Recruitings News: The Vocabulary of Ivy League Recruiting

First a bit of recruiting news then a quick lesson on breaking down the vocabulary of Ivy League recruiting...

RecruitRecon.com reports that 6'2" point guard Jonathan Lee of the Hun School in Princeton, New Jersey committed to Northeastern this week. Lee spoke with RecruitRecon about his decision, “I committed because I liked the coaches and the team is a contender to go to the tournament every year in the CAA. It can mean instant playing time because they need a playmaker. They have my field of study which is architecture and the guys are cool, we clicked to the point that I felt like I was already there." When RecruitRecon asked him about what schools he chose Northeastern over, this is what he had to say. “I had offers from Toledo, Cornell, Brown, Holy Cross, Fairfield and New Hampshire. I could of waited longer because schools like Wright State, Lehigh, Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan were trying to jump in on my recruitment, but I wanted to get the process over with and go where I was wanted.”

Now for a discussion on recruiting vocabulary.

For the fan of college basketball who is not familiar with the college basketball recruiting process, it should be noted that "offers" are not always infinite. In other words, a school can make an offer, but the school can also place a timeline on the offer (e.g. an expiration date by which the prospect must either accept or decline). After all, the programs have to fill out their rosters and some may not want to wait months for a prospect to make a decision. Oviously, the timeline adds the pressure element. Further, a school can also renege and pull an offer off the table at any time prior to the recruit's signing of scholarship papers.

Since the Ivy League does not offer scholarships, all "offers" and "verbal commitments" are non-binding by either party.

So what exactly is an "offer" in the Ivy League? What is a "verbal commitment" in the Ivy League?

An "offer" is nothing more than a coach (note, absolutely NOT the admissions or financial offices) telling a recruit that if admission to the university is granted and the financial package is appropriate for the athlete's family, the recruit is welcomed to join the basketball program with a "reserved" spot on the roster. There is no promise of financial aid. There is no promise of admission. It is just an invitation to be part of the team if the other roadblocks are cleared. So an "offer" is in actuality contingent on a number of factors.

Oh and by the way, the "reserved" spot on the team is also non-binding. A player can get cut from the team at any point in time, just as the player may quit the team at any time.

Now a "verbal commitment" is a pledge, although entirely non-binding, by the recruit indicating an intention to enroll in the school. Thus, the "verbal" is nothing more than an announcement to the world, a declaration to other college programs to stop recruiting the student-athlete because a decision has been made. It helps eliminate the unwanted postal mail, emails, text messages and phone calls that constantly bombard the recruit each and everyday.

In the case of the Ivy League, once a "verbal" is received, the indication, the notice of intent helps the program refocus its recruiting attention on other position areas. Of course, since the verbal is non-binding, there is always a risk that the recruit backs out last minute. It is a risk Ivy programs always must live with in this league each season.

So in sum, when offers are listed for any recruit, one must realize that these offers could have expired months or years ago or were pulled off the table by the programs. Thus, there is a difference between open offers and closed offers. Nevertheless, if a program "offered" a recruit at some point during the recruiting process, that offer speaks to the respect the program has or had for that player.

Finally, what are the most accurate meanings of "prospect" and "recruit" in the process. A prospect is one who has yet to verbally commit. A recruit is a player that has given a verbal commitment and/or signed an acceptance of a scholarship.

Hope this all helps!