"Why Should I Pay $$$ to Attend Online, Coach?"

The financial questions non-full scholarship coaches are going to have to start answering are going to be non-stop. Let's start with this one...

This is happening more and more in the past week with coaches we are talking to.

• School announces that they’ll be holding the upcoming fall semester online.

• School also announces that the tuition rate will remain the same.

• Student-athlete, who is now sequestered at home - very possibly with a parent or two who has been economically affected by the COVID-19 crisis - is weighing the economic value to continuing to be a student-athlete at your college.

• And, asking themselves (or having mom and dad ask), “should we really be paying the same amount for what seems like only a partial college experience?”

You’d better be able to answer that question.

Actually, let me rephrase that: You should be ready to lead the conversation surrounding this topic.

Like everything else we’ve been discussing during this crisis, leadership on your part is crucial. Now more than ever, it’s needed.

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The key is to not wait for this conversation to come to you.

It’s important for you to lead the discussion now, as families are starting to talk about it more and more, so that you can be a part of the active conversation rather than trying to undo the results of that conversation in a few weeks.

The easiest question to ask is a simple one:

“How are you feeling about the idea of online classes from our college in the fall?”

Whether they are still deciding, have verbally committed, or on your roster and you’re expecting them to return for the 2020-2021 academic year, you need to take their pulse and find out what conversations are happening.

Show them that you care, you want to talk to them, and that no topic is off limits with you.

Whether you’re experiencing this now or not, it’s a conversation you’re going to need to be on the lookout for as we move into the summer.

If you need help, or have questions, let me know with an email at dan@dantudor.com.

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This builds off of our earlier article that turned out to be our most read advice in April, “Checking to See If Your Commits Are Still Coming”.

The point of both articles are important for college coaches to understand:

This crisis has done a lot to alter the way families are looking at paying for college, assessing affordability, or - in this case of weighing the value of an online-only experience - if it’s worth the price your campus is asking.

Your role as a coach is to lead the conversation around money, and make sure you understand what your prospect’s view towards it all is. Not doing so is going to give you a false sense of security leading into what you are hoping is a normal fall start to college.