Every year the number of freshman students who participate in Cabrini athletics is increasing due to the recruiting efforts of the admissions office, the athletic department, and coaches.
Coaches may receive notice that an exceptional athlete is recruiting Cabrini. Prospective students may hear of Cabrini’s athletic program or learn of a team’s winning record and subsequently decides to pursue Cabrini as a possible College destination.
In this situation Ryan Greer, assistant director of admissions, would meet with the student to discuss Cabrini athletics. “New coaches may send out mass mail to every coach in a 90 minute radius, Leslie Danehy, director of athletics said, “While more experienced coaches may already have a list of coaches who offer athletes every year.”
After a coach has a defined list of possible recruits he/she will attend weekend tournaments in which high school seniors are showcased. Here the coach can speak with a prospective student between games to discuss the college. Most athletes are recruited to Cabrini this way.
In addition to tournaments, coaches may visit a student’s high school to see the player in action during a game. Word of mouth via current players often provides additional recruit insight for a coach. Alumni references have also proven to have positive results for coaches and prospective students.
What happens after a coach recruits a prospective student? The athlete is invited to Cabrini and receives a first-hand experience of what playing sports at the college level is really like. The athlete will spend a weekend or an overnight stay with a current member of the team he/she aspires to be a part. This experience usually assures the student that Cabrini will be their future home as most of these athletes will become a part of Cabrini’s athletic department.
Although the recruitment of athletes is essential to Cabrini, not much of a budget is necessary. The office of admissions sets aside a limited budget to be used for coaches’ travel expenses, as they may need to travel to various tournaments and high schools in the tri-state area.
There are no athletic scholarships given to exceptional athletes, only academic scholarships because Cabrini is a division III college. The recruitment budget strictly covers the travel expenses.
Ryan Greer, assistant men’s lacrosse coach said, “Our budget only allows coaches to travel if the trip is price efficient. Athletes that are being pursued that may be from the west coast or Canada can be seen only at east coast tournaments, traveling that far a distance is not in the recruitment budget.”
Each coach is given a portion of the budget to spend on recruitment, he/she may choose to pay for a recruit’s plane ticket if they are visiting from the west coast or the coach may choose to watch them at an east coast tournament. Each coach uses a variety of recruitment methods with the portion of budget they receive.
Cabrini College has won more PAC championships than any other college in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference! It is evident that the athletic department and the coaching staffs’ methods of recruiting are effective, regardless of the limited budget.
Posted to Web by: Scott Fobes
