OT - Recruiting Visits (What's it in it for me?)

Submitted by tdeshetler on
Hey knowledgeable posters: I have always wondered what a "official" visit to a university (say Michigan for this example) was like for a star recruit. (Outside of the alcohol, drugs and wild orgies,) what do these kids do? Do they spend the whole trip on the campus with a host player, or are they setup in a hotel room? I’ve always wondered if there is a limit to the number of people allowed on official visits. If the answer was two, would a parent then have to pay for their travel expenses to be included, or are they just not allowed to come? How many kids come alone, or bring a friend? You often see recruits attending games decked out from head to toe in gear. Is that provided by the university, and is there a limit allowed by the NCAA on what can be spent for each recruit on an "official" visit without breaking the rules? Brian, maybe if you’re bored this offseason, that may be a topic for you to cover at some point. I’m sure many of us “old, slow, short” guys who never sniffed a D1 program let alone be courted by one would like to know.
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baorao

January 14th, 2009 at 1:39 PM ^

During your official visit (which may not exceed 48 hours), you may receive round-trip transportation between your home (or high school) and the campus, and you (and your parents) may receive meals, lodging and complimentary admissions to campus athletics events. A coach may only accompany you on your official visit when the transportation occurs by automobile and all transportation occurs within the 48-hour period. Meals provided to you (and/or your parents) on an official visit may be provided either on or off the institution's campus. The complimentary admissions you receive may provide you seating only in the facility's general seating area. You may not be given special seating (e.g., press box, bench area). In addition, a student host may help you (and your family) become acquainted with campus life. The host may spend $30 per day to cover all costs of entertaining you (and your parents, legal guardians or spouse); however, the money can't be used to purchase souvenirs such as T-shirts or other college mementos. Additionally, during a campus visit, the school may provide you with a student-athlete handbook. And you can't travel more than X number of miles (I want to say like 25) during your official visit. How strictly these rules are enforced probably varies by school. That gear you see probably doesn't all go home with them (especially in the case of kids that might be unprepared for the weather), and in many cases they probably purchase it themselves as a memento for their 15 minutes of fame. Other times recruits inexplicably return home from Los Angeles with a $2,500 pin-striped suit, allegedly.

Joined: 08/08/2008

MGoPoints: 1075

TomVH

January 14th, 2009 at 1:45 PM ^

http://recruiting-101.com/what-happens-on-a-football-official-visit-in-… http://www1.ncaa.org/membership/membership_svcs/recruiting_calendars/20… They have a host player that is supposed to show them the ropes, and it gives them a personal feel. It would be impossible for each recruit to learn every players name, and get a chance to really get to know them. The logical thing to do is split them up with a host, or certain players that they already have something in common with. This way they only have to get to know a handful of guys, and hopefully can relate to them. The player's expenses are paid for, if they want to bring a "friend," they aren't. Rich Rodriguez likes to have them all over for dinner at his house, and they play video games in his basement. I know that all of the kids I've talked to said that was one of their favorite parts. A lot of it is different for each program, but for the most part it's an in depth look at the school as a whole. The academics, tutors, weight room, coaches, players, etc. It gives them a chance to see what it would be like to live there, and play there. Sorry, kind of brief, does that answer your question?

Joined: 10/21/2008

MGoPoints: 16654

Tha Quiet Storm

January 14th, 2009 at 2:21 PM ^

by Bruce Feldman. It goes through the entire recruiting process with Ed Orgeron when he was the coach at Ole Miss. The one thing that sticks out in my mind was the story of a recruit who came in for an official visit. He was shown around campus by an employee of the University (they basically look for the hottest coeds and give them a school polo shirt and have them lead the tours) and they then went down to The Grove and to the football game. He then proceeded to ask her if she'd like to take a shower with him and she kind of chuckled and laughed it off. Smooth.

Joined: 12/22/2008

MGoPoints: 2260