RECRUITING INFORMATION

When we talk about recruiting, we always emphasize that you are competing with other potential recruits throughout the country. In Division 1 tennis, you are competing against the world! Fifteen of the 19 Baylor University men's and women's tennis players are foreign-born. Read Article

The NCAA recently had an epiphany and decided it might be a good idea to collect graduation rate data on Division 3 Athletes. The graduation rates roughly follow the rates of Division 1 institutions. Read Article

The National Junior College Athletic Association has changed their academic requirements for high school athletes that wish to play in the NJCAA

REQUIREMENTS FOR ENTERING STUDENT-ATHLETES
1 - A student-athlete must be a graduate of a high school with an academic diploma or a General Education diploma. The high school must not be a high school affected by the NCAA Initial Eligibility process at the time of the student-athlete’s enrollment. See the list on the NCAA website of high schools affected by the Initial Eligibility process.
2 - Student-athletes who are completing high school and are simultaneously enrolled in 12 or more credits at a college are eligible for athletic participation with the completion of the NJCAA High School Waiver Form (Form 3.E). This form must be signed by the student-athlete's high school Principal and the College President. This provision is applicable to only those student-athletes whose high school class has not graduated at the time of college enrollment.

There were two additional eligibility guidelines that will no longer apply as of August 1, 2011
1 - Non-high school graduates can establish eligibility for athletic participation by completing one term of college work passing 12 credits with a 1.75 GPA or higher. This term must be taken after the student-athlete's high school class has graduated.
2 - Non-high school graduates who have earned sufficient credit for high school graduation status can establish eligibility for athletic participation by completing one term of college work passing 12 credits with a 1.75 GPA or higher. This term can be completed before the student-athlete's high school class has graduated.

NEWS AND NOTES

Don't forget about the online youth concussion education forum set for January 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th for parents of youth athletes, coaches, and athletic directors.  The expert speaking faculty is comprised of a pediatric emergency physician, neurologist, and psychologist...
 
Interested parties registering online can use the discount code: varsityedge for a $30 discount on the event fee!
 
Here is a link to the event where you can see the 4-day agenda, speaker bio's and register online.
 
http://www.elevationrg.com/2010/09/youth-concussion-education/

NEWS ON INDIVIDUAL COLLEGES

State Schools - State schools that depend on state funds for many programs can be particularly hard hit when the economy is slumping. The University of California Davis recently cut four sports, women’s rowing, men’s swimming and diving, men’s wrestling, and men’s indoor track. The University of Washington eliminated its men’s and woman’s swimming teams. The University of Cincinnati wiped out scholarships for three men’s sports: track, cross-country and swimming. The University of Maine cut its men’s swimming and women’s volleyball programs. This may be just the tip of the iceberg as many other schools are still discussing cuts to not only their athletic programs, but to their academic programs. Here is an article that discusses some of these cuts in more detail
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/04/sports/04colleges.html

With 23 Division 1 varsity programs, Holy Cross in Worcester MA has the largest ratio of teams-per-enrollment in the country.

Williston State is hoping to expand its on-campus enrollment by adding women's softball and men's ice hockey. The two sports will be added for the 2011-12 school year provided the school raises the funds for the program.

Hood College is building a new Athletic Center, which will feature a 1,600-seat competition arena to replace their existing facility.

University of Oregon. In November, the university announced plans to expand the existing Len Casanova Center — which houses a majority of athletic department offices, locker facilities, sports medicine facilities and other support spaces. The expansion will include a 25,000-square-foot weight room, a new grass football field and two new synthetic turf practice fields.

The University of Washington has approved a $250 million renovation to Husky Stadium. Completion date is scheduled for 2013.

Texas A&M University is expanding its main athletic and intramural fields. The project includes four new synthetic turf fields.

The Texas Christian University women's soccer team recently wrapped up its first season playing at the new Jane Justin Soccer Field House. The $1.6 million, 8,000-square-foot facility includes home and visitors' locker rooms, a lobby, meeting rooms, a sports medicine suite.

The University of South Alabama recently dedicated its new $32 million Student Recreation Center. Tthe 116,000-square-foot facility includes multipurpose athletic courts, a cardiovascular theater, weight rooms, indoor and outdoor pools, racquetball courts, group exercise rooms, a climbing wall, a children's play area and a dining area.

Cal State East Bay opened a new Recreation and Wellness Center. The 54,000-square-foot facility will also be used for intramural sports, such as basketball, volleyball and badminton, and weight training.

Crowley Ridge College located in Eastern Arkansas, is adding men’s soccer in 2011.

VMI, with an enrollment of 1,400 cadets, has the third smallest enrollment among NCAA Division I institutions, behind only Centenary and Wofford.

Georgia Tech is breaking ground this spring on the McCamish Pavilion which will be a basketball facility with a capacity for roughly 9,000 fans.

Kennesaw State is adding football in 2014.

St Thomas College is adding women’s basketball in 2011 and men’s and women’s golf by 2012.

New Recreation Centers Lure students - Read Article

The University of New Hampshire and Northeastern University were recently named “druggiest campuses” by the website, daily beast, followed by Bryant University and the University of Maine. Williams College, the University of Vermont, the University of Massachusetts, and Hampshire College also made the list. The list was compiled by weighing three factors: ratings of school drug use given by students on the website College Prowler, federal drug use statistics for each school, and drug arrest information from the colleges.

In 2010 the website named Tufts University in Medford MA the most dangerous college campus largely using crime data from the city of Boston, of which Tufts has a small campus affiliate in downtown Boston which drastically skewed the number.

Most Universities are pretty diligent with how they review applications, but a Harvard University is giving everyone a reason to question how true that is. Read Article