It won't be the same when SIU coaches hit the recruiting trail this year. Suddenly, prospects' English courses will be measured comparably with their athletic prowess. A new rule that takes effect with 2008 recruits requires prospective collegiate athletes complete 16 core courses in high school to become eligible to play in Division I sports. The old regulation, which will be ousted after the 2007 recruiting class, required 14 core courses. Read Full Article

SEWANEE, Tenn. -- Demanding academic standards and an expansive selection of sports programs make the University of the South an ideal NCAA Division III institution, a model of genuine amateur athletics. But the model is becoming blurred by universities with different interpretations of the Division III mission statement, and the school also known as Sewanee is watching membership and dissension swell. Read Full Article

ATLANTA — The number of women participating in college sports increased substantially in the late 1990s, but the growth slowed after 2000 and "still lags far behind men's participation levels," and the percentage of female athletes has not kept pace with female enrollment, according to a study released Tuesday by the Women's Sports Foundation Read Full Article

As colleges and universities consider whether to join Harvard and Princeton in abandoning early-admissions programs, some are also trying to roll back another popular recruiting tool: merit aid. Read Full Article

ODDS N ENDS

Lets just get this USC nonsense out on the table. There is a news story going around that an eighth grader committed to the USC basketball program after he was offered an athletic scholarship at a basketball camp this summer. Here's how stuff like this works. At the camp the coach will say something like "hey, when you are ready to go to college in 4 years, we have a scholarship for you." Until the NLI is signed, nothing is guaranteed, and this offer and acceptance by the player has no meaning whatsoever and is more PR move than anything. The fact that the coach would do this without having any knowledge as to what the basketball skills, character or academic makeup of the kid will be in 4 years pretty much sums up the world of Division 1 basketball. It's all about the money and winning

The NCAA granted all 33 Duke Lacrosse players an extra season of eligibility after their 2006 season was cut short. So any player wishing to stay and play a 5th year can.

The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators says merit awards accounted for $7.3 billion, or 16% of all money awarded for aid by colleges.

Johnny Miller summed up the 2007 US Open best on Wednesday before the tournament even started. "The guys who are whining about how hard the course is won't be holding the trophy on Sunday!"

Florida football coach Urban Meyer called in the incident a "major concern" commenting on one of his players pulling a rifle from his truck at a nightclub and firing a shot into the air after an altercation.

NEWS ON INDIVIDUAL COLLEGES

The University of Maryland Baltimore County as cut its varsity field hockey program.

California State University, Bakersfield, named Bill Kernen the institution’s first baseball coach.

Eastern Illinois University discontinued its wrestling program May 17. Athletics Director Rich McDuffie attributed the decision to the team’s poor Academic Progress Rate.

Purdue University trustees approved an $82.3 million athletics complex to be built around the school’s basketball arena. The building will hold a practice facility for men’s and women’s basketball teams and new locker, meeting, and video rooms. A sports medicine facility and strength and conditioning building also will be added.

The St. John’s (Minnesota) men’s golf team claimed its first national D3 title. Who says you have to go to a warm weather school to compete at a high level?

The University of New England will sponsor varsity men’s ice hockey beginning with the 2010-11 academic year, reinstating a sport that the school sponsored from the mid-1970s through the early 1980s while an NAIA member. The team actually will begin competition in 2007-08 as a “pre-varsity” program, school officials said.

Syracuse University announced it will drop men’s and women’s swimming and diving after the 2007-08 academic year. The institution will add a women’s ice hockey team in 2008-09. The last time Syracuse dropped sports was 1997, when wrestling and men’s gymnastics were eliminated. Syracuse will continue to honor the scholarships of the swimmers even after the 2007-08 season.

A $1.71 million project to build two new athletics fields is underway at Elms College and scheduled for completion in mid-August. The project includes an artificial-surface field for soccer, field hockey and lacrosse, among other uses, and a new softball field. The new multiuse Field Turf field (including a Musco lighting system) also will be used for early-spring baseball and softball practices and by physical education classes, the intramurals program and the general student population. The softball field features covered dugouts and a batting cage.

WHEN A NEW COACH IS HIRED
Perusing the paper the other day I noticed a high number of NCAA coaches that had been hired by colleges throughout the country. This often happens and often happens at the beginning of the summer after the previous coaching staff has finished their spring season. For recruiting, this can be a blessing or a nightmare. A new coaching staff is often looking to bring in new players that the previous coaching staff may not have been looking at. They may even be looking to recruit in new areas or have a secret area that they tapped into in the past to recruit. They may even be looking to shake things up with the current team and may not be happy with certain players. The downside is that you may have just spent 8 or 9 months communicating with the current coaching staff trying to get yourself recruited and now you may have to start all over again if that school still interests you. So what to do? If you are still interested in the school, you probably have to start all over again with the new coach. This means new phone calls, new letters, new visits, new video. The previous coaching staff may have left a list of potential recruits, but the new coach may have little idea about the validity of that list or the interest of any of the recruits in that school. Start by trying to get in touch with the new coach, expressing your interest in the school and program and informing them where you left off with the previous coach. Ask the coach what his or her next step will be in the next few months and what you can do to put yourself in a better position to be recruited. You might have to go on another school visit, you might have to send another video, you might have to play in another tournament or showcase where that new coach will be at. Whatever you do, don’t sit around and wait for the new coach to call you because the old coach left a list of recruits. Start the process again and find out what the new coach needs….

The Making of a Student-Athlete: Succeeding in the College Selection and Recruiting Process for High School Athletes, Parents and Coaches. ORDER TODAY