Applying to colleges is always a stressful process, and each student’s process is different. The process of finding a college for athletes who plan to play their sport at the collegiate level is very different from the typical college application process. The commitment process for athletes is unique and complex, shaped by a mix of performance, contracts, NCAA rules and regulations, and many additional factors.
For most college students, this process consists of researching schools, pushing themselves to their highest academic potential, and writing college essays, which can ultimately be very stressful. However, for student athletes, the process of committing can look very different. Instead of the typical application deadlines and campus tours, their process would include official and unofficial visits, verbal commitments, letters of intent, all under the watchful eyes of college coaches, staff, recruiters, evaluators, and media.
The athletic recruiting process is long and requires patience. Athletes going to college will ultimately make their college decision based on the college’s team; academics are still fundamental, but not the top priority. The time of committing is very intentional for athletes. “I want to commit and have the stress be off my back, but I also don’t want to commit too early because the college could look different by the time I actually get there,” junior Liv Bell said.
For basketball, NCAA rules state that a college coach or program cannot contact a recruit directly until the recruit’s junior spring season. Instead, a program or recruiter must go through a coach or mentor who is unrelated to the recruit. Scholarships are offered to any recruit regardless of age, and college visits are available. Some recruits start as young as 6th grade. Bell began her process relatively young. “I started the recruiting process at the end of seventh grade; it was all really exciting and has continued to be exciting to this day,” Bell said.
Some student athletes still take the SAT or ACT, but most do not. The NCAA has a test-optional rule in place for all Division I and Division II Universities. This rule states that, if athletes are eligible to play in the NCAA league and attend a University for that reason, they will not be required to take standardized testing. “It’s nice knowing that I don’t have to worry about as much of the SAT and ACT scores,” Bell said.
The recruiting process opens athletes’ eyes to what life at the college level would be like and exposes them to new opportunities and ideas. Getting college paid for, making money at such a young age, and being part of a collegiate program is very exciting. “The most exciting thing is getting to know different coaches and their different styles of play, and getting to look at all the different types of campuses and what they have to offer,” Bell said.
Athletes are aware that their college selection process differs from that of a typical student. Many will commit to a college mainly for the program’s culture, coaching, and level of competitiveness. This is very different from students committing to a college for its academic qualities. “Students have to worry about the academics more; athletes have to pass classes too, but I think it’s a bit easier for athletes who have offers, because it can give them a better variety of where they want to go,” sophomore Zaida Jenkins said.
The process of committing to a college is for athletes, not for the average student. Although athletes put themselves through countless rigorous workouts and push themselves to the brink of exhaustion, they prioritize that over homework. The recruiting process for athletes is long and patient; it comes with heavy stress. Coaches can move from program to program, and the dynamic of a team at a college could look very different by the time a recruit gets recruited there. Overall, the recruitment process is full of extreme highs and lows, requires significant discipline, and offers many positive attributes.