On Sunday, high school seniors across the country will have decided where they plan to attend college in the fall. For those intending to participate in collegiate athletics, it ends the period of coaches calling and trying to figure out where they would best fit.
The methods employed by DePauw as a Div. III institution are much different than those at the Div. I level — Div. III athletes don't receive scholarships for sports, per NCAA regulations. So to convince student-athletes to come to DePauw, coaches must sell not only the strength of their athletic program, but the university as a whole.
With 22 percent of DePauw students involved in NCAA sports, the recruitment of quality student-athletes is critical in filling each team's roster to ensure athletic success. However, as a liberal arts institution with specific academic standards, the university seeks student-athletes who achieve in the classroom as well as on the field.
It is the combined recruiting efforts of coaches, admissions officers, current student-athletes and athletics administrators that attract the likes of Alex Koors, Katie Mathews and Catie Baker to commit to DePauw. As administrators and coaches attest, it takes a serious commitment to recruiting to achieve the sort of success which takes place on and off the field.
The rules
The NCAA's Div. III manual defines recruiting as "any solicitation of a prospective student-athlete ... by an institutional staff member or by a representative of the institution's athletics interests for the purpose of securing the prospective student-athlete's enrollment and ultimate participation in the institution's intercollegiate athletics program."
According to Director of Athletics Page Cotton, nearly all of DePauw's student-athletes have been recruited by a coach in some manner — whether that be a letter, phone call, email or face-to-face encounter. In many cases, prospective student-athletes communicate inquiries to an admissions officer, who then passes their information along to that sport's coach.
"A talented academic student-athlete, they're a hot commodity no matter where they're from and what sport they play. Everybody is after those types of students," said Director of Admissions Earl Macam. "It's our job to identify those students in the admissions funnel, and then pass them on to the coaches."
However, there are a number of complex rules regarding the timing and form of contact between a prospective student-athlete and coaches, a well as current student-athletes.
Kris Huffman, head women's basketball coach and compliance officer for the athletic department, said that some of the most important rules concern precisely when coaches can meet with prospective athletes face-to-face. As soon as high school athletes begin classes in their senior year, they are allowed to come to campus for one official athletic visit. Also, coaches can then go to the prospective student-athletes' games and speak with them after their the contest is over. But coaches are only allowed to talk to seniors, not any other player.
"If you see a junior, you're not supposed to talk to that junior," Huffman said. "You can say ‘Hello' and that's it. But you can email them that night or you can call them."
The use of communication through letters, emails and phone calls are all unrestricted in Div. III. High school athletes can begin to interact with DePauw coaches as early as they are interested in starting their college search.
Huffman said that many prospective student-athletes come to DePauw not on an official athletic visit, but through a standard admissions style visit similar to what virtually every student does when considering the university.
"We look at the official visit as anything beyond what the typical student would get through the admissions office," Huffman said. "When [the athletic department] start[s] paying for meals or transportation, that's when you can define it an official athletic visit."
The NCAA regulates everything from the number of hours an official visit may last (48) to the amount of money that can be spent on a prospective student-athlete during their stay on campus. Current student-athletes serve as hosts during these overnight visits, offering the recruit a glimpse into life on the team and in the classroom.
The methods
It is difficult to imagine the last four years of DePauw women's basketball without senior Katie Mathews. The Columbia, Ill., native amassed 1,019 points over her collegiate career, leading the Tigers to four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
But if it weren't for the recruiting efforts of Huffman, Mathews might have gone on to play at another university. As a high school basketball player, Mathews was in contact with a couple of Div. I institutions, and did not consider playing at the Div. III level until hearing from Huffman halfway through her senior year. While the high level of competition and talent in Div. I was appealing to her, Mathews chose DePauw because she saw the impact she could have on the program and the amount of success it had to offer.
"At the Div. I schools, I was definitely going to have to compete for spots because it's like a competition the whole time," Mathews said. "I knew I could play at the other schools [by my junior year] after working really hard...And here, I could come in right away and be a key role player."
