The Coach (Especially the Head Coach): If you don't have a good feeling about the coach while you are being recruited or visiting the campus on your own, you probably won't have a good feeling about him or her later. First impressions are not always the best evidence by which to judge people, but in choosing a college you would be foolhardy to go against your first impression of the coach. The most important thing to look for in a coach is whether he or she treats you as a complete human being, one with needs and interests that necessarily will extend beyond those of the team. A coach's record or reputation often may blind prospective athletes to many other factors that will become more important once they are enrolled at and committed to the college. To test the coach's attitude toward the academic side of college,
If the coach says your first commitment is to the team, you know that the cards are stacked against you. If, on the other hand, the coach says that the institution supports your efforts to get a good education, your chances of getting what you are after are promising. Be aware, however, that once you are enrolled and involved in the athletic program, the coach may have to be reminded of your commitment to getting a good education.
Being Offered an Athletic Grant: If you are offered a full-ride athletic grant-one in which tuition, room and board, fees, and books are completely paid for-or even a partial grant, this will surely be an important factor in your college selection decision. Such an offer not only provides financial support but also makes you feel wanted and carries with it some social status. If the college is especially costly, however, consider whether you'll be able to earn your degree in four years while devoting much of your time to the team. Because of the heavy demands made on college athletes, many don't graduate in four years. But seldom does an athletic grant extend beyond the athlete's maximum four years of eligibility for play. Four years of full-ride or even partial scholarship aid at an expensive school may sound tempting, but balance it against the fifth year (or more) that may be needed to complete your degree, at a cost of $10,000 or more per year.
Remember that athletic grants are given on a one-year, renewable basis. You may feel that you are committing yourself to a school and its team presumably for the duration of your education, yet any athletic grant you receive is committed to you for only one year at a time. If, for some reason, you don't fit into the coach's plans, you may be left without financial support and have to pay your own way, quit school, or find another college that is less expensive or will give you a grant.
If you aren't offered or aren't interested in an athletic grant, you have eliminated a major concern from the college selection process. In terms of your relationship with the coach, paying your own way through college (or having some other nonathletic source of funding) has at least one benefit: It helps to keep the members of the coaching staff from thinking of you as an employee, someone who is dependent on them for an education. While you still may have to practice and train as much as scholarship athletes, at least your mind is free from worrying about the possibility of having to drop out of school if you have a major disagreement with the coach. On the other hand, many coaches feel as if they have an investment in their scholarship athletes and so feel less committed to other athletes. Walk-on athletes usually have to perform especially well before coaches will notice them.
There is little doubt that being offered an athletic grant would play a role in your decision about where to attend college. Maybe you couldn't go to college without it, or maybe the honor is as important to you as the money. But try not to let being offered an athletic grant override all other considerations. If one coach wants you enough to offer a grant, others are likely to want you that much, also. A grant may help you through college, but it also means that you run the risk of being treated as "property" by some coaches, to be used as they see fit, with little regard for your own needs. You wouldn't be the first student-athlete that this has happened to. And don't forget that renewal of an athletic grant each year is the coaches' choice. After you've committed yourself to their college, they get to decide whether to renew your financial support.
Level of Competition: Knowing at which level you will feel most comfortable competing is a factor that is often overlooked when athletes consider which college to attend. This is because the various levels of intercollegiate athletic competition are fairly complicated, at least to the uninitiated.
There are three large-scale national associations that govern college athletics: the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The NCAA governs more than 400 colleges, ranging anywhere in size from over 30,000 to under 500 students. The NCAA controls the major television contracts for college football and basketball, and its rules govern most of the major football bowl games and major basketball championships. It also holds regional and national championships in many other men's and women's sports. The NCAA is divided into three competitive levels, the main difference between these levels so far as athletes are concerned being in the area of allowable athletic scholarships. Division I schools in the NCAA are allowed to offer more scholarships (the exact number changes from year to year) than schools in Division II, while Division III schools are not allowed to award any scholarships based on athletic ability or promise. Some Division II NCAA colleges choose not to award athletic-based scholarships. Within a given school, teams in some sports may compete at one divisional level, while those in other sports may compete at another divisional level. When looking into prospective colleges, always ask the coach at which level the school competes in your sport.
