Lure Recruits by Appealing to Parents

M

MichiganDad3

All-American
Nebraska is known for academic support for student athletes. How could this be improved, and what else could the university do to convince parents that Nebraska is the best place to play? I would like to see a series of courses geared toward elite athletes that would help them survive in the world of athletics, both while playing, and after the playing days are over. Courses may include:

  • How to deal with agents
  • How to deal with family and friends that want your money
  • How to be manage your money so you are financially secure after sports
  • Professions for ex-athletes
  • What is I do not make it to the pros?
  • How to capitalize on your college sports fame?
You could allow athletes to minor in this subject area. There could be a separate program for athletes that are great students. Offer all labs during off-season and after hours to relieve pressure on engineering students and pre-med students. Any other ideas? Would this help recruit four and five star athletes? If successful, how long would it take other universities to start their own programs?

 
Sargon said:
Sounds like a pretty good idea.
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Yea it really does. It's very similar to the real world planning classes I've always felt High Schools ought to have.

Teach kids about:

Establishing and managing Credit

Home and Auto loans

Credit Cards

Equity

Debt Consolidation

Managing debt

you could go on and on......

Never understood why schools aren't preparing kids a bit more for actual "life" instead of anayzing Grapes of Wrath and teaching about the Lusitania........

 
This is a great idea in theory, but, athletes already receive A LOT of this from people inside the AD. UNL has people in their offices whose main job is to help athletes get jobs out of school if they're not pursuing professional athletics. Athletes are also required to meet with these advisors on a regular basis to go over post-graduate options.

In regards to handling 'fame' and riches, I don't know what the university offers, but I shared a couple of classes with Husker players when I was in college and vaguely remember them talking about sitting down with AD staff to talk about what it means to be a student athlete at a big division one school.

My point is I'm interested in what the university already does for the students. I think this coursework could hold a lot of value, without question, especially if the athletes really aren't getting that much assistance for the future. But, if the AD already does this, how much more is necessary? I'd like to know the extent of what they already do.

 
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Part of the lure would be to get credit for these courses rather than requiring extra meetings on top of a crowded schedule. Making for credit classes would also allow much more time on these subjects.

 
Playing Devil's advocate here - I'm guessing there's a few reasons the information you mentioned in the OP does not exist via college credit. First, there's a lot that goes into creating a college course. Is there enough curriculum for it to be a full semester course? Who would be qualified teaching candidate for it? That also doesn't consider the logistics involved with creating a new course.

Second, in my opinion, it's part of the AD's responsibility to give athletes this information. Now, we'd ask they pay for it? Sure, the scholarship athletes get it for free, but, walk-ons don't deserve the same info.? So, do we then offer "free" information through the AD but give the jazzed up version to people who want to pay for it in Learn to be an Athlete 201? That doesn't seem very fair.

I would also argue that I'm not sure this gives much of a "lure" to parents. As we all know, an athlete weighs a lot of factors before choosing a university. I don't think a solitary course on learning how to be a star athlete and handle the associated pressure tips the scale much when weighing other factors.

But, again, my biggest argument here is that this should be an AD's responsibility from the start, not some course the students take for credit. They're division one athletes. They kind of sign up for the pressure and busy schedule to begin with.

 
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Enhance89 said:
Playing Devil's advocate here - I'm guessing there's a few reasons the information you mentioned in the OP does not exist via college credit. First, there's a lot that goes into creating a college course. Is there enough curriculum for it to be a full semester course? Who would be qualified teaching candidate for it? That also doesn't consider the logistics involved with creating a new course.

Second, in my opinion, it's part of the AD's responsibility to give athletes this information. Now, we'd ask they pay for it? Sure, the scholarship athletes get it for free, but, walk-ons don't deserve the same info.? So, do we then offer "free" information through the AD but give the jazzed up version to people who want to pay for it in Learn to be an Athlete 201? That doesn't seem very fair.

I would also argue that I'm not sure this gives much of a "lure" to parents. As we all know, an athlete weighs a lot of factors before choosing a university. I don't think a solitary course on learning how to be a star athlete and handle the associated pressure tips the scale much when weighing other factors.

But, again, my biggest argument here is that this should be an AD's responsibility from the start, not some course the students take for credit. They're division one athletes. They kind of sign up for the pressure and busy schedule to begin with.
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They do have zero credit pass/no pass courses that certain majors have to take in order to graduate.
 
jsneb83 said:
Enhance89 said:
Playing Devil's advocate here - I'm guessing there's a few reasons the information you mentioned in the OP does not exist via college credit. First, there's a lot that goes into creating a college course. Is there enough curriculum for it to be a full semester course? Who would be qualified teaching candidate for it? That also doesn't consider the logistics involved with creating a new course.

Second, in my opinion, it's part of the AD's responsibility to give athletes this information. Now, we'd ask they pay for it? Sure, the scholarship athletes get it for free, but, walk-ons don't deserve the same info.? So, do we then offer "free" information through the AD but give the jazzed up version to people who want to pay for it in Learn to be an Athlete 201? That doesn't seem very fair.

I would also argue that I'm not sure this gives much of a "lure" to parents. As we all know, an athlete weighs a lot of factors before choosing a university. I don't think a solitary course on learning how to be a star athlete and handle the associated pressure tips the scale much when weighing other factors.

But, again, my biggest argument here is that this should be an AD's responsibility from the start, not some course the students take for credit. They're division one athletes. They kind of sign up for the pressure and busy schedule to begin with.
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They do have zero credit pass/no pass courses that certain majors have to take in order to graduate.
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I never took one of those. But, given this, it somewhat defeats the purpose of lessening the load if they end up taking courses that don't provide any graduation credit. I'm just fundamentally opposed to having a student athlete pay credit hours for something I believe the university has a responsibility educating them about in the first place.

 
There are many garbage courses in universities that do nothing to prepare any student for anything in real life. Nebraska could have a series of classes culminating in sports education minor or something similar that would prepare the athlete for life after sports. Sports may end at Nebraska, the pros, or even a coaching career. You could also offer courses on how to run a sports related business, such as providing lessons, practice facilities etc. You could still offer the current services, but the courses provide more detail, and allow the student to obtain credit at the same time.

 
Well, running a sports related business is different than your initial argument of preparing a student for life after the pros from a fame and financial standpoint. In terms of our own university, we already offer something called a Masters of Arts in Business with a Specialization in Intercollegiate Athletics Administration. The vast majority of the degree focuses on basic business principles, accounting and marketing. According to the website, only three of all the required courses focus on sports and higher education. The rest is basically just understanding business, which is what I'd argue is a good path. Sports business is mostly business, like anything else. Knowing how to manage facilities and make a profit comes down to business principles more than anything to do with sports, imho.

So, from a business standpoint, the university is already looking into this. But, I still personally don't see much value in coursework aimed at "life after school for an athlete." The AD already has a life skills program for them as they should, and the whole point of getting a degree is so that athletes are ready for life after athletics.

 
For the most part, it is up to the student athlete. Unless things have changed drastically in the past two decades, there are already a lot of courses offered with regards to economics. I took a lot of economics classes that dealt with finances and such. It's a little difficult to help a student athlete in this regards when his/her major is underwater basket weaving.

 
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