listed recruiter. If the college is actively recruiting you and they (the school) provide that information, there will most likely be a recruiter listed.

As for a list of considerations, that is very personal. It will depend on how much input the player gets / requests from his family and their influence on points to consider. The more experienced with the process that a family member / advisor is, the better chance the player won't choose his path with head in the clouds and stars in his eyes.

Outside of the family, I think the number one influence is the college recruiter. Can he gain the trust of the player and his family / advisors?

[FirefightnRick]

Not sure I made this clear, but according to the article I referred to above, the Startlegram polled a large number of Texas HS football recruits who were expected to sign LOI's within the next week or two(Dated January 31, 2005). A large majority of those polled stated that THE COACH was their deciding factor.

AJ,

As far as the drinking age is concerned, even though he moves slower than me, Emmitt isn't even close to being 40, so he was well within the 21 age drinking limit time. I on the other hand attended college during the age change. I could legally drink my freshman and sophomore years. Then it changed and I couldn't my Junior year. Then I could again from the start of my Senior year on up. The midnight that the age limit moved up from 19 to 21 it seemed like the whole world took one last opportunity to get hammered as if the limit was going to simply snuff out anyone elses chances to drink ever again. Funny stuff.

Rick

[Green Crazy]

1. Reputation of the school (an athelete would rather play at a crappy big name school than an under the radar mid major school)

2. Being able to play and make an impact

3. Location (to have things to do in the spare time and for parents and friends to see them play)

4. Girls! Girls! Girls! (young atheletes are just like any other boy going to visit a school, they notice the hot girls walking by them and that definitly makes a difference, I know it did for me)

5. Campus (buildings, parties, living areas...everything)

Edited May 17, 2007 by Green Crazy

[NT80]

If you look at quotes from recruits it most likely would be ranked:

1. coach and staff

2. early chance to play

3. location

4. facilities/opponents/TV

5. major

[Mean'n'Green07]

Arizona State= voted hottest college co-eds by the same magazine

Yes, this is college and you're supposed to get a degree. But come on, college is getting your party person out. It's for you social outcasts in high school who want to show the world what you're really made of. It's 5 minute kegstands, tailgating, waking up the next morning and not knowing who that girl is next to you, drunken nights on fry/6th/beale/northgate/fraternity house.

I think you're dead with the party atmosphere... going to the number 1 party school + being recognized on the nations most followed football teams = a great time. Even if you don't get much playing time, you can still brag to your friends and kids that you played football at UT/other big time program. Unfortunately you could be a 4 year starter here and people probably wouldn't be as impressed.

[russell360]

Based on where kids actually go it seems that they want exposure- (TV, stadium attendance, following) and "glory" they want to be at a "big time" program.

education,location, degree etc. are secondary to most(not all) blue chip recruits...

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

--Repeating... there is at least two types of recruits whose priorities are different... (maybe three big groups if you throw in the blue chips). Those who want NFL scout exposure..... Those who think about only the next four years and the fun and glory they can have .... and last those are actually students and think college years will be fun but really they have a future after college and likely not as an NFL player. They will all see things differently.

1. All will consider the coaching staff and repetition of the university.

2. Most will want SOME playing time by their second year.

3. Most most consider the school environment--Housing, things to do, training facilities.

A lot might would likely "scratch off" locations because of the obvious negatives and not so much because of the positives.. bad coach, bad location, poor living conditions. I would think the negatives are more influencial than the positives. I do think most student do have an idea of their major when they enter school.... it may change a time or two... but most of those who are better students do have idea of where they plan to go in life at least in general.