For football, the NCAA has separated its top competitive level into Division I-A and I-AA, with the former being considered a kind of super conference in which the very best football teams compete against each other. (These Division I-A football schools presumably produce the future professional players.) Various differences in recruiting rules exist between Division I schools and Division II and III schools. There is one rule in particular that freshman athletes at Division I schools should be aware of: in order to be eligible to compete as a freshman and receive financial aid during your first year in college, you must have graduated from high school with a minimum 2.00 GPA (on a 4.00 scale). (So-called Rule 48, which was passed by the NCAA in 1983, for implementation in 1986, may make Division I freshman eligibility rules even tougher; however, this new rule is currently being protested and therefore could be subject to change.)
The NAIA governs over 500 colleges, most of which are small or medium-sized. Both men's and women's sports are included in the NAIA. Member schools are located in any of 32 geographical districts. National championships are determined by tournaments held for the top teams in each. Athletic-based scholarships are allowed at NAIA schools, although not all schools choose to offer them. The NAIA has its own set of recruiting regulations and eligibility rules regarding academic progress of student-athletes, as well as rules governing eligibility for competition when an athlete transfers between schools. According to NAIA rules, in order to be eligible to compete as an incoming college freshman, you must have graduated from an accredited high school or be accepted as a regular student in your NAIA-affiliated college.
The NJCAA governs most of the junior college athletic programs in the United States, except for those in California. The NJCAA controls both men's and women's sports, has its own set of recruiting and academic progress rules, and controls the amount and type of allowable financial aid and other awards for athletic ability. (California community colleges do not allow athletic scholarships, one of the reasons that they are not NJCAA members.) As with the other national athletic associations, the NJCAA also is responsible for holding national championships for its member schools. To be eligible for athletic competition as an entering freshman at an NJCAA-affiliated school, you must have graduated or been given an equivalency diploma from high school (or show proof of passing an officially recognized test, such as the General Educational Development test). You also must be enrolled in at least ten units listed in the official school catalog at that junior college.
It is important for you to face that age-old question of whether you want to be a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond-before you jump into the pond. The answer is solely yours and should come from a combination of your goals in competitive sports and your feelings about having ample opportunity to compete. If your main objective as a college athlete is to have the opportunity to compete as much as possible, a lower-level college (Division II or III or a junior college) might suit you better than a college that offers big-time competition in your sport.
Graduation Rate of Athletes: The number of athletes who actually graduate from the college they attend is as important a factor to consider as any in making a good choice among schools. This statistic suggests how serious the athletic department is about the academic progress of its athletes. The College Football Association (CFA), which includes 61 of the top football programs in the country, has taken a step in the right direction by keeping track of the graduation rates of football players at member schools and making this information public.
It would be extremely useful if records of athlete graduation rates were kept at all colleges for all sports, with rankings made public. Recruits from high school and junior college would then be able to make a more intelligent choice of schools based on both academic and athletic factors. At present, however, many colleges do more to hide this information than to make it public. Be especially wary of the recruiters or coaches who say, "Don't worry. We'll get you through school." This sort of comment generally means that they have devised a system to keep athletes eligible-easy courses, easy instructors, easy advisors but that they are not particularly concerned about when or even whether the athletes graduate. Talk to current and former athletes at each college on your list, particularly any you can find who did not graduate. Find out why they didn't graduate and whether it had anything to do with the way the coaches treated them.
The Pleasure of Being Recruited: We all have a natural tendency to look with favor on those who look favorably on us. It's nice to be liked and wanted. But don't be smitten with gratitude just because a college thinks enough of you to provide a free trip to the campus. Thousands of athletes get those free trips each year, yet thousands of fine athletes will be passed over during recruiting. Restating an important point made earlier, take an active part in the recruiting process. Instead of just going along for a recruiting joyride, ask questions of recruiters and coaches, and ask to speak with professors and students.
