Division D-1A The first thing that is helpful to understand is what the differences are between the different divisions of the NCAA. In D-1A there are 119 schools that can each have a maximum of 85 scholarships, assuming they are not on probation with the NCAA for rules violations and have all of their scholarships to offer. A D-1A school can only offer a full scholarship. It is all or nothing. They don’t offer partial deals like books only, or tuition only, its all or nothing.

Division D-1AA The next division is D-1AA. There are 116 of these schools that can have a maximum of 63 equivalents. Notice I did not use the word scholarships. An equivalent means different things to different schools. Some schools will have 63 in-state equivalents; some schools have 63 out-of-state equivalents. Some schools are not fully funded. These equivalents can be split among players. Some guys will start out with a partial scholarship and get more money each year as he becomes more valuable to the team. A D-1AA team will have the same number of players or more that a D-1A team but they have less scholarship money to give out. A question we encourage our players to ask when talking to a D-1AA coach is, “Are you a fully funded out-of-state equivalent institution?” It makes them sound smart and it also tells them what school has more money to spend.

Division D-II The next division is D-II. There are 150 of these schools that can have a maximum of 36 equivalents. The same applies to D-II as it does to D-1AA, the equivalents can be split among players and with only 36 scholarships you don’t see very many guys on full football scholarships. Funding is also another good question to ask D-II coaches. They run into the same thing as D-1AA in that all schools are funded at the rate of an out-of-state equivalent. Usually what a D-1AA or D-II school will do is have a recruit complete a financial aid application (F.A.F.S.A. which means Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and see if the student-athlete qualifies for any type of grant money and put that with their football scholarship offer to create as competitive of a package as possible. In addition, some schools are able to offer in-state tuition right away to their athletes as another way of helping to pay for the cost of college. A lot of Mandarin High Football players have gone to D-II schools over the years for free utilizing the federal grant money with their football scholarship money.

Division D-III The final division is D-III. These schools do not offer athletic scholarships. Any scholarship is needs based or on academics. The guys at this level truly do it for the love of the game. These schools still recruit like the D-1A, D-1AA, D-II, but they do not give athletic scholarships for playing football. We have had a lot of Mandarin Football players that have gone to play at these schools and had great experiences, loved their college experience and loved playing football for their school.

Recruiting Mail The first time you get a letter in the mail from a college, you think you have died and gone to heaven. Not everyone gets them so you know you are special because they took the time to put your name on the envelope and send it. You have arrived.

Did you ever wonder how they found out about you? When you get mail from a college you might think they read about you in the paper or heard about you on the radio or television, so now they are sending you a letter, and that happens. But how did they really hear about you? Has the word of your skills gone nationwide? Well not quite. Continue @ http://www.mandarinfootball.com/Rec101.html

However it brings up an interesting question, how do you view the recruiting process? It would be in your best interest to get rid of the big head syndrome and come back to reality. Coaches are not going to beg you to play for their schools. Instead, look at it like you are getting ready to get out of high school and trying to find a way to get through college without the burden of having to pay back student loans in the end. You are looking for a job. If you do that, it changes your whole perspective on this process.

Since we are looking at this process as a job search, we encourage you to do what most of us do when we are applying for a job, make a resume. This will help to highlight your strengths and present you to potential employers, coaches, in a positive way. You can also write a cover letter and attach it to the resume or questionnaire and return it. This will increase your opportunities to get a job in the college football market. Continue @ http://www.mandarinfootball.com/Rec101.html

Spring Evaluations The first Thursday in February of your junior year is when recruiting really starts. Your senior friends will have signed their “Letter of Intent” the day before and now it’s your turn. Colleges will shift their focus in a hurry and as soon as one class is wrapped up, they will start on the next one. Recruiting waits for no man.

As you are starting to get more and more mail you will notice that college coaches will be back in your high school. This is called the “Spring Evaluation Period.” You will start to see college coaches at your track meets, baseball games, and your spring football practices and jamborees. They are starting the process of recruiting all over with a new group of players.

During this period of time the college coaches are not allowed to schedule a meeting with you to market their school. They are allowed to come into your school, meet with your high school coaches, get film, get information, watch practice or jamboree game and then leave. If by chance they “bump” into a potential prospect they are allowed to say hello, but that is it. You would be amazed at the frequency that D-1 coaches “bump” into D-1 prospects every spring.

As a player that is treating the recruiting process as a job interview we have five pointers to help you through this period: Continue @ http://www.mandarinfootball.com/Rec101.html

Phone Calls
The NCAA regulates the number of times colleges can call. According to NCAA rules colleges are allowed to call one time in the May month of an athlete’s junior year, and then they cannot call again until the month of September of their senior year. Then coaches are allowed to call an athlete once a week.

When coaches call, give them your full attention. Is $250,000.00 – $450,000.00 worth your time? When your friends are paying back student loans you could be using that money for something else. When the coach calls, turn off the television, press pause on the game you are playing, walk into another room away from your friends, and spend time with the coach calling. Furthermore, in the fall as you start to talk to coaches more and more, schedule a time to talk. If you know you have church on Wednesday and a game on Friday, ask them to call you on Tuesday or Thursday during a specific time that works for you. Invest you time in getting to know these coaches and more importantly let them get to know you.