It also didn't hurt that the Tigers had captured the Div. III national title during Mathews' senior year of high school, an event she said played largely into her decision.
"Them winning it the year before, I was like, ‘Wow, I could actually win a national championship.' That was a huge factor," she said.
Coaches like Huffman cast a wide net in the early parts of their recruiting processes. For women's swimming and diving coach Mary Bretscher and head football coach Robby Long, the search begins with hundreds of prospective student-athletes in their database. As those recruits conclude their junior year, the large pool shrinks as the top athletes start to look for athletic scholarships.
In some instances, DePauw's coaches find themselves recruiting prospective student-athletes who are also communicating with Div. I schools. Senior all-American wide receiver Alex Koors considered Northwestern University, the University of Dayton and Butler University before ultimately joining the Tiger football program.
"Wherever I went, I wanted to play football," Koors said. "I just felt like DePauw would be an easier place to contribute. That's pretty much what it came down to – contributing and still being able to get that prestigious education."
Junior all-American swimmer Catie Baker possessed the talent necessary to compete at the Div. I level, but Bretscher communicated to Baker the opportunity of advancing to the Div.III nationals instead of trying for the Olympic-caliber type of competition at the Div. I level.
"If the athlete is Div. I caliber and are still looking at DePauw, they are probably not going to be a strong Div. I athlete," Bretscher said. "Catie Baker would have gotten some money offers … But someone like her, I sell it as ‘you're good enough to go to Div. III nationals'."
The liberal arts influence
Even before athletics is taken into account, most prospective student-athletes consider attending DePauw for the university's reputation as an excellent liberal arts institution. Long, who is also the department's director of athletic recruiting, stresses that he and his staff look for players who can fit into not just their program but also into the university's academic profile.
"All of us in this department are looking for that kid who wants the very best academically and athletically," Long said. "We are recruiting kids who are very driven academically and because that's who they are and that's their nature, that's who they are athletically."
Baker said prospective student-athletes looking to play at the Div. III level generally have a strong desire to pursue their academic interests. That was one reason that led her to choose DePauw over any Div. I school. Similarly, Koors said that when former head football coach Matt Walker visited his high school his senior year, Walker talked extensively about all the things he could achieve in the classroom at DePauw.
"The first thing that he sold us on was the education that DePauw provides for all-student athletes," Koors said. "He gave us an idea of some of the big names that have left DePauw to go on to do better things."
Selling DePauw's education is often the reason why many rosters are filled with players not just from the state of Indiana, but all over the country and world.
"We're a nationally and a globally recruiting university," Long said. "That helps in athletic recruiting. Our name means something from coast to coast. Whereas schools that recruit regionally, they don't have the same name recognition that we do."
According to Cotton, one of the athletic department's most fundamental recruitment strategies during an official visit is to keep the prospective student-athlete's focus strictly on DePauw. He says coaches and current players strive to communicate all the positives of the complete student-athlete experience at this university, without making comparisons to any other institutions.
"We have a lot of really positive things that we can talk about DePauw, and not have to talk about other schools. And that's something that our coaches understand," he said.
Baker said her interactions with Bretscher and other members of the women's swimming team while she was a prospective student-athlete were nothing but positive experiences.
"Some schools are a little bit more intense, but [at DePauw] it was more of a ‘we want to do what's best for you,' which I think is the best approach," Baker said. "It's not ‘we want you at all costs.' It's ‘this has to be the right school for you, and we recognize that. But we want to show you why DePauw is that right school for you because we think it is.'"
Combine DePauw's academic appeal with the overall strength of the athletic department, student-athletes like Mathews, Koors and Baker say the university is the complete package. After winning the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference's President's trophy for overall excellence in sports for the sixth-straight year, the strength of Tiger athletics is one of the most influential factors considered by potential recruits and one that continues to draw student-athletes to the university year after year.
"You look at our past history and the success that we've had, you'll find that prospective student-athletes who are driven to excel in the classroom can be driven to excel in their athletic endeavors," Cotton said. "To be able to talk about that combination and how you can do it all here, I think it's very appealing."