Successful Recruiting Still Comes Down to This

Even with the landmark changes we're seeing in college sports, twelve key decision points by prospects will continue to determine the winners and losers in recruiting.

The headlines are both exciting and terrifying, if you’re a college coach. And when you add in recruiting to the equation, things also become confusing.

What’s going to happen to my budget? How do I adjust my thinking when it comes to roster caps? Should I even go after prospects who I know will be offered a little more (or a whole bunch more) money by a competitor that we just can’t keep up with financially, or from a facilities and offerings standpoint?

Those are all legitimate questions, frankly. And the answer I would give is going to change from sport to sport, coach to coach, and college to college. It’s going to mean something different for everyone, and without diving into the nuances of your budget, recruiting goals and direction from your athletic department, they are tough questions to answer for everyone universally in a forum like this. (That said, get in touch, let’s talk about your situation).

But here’s what I do know:

Every time over the last twenty years when there has been a landmark change in the way college sports operates - and how coaches adjust in building their program - recruiting still comes down to you as the coach selling a prospect on why they should come and compete with you and your program on your particular campus.

Remember that. The fundamentals still hold. Sure, there are going to be a percentage of athletes that will be looking for money, and money only, and whoever gives them the most money will get their commitment…at least for a semester, until something better comes along. Or maybe for just the potential of something better coming along. And if your prospect is making their decision based on cash, and not factoring-in much of anything else, then you’ll win some and lose most, because chances are high that someone out there will be able to give them more or better stuff (or cash) than you will.

But for the majority of your athletes - and we know this from our research - they’re going to be making a multifaceted decision. In the end, they may cite money as the determining factor. But you know what? When we talk to athletes after they commit and find out why they really committed to a coaching staff and program that we work with, I haven’t EVER met an athlete, talked with an athlete, or read responses from an athlete in one of our focus group reports who said “I hated the coach, didn’t connect with the team, thought the campus was boring, and didn’t really know what my role was on the team…but they offered me $10,000 more than the others did, so I came here.”

In other words - even in this brave new changing world of NIL, the Transfer Portal, and now payments to college athletes - there are some fundamentals that still matter when it comes to the very human way teenagers make their final decisions. You, as a college coach and recruiter, need to keep them in mind. Even with all of the changes, these core fundamentals still rule the day…and, when implemented correctly, can still help you win prospects.

1. Differentiate, right from the start.

Beginning with your first contact with a new recruit, it’s vital that you make at least one clear, crisp, differentiating brand definition for you, your program, or campus. Prospects need at least one big thing to remember from your first contact that will help give them a reason to take your second, third and fourth calls. This is especially true if you coach a sport where the recruiting cycle is extraordinarily short.

2. Let them know the head coach knows.

If you’re a head coach, you should be making the first calls or contacts. I know that’s not always possible for every athlete, but in looking at our data - if I were a head coach - I would be making the first contact, at least for my top group of prospects. If I’m an assistant coach making the first contact, let the prospect know that the head coach knows who they are, and will be following-up with them soon (and then make sure they do).

*These first two steps are proven to give the process a strong start, and begin to give prospects reasons to carry you forward in the early first phases of recruiting - regardless of your division level, or if you’re offering money.

3. Commit to consistent communication.

You may be tired of hearing it, but consistent communication (email, letter, text, phone - all four, especially the first two) is a huge key in defining you as a brand for your prospects. I can’t stress enough why written communication - words they can read - sent every 6 to 9 days throughout the process wins recruits. This generation is reading on their phones all day long, so give them something to read. Phone is fine too, but in small doses. Coaches that only use phone calls to recruit usually create recruiting connections over the long term make the whole process slower and more difficult for themselves. And for recruits, who have more choices than ever - and a chance to make money, in many cases - you need to establish yourself as the most consistent coach when it comes to your attention and the story you tell.

4. Explain their role as early as possible.

When recruits list what makes them feel like a coach is truly interested in them, and