A list of questions you can ask the coach: Continue @ http://www.mandarinfootball.com/Rec101.html

Unofficial Visits
The difference between an unofficial visit and an official visit is who pays the bill. On an unofficial visit the recruit will pay for all of his expenses associated with the trip. This includes his travel expenses, hotel, food, and other expenses associated with his visit, with the exception of game tickets which can be supplied. On an official visit, the school will pay for everything, however on this trip you have to pick up the check.

Some examples of unofficial visits include, but are not limited to: basketball games, junior days, spring football games, spring football practices, summer open houses, and fall football games. You are not limited to a certain number of unofficial visits and you should attend as many as your schedule and finances will allow. All of these are events you are invited to, but you can sometimes contact the school and set them up on your own.

Here are some tips for handling unofficial visits:  Continue @ http://www.mandarinfootball.com/Rec101.html

Summer Camps
When you go to camp this summer it is one thing and one thing only, a tryout. You will be invited to many camps and every college coach has the same agenda when they invite you, they want to see if you can play on their team. You are coming on campus so they can evaluate you in person. Your high school coach may have recommended you and sent tape on you, now it’s his chance to see you for himself so he can remove all the hype and exaggerations on your resume that is used to promote you. One of the first things you will do at a summer camp is run the 40, a vertical jump, maybe shuttle and other tests they prefer. So, the question is, will going to this camp increase my chances of getting a scholarship? Some guys pass the test with ease others don’t. You should know before selecting summer camps to attend where you fit in the big picture and be honest wit yourself. Because of your height, weight, or performance test scores you may not be a D-1A prospect, you may be a D1-AA or D-II or D-III prospect. Once you have identified your best shot a athletic scholarship then you should select the camps where you have a higher percentage of gaining an offer.

College football camps are an audition, a tryout, and an interview all wrapped up in one. If you decide to go, then make sure you understand that, and you are in the best shape of your life and know your position and the game inside and out. It is a business trip so leave your PS2 at home and make sure you get plenty of rest and fluids while you are there. Be first in line to every drill and make sure you stand out. They are not looking for an average camper; they are looking for the guys that are head and shoulders better than everyone else there. Don’t go and be average, average guys don’t get recruited, if you go, you had better be exceptional!

Frequently Asked Questions: Continue @ http://www.mandarinfootball.com/Rec101.html

The Clearinghouse
One of the toughest things in the world for a high school player is when they are offered a scholarship and they cannot accept it because the don’t have the grades. Sometimes it is a case of not attending classes, or an SAT score that does not meet minimum requirements, whatever the situation it is not a good thing when they have to turn it down.

The rules changed starting with the class of 2008. Click on the link below to review and download your copy of the minimum requirements.

2008 NCAA Requirements

At the completion of your Junior year you should register with the NCAA Clearinghouse. In order to do that you need to go to the website https://web1.ncaa.org/eligibilitycenter/common/ and register using an online form. Then have your high school send an official transcript to the NCAA Clearinghouse and have the college board send your SAT scores there as well using the number 9999. Now all you have to do is complete your core courses, obtain an acceptable standardized test score and graduate from high school. Once you graduate then have the school send your final official school transcript to the clearinghouse which must include on the document your graduation date.

Official Visits
A visit to a college campus should be viewed as a job interview. You are trying to get the job, while at the same time you are trying to decide if you should take the job if offered. Too many time student athletes fumball the ball here and they look at these trips as an “early spring vacation” or who can worship me the most. Both views are very misguided.

The visit is not all about getting you to go there. Part of the visit is to see if you will fit in with the players they already have on the team. If you go on campus and none of the current players like you, then they can’t recruit you. If you go there with a negative attitude, they won’t recruit you. If you go there determined to be unimpressed then you will do nothing to impress them either. Go for the right reasons or don’t go at all.

Here is some imformation and tips that should help you with the official visit process, and help you increase your chances of leaving your visit with a scholarship offer every time.

NCAA Rule:
You are allowed five official visits. An official visit means the school can pay for your transportation, your hotel, your food, and your entertainment while on campus. The school cannot pay the transportation cost of your parents, but once they are on campus they can provide a hotel room and pay for their food and entertainment. If you live far enough away to fly, then your parents will have to pay for their own plane ticket. However, if you live close enough to drive, then the school will give you a stipend based on your mileage and your parents can ride in the car with you and in essence the schools pays for their transportation too. The school, or any booster of the school, cannot give you anything you can take with you back home. This includes hats, t-shirts, sweatshirts, shoes, or anything else that could be considered a gift. You are welcome to stop at the bookstore during your trip and purchase some of these things, but they cannot be received as gifts.

Prior to your visit you are required to provide an up-to-date transcript and any ACT or SAT testing scores you have earned. In addition, most D-1AA and D-II schools will have you fill out some financial aid information to determine what grants you may qualify for in order to put together a financial estimate on what it will cost to go there. Remember that D-1A schools can only offer full scholarships, but D-1AA and D-II can combine football scholarship money with Pell Grants and other scholarships available.
Typical Recruiting Visit: Continue @ http://www.mandarinfootball.com/Rec101.html