FCS recruit choices

[401ks]

I'm the father of a high school senior who is being seriously recruited by a number of FCS schools (as well as a number of FBS schools). While some would say that he absolutely should accept an FBS offer over an FCS offer, or an FCS scholarship offer over an FCS non-scholarship "offer", we feel that the "right fit" is more important than the "prestige" of a particular football program or even if "athletic" scholarship money is attached to his admission.

That being said, I felt that this might be a good place to gather some feedback from the FCS faithful about their schools (or their competition ;) ). Without giving you specific details about my son (his planned major, for example), I would appreciate some candid pros and cons about the following list of schools, and their football programs, that are currently showing interest in my son as a student-athlete. The list is purposely random. Please do not read anything into the order presented.

University of San Diego
Georgetown
Montana
University of New Hampshire
UC Davis
Butler
Lafayette
Dayton
Colgate
Drake
Robert Morris
Sacred Heart
Monmouth
Albany
Eastern Washington

I'll add a few to the list that have shown no serious interest in my son, but (for whatever reason) I felt that they might be a good fit for him.

Northern Arizona
UMass
Villanova
Towson
Hofstra
Sacramento State

So far, there are a few conferences that have completely ignored him (Gateway, for example), and his 3.2 GPA and 27 ACT score don't set the Ivies hearts aflutter, but that's okay.

I apologize if this is an inappropriate question for this board, but I'm just a dad trying to help my son make one of the biggest decisions in his young life.

Thanks!

[mainejeff]

There are some good schools and programs on that list. You really have to have examine various aspects.....academic programs offered, academic support, coaches, facilities, and to a lesser extent fan support and climate if those are determining factors.

Montana is the highest level program on that list if you take only the football program itself into account. The facilities and fan support are outstanding.

UNH currently has a tremendous coach and renewed interest in its football program.......great New England small town feel and nice campus.

I'm sure that other fans can tell you more about the rest.

(P.S. - if you are going to check out UNH, check out Maine too. ;))

[UNHWildCats]

If I was choosing between those schools these would be the ones I would seriously consider from that list.

Montana
University of New Hampshire
UC Davis
Lafayette
Colgate
UMass
Hofstra

[lc83]

I'm the father of a high school senior who is being seriously recruited by a number of FCS schools (as well as a number of FBS schools). While some would say that he absolutely should accept an FBS offer over an FCS offer, or an FCS scholarship offer over an FCS non-scholarship "offer", we feel that the "right fit" is more important than the "prestige" of a particular football program or even if "athletic" scholarship money is attached to his admission.

That being said, I felt that this might be a good place to gather some feedback from the FCS faithful about their schools (or their competition ;) ). Without giving you specific details about my son (his planned major, for example), I would appreciate some candid pros and cons about the following list of schools, and their football programs, that are currently showing interest in my son as a student-athlete. The list is purposely random. Please do not read anything into the order presented.

University of San Diego
Georgetown
Montana
University of New Hampshire
UC Davis
Butler
Lafayette
Dayton
Colgate
Drake