NCSA White Paper

COMMIT. SUCCEED. LEAD.

Don't Make the Wrong Choice Why it's important to weigh your commitment options

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Student-Athletes Commit to Schools for the Wrong Reasons Graduation is nearing and it's time to make one of the most difficult and important decisions of your life. College coaches are making offers and it's time to decide which school you are going to commit to. It can be a difficult and challenging decision for some student-athletes and being able to determine what the best fit is for you is key to not just committing, but also succeeding.

Recently, NCSA surveyed their database of student-athletes to find out what the number one deciding factor for choosing a college or university is among committed athletes. The results were shocking. Student-athletes are choosing schools for the wrong reasons.

Top 5 Reasons Student- Athletes Commit 1. Coaching staff 2. Awarded a scholarship 3. Culture (campus, social scene, classroom size, etc.)

4. Location of the school 5. Cost of school Surprisingly, student-athletes are committing to schools for the wrong reasons. As important as each of the factors listed above are, and although each factor should be considered, there are some other deciding factors that take precedence.

Coaching Staff is an important part of the overall decision when committing to a school. Of course you want to have a good rapport with your coaches and feel secure on your new team.

However, there is always the risk that your coaching staff could change.

Student-Athletes Commit to Schools for the Wrong Reasons According to a study from 2008-2010, head coach turnover averaged 17% and has continued to grow since. In total, there were changes to the head coaching staff at nearly 50% of NCAA Division I football programs from 2008-2010.

Turnover rates aren't slowing down either. Some of the most notable names lost this year at the Division 1 football level are Bobby Pertino(Arkansas), Pat Hill (Fresno State), Steve Fairchild (Colorado State) , Neil Callaway (UAB), Dennis Erickson (ASU), Turner Gill (Kansas), Ron Ianello(Akron), Joe Paterno (Penn state), Mike Locksley(New Mexico), Rick Neuheisel(UCLA), Larry porter (Memphis) , Mike Stoops (Arizona), Ron Zook (University of Illinois ), Paul Wulff(Washington state), Mike Sherman(Texas A&M).

If you're thinking about committing to a school based on the coaching staff, just remember this; there is a 50/50 chance that a student athlete who commits to a coach as a senior in high school will not have the same coach by their senior year.

An even more surprising discovery was also found. Academics didn't even make the Top 5 list. College might be a vehicle for continuing sports for some, but gaining an education should be the end result for everyone.

Athletics are often used to leverage which academic university a student-athlete will commit to. Less than 1% of collegiate athletes go on to become professional athletes. The 1% of student-athletes who do go on to play professional sports won't be able to play forever. The average career of an NFL athlete is three years. A study done by NCSA Athletic Recruiting and Athletes Wanted showed that 100% of CEOs would rather hire an athlete with a lower grade point average than someone who never played sports with a high grade point average.

Student-Athletes Commit to Schools for the Wrong Reasons Before deciding which college to attend, student-athletes need to consider how academics factor into their overall success. Apply the following questions to each of your potential schools: 1.) What is the graduation rate of student-athletes?

2.) What major areas of study are offered and do they interest me?

3.) What is the academic ranking?

Former College Football Coach and Recruiting Expert, Randy Taylor, says student-athletes need to love the school they are choosing outside of athletics. If a coach happens to leave, or they have a career ending injury, they need to be happy where they're at.

It's true. At some point, your athletic career will end but what you learn in academics will carry you forever. Athletes should remember to always look at the big picture before making their final decision.

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The Top 5 Reasons Student-Athletes Commit to a College 1 COACHING STAFF 2 AWARDED SCHOLARSHIP 3 CULTURE 4 LOCATION OF SCHOOL 5 COST OF SCHOOL

Student-Athletes on Average Travel 408 Miles From Home to go to College

COMMITTED ATHLETES WITH ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIPS RECEIVED

COMMITTED ATHLETES WITH ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIPS RECEIVED

$10,000 - $20,000

$1,000 - $5,000

$5,000 - $10,000

$5,000 - $10,000

$1,000 - $5,000

$FULL RIDE

$20,000 - $30,000

$10,000 - $20,000

$FULL RIDE

$20,000 - $30,000

Who is NCSA? Who is NCSA? NCSA Athletic Recruiting is the world’s first Athleadership Network that changes lives by building leaders through sports and connects students and their families along with high school and college coaches and the business community for the purpose of maximizing athletic scholarship opportunity and life’s potential. The network is made available to high school student athletes around the country through relationships with ESPN, NIKE, IMG Academies, Under Armour and NFLPA. NCSA is the leading collegiate recruiting source for more than 500,000 student-athletes and 47,000 college coaches across the country. By taking advantage of this extensive network, more than 92% of NCSA Athletic Recruiting-verified athletes go on to play at the collegiate level. In addition, NCSA educates over 4 million athletes and their parents about the recruiting process each year through educational resources on its website, www.ncsasports.org, presentations of the critically-acclaimed seminar “College Recruiting Simplified,” and the book from NCSA Athletic Recruiting, “Athletes Wanted.”

To learn more about NCSA Athletic Recruiting visit our website.

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For media inquiries please contact Tiffany Menzione at 312.624.7437 or tmenzione@ncsasports.org

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