Academic Recruiting

We all know there are recruiting guidelines for athletics but are there academic guidelines as well? For instance if D3 programs cannot offer athletic money, can they offer academic money at any time? Say they offer an academic scholarship to an athlete with really good grades? Does this happen? Are there dates for academic scholarships and when they can talk to kids?

 

From what I have seen the academic money is completely separate from athletics. This is many times a first come first served after an application deadline(usually starting in the fall of their HS senior year). Students can talk with colleges all they want about academic money and vice versa - there is technically no connection.

 

I don't see how the NCAA could have any jurisdiction over academic money offerings. Colleges, universities, and university systems have their own guidelines for that. I do know that all divisions use academic scholarships as much as possible for athletes in order to stretch the athletic money they are allowed. Since D3 is allowed no athletic money, they can be very creative with academic money depending on how they choose to promote the sport.

D3 has restrictions on when a coach can talk to a high school student just like the other divisions. I would think the D3 coach would be in tune with what academic money can be offered, but that the college, not the coach, would talk about academic money after the student has applied for admission.

This is a good question for a college coach to expand on.

Making herself a good candidate for academic money is a good reason for DD to put books before softball throughout her high school career. It could make her much more attractive to college coaches.

 

Heres how it works.......

First... as far as recruit age student athletes..
Div III can
1. Send recruiting materials any time
2. No limitations on phone calls
3. At the end of junior year, may have a campus contact
4. 1 official visit during senior year which the school pays some expense
5. Contact is restricted at practice/competition site until such time that competition has concluded and prospect released for the day.
6. No dead period as far as recruiting

A potential student can visit the school, speak with admissions, tour the campus as a potential student anytime they want, at any NCAA division. ( 1,2 or 3). Key word here is POTENTIAL STUDENT.

Now the money....

The emphasis on getting the coveted "college scholarship" should not over shadow the main reason for attending college, to get educated and become adults. This is a chance to continue your athletic career for another 4 years, to continue to play for the love of the game. Being a star athlete is a dream that everyone who has ever played a competitive sport strives for. The cold hard reality is that there are a lot of "star athletes", all with the same dreams.

The NCAA regulates the number of scholarships that Division I and Division II are allowed to award. The distribution of these monies changes yearly as kids graduate and new players cycle into a program. The number for Division I is around 12, and Division II is around 7. Most teams carry 22-24 players. DO THE MATH.

Schools are not limited in the amount of financial aide they can grant to individuals. The monies are academic performance based, and do not discriminate between athletes and non-athletes. 98% of the students (athletes and non-athletes) receive financial aide at Peace. Other monies can be awarded after the parents have completed the FAFSA and the families of EFC (estimated family contribution) is generated. This is where any need-based monies are awarded (i.e. Pell, Stafford, etc.), based on a family's income.

The Div 3 option allowes you to be the true STUDENT ATHLETES. In the case of Peace, our graduates enjoy a 80% Placement Rate in Graduate School or Professional School, 11-to1 Student/Faculty Ratio or 95.7% Job Placement Rate.

Remember, athletic scholarships are limited on availability and renewable every year. Merit based awards are for 4 years . . . there is no obligation to play any sport. The funded monies stay as long as the student meets the minimum grade point average determined by the school. Merit awards at Peace are based on academic performance in high school (gpa) and SAT / ACT test scores... There merit based awards vary from $5000.00 a year to full tuition....and it doesn't matter if you can shoot, kick or throw a ball.

If you eliminate all schools with athletic scholarships, you eliminate nearly half of your options for college softball. Parents and players should ask themselves.... which is more important... my ego or my wallet? An education is one of the greatest gifts you can give or receive. If someone offers you any way to pay for part of your education, take the money and run!!!

Start the process early when looking at schools...ask hard questions to the coaches involved. Understand the requirements of attendance and those of eligibility.

One last point. Division I is only an athletic level, not a measure of the quality of academic programs. Secondly...Are you really good enough to play Division I sports, or will you be stuck on a bench or practice squad when you could be playing at another school at the Div II or Div III level? Take time to access every aspect./

Don't make your signing day the greatest day of your career.......

 

Let me just put in my 2 cents....D3 is academic money. And if your dd has good grades and Sat's can be ALOT of money. Also, sports is a HUGE commitment. D3 is somewhat of a lesser athletic schedule. If my dd decides to give up playing softball for any reason she will STILL have her academic monies as long as she maintains her GPA. And like it was said, they are there for their EDUCATION!

 

shooting freethrows.....

.....takes time to master. Recruiting stuff does too.
$ comes in all directions. D3 is academic based period. VERY few D1 athletes qualify for ANY academic $. Yes, there some, but in general, these kids are the aerospace engineer kids, ( J Jones!).
Wndmllr brought to the for front, the basics.
Allow yourself some "focused" time on recruiting, $, and rules.....
.....yep RULES, the things you as a parent can and cannot do!!!!!

 

Charlie never misses the opportunity to recruit!

One of my favorite quotes of all-time. I've seen this be the case for far too many HS athletes.

The bottom line is it's always better to get paid to study (something you have to do anyway) than to play. However, there is a substantial difference in the OVERALL level of competition from D1 to other levels. Sure, there are DII players that could play DI and DII teams that can beat D1 but day in and day out a kid who wants to play against the best in the world will play D1 NCAA softball. It is the 'major league' of the sport on planet earth.

 

Absolutey...................

That's why their are 30 teams in the MLB..... and each has rookie A, an instructional A, AA, AAA teams below them.....
D1 is the top .... but we at D3 still play 7 innings, 3 strikes your out, travel and enjoy the game and competition..... There is a place for everyone....

One other thing, after 4 years of play....no matter if you play D1, D2, or D3.... you all have something in common once you graduate.....


















You have to get a job....



Key word is about how much will you PLAY .....

the road is scattered with broken dreams of players that never got the chance....................

Choose wisely!

 

Windmillr....

So glad to hear it from a coach who really knows how the system works! You often hear about how so-and-so got a "full ride" for four years to play softball. Probably not....those are far and few between unless you are a Jenny Finch type at a major D-1 program. Also, as Charlie stated, athletic schollys are not an automatic four years, they are renewable yearly as long as the athlete meets the coach's expectations. The academic money is there to stay (again as long as the student meets the academic requirements). Either way, the ultimate goal is to get the EDUCATION. If softball happens to be part of that, then great....go for it....just keep focused on the end prize, a DEGREE!

 

Choose wisely

Potential players/students should look at all aspects of the college. Academic and athletics. Student life. Many colleges also have club teams. Those offer the students a chance to still play the sport they love and have time for their academic studies. Players who really love the sport want to play for their school at least in some capacity.
Don't forget also about the "walk on". If you're not recruited, it doesn't mean that you're not good enough to play for the team. Maybe the coach didn't know about you. You could "walk on" to the team your first year and maybe get some athletic money the next year. Explore all your options. Make sure the school is a good fit for you. Spend the night at the school before making your final decisions to see how you like the student life. Good luck to all our softball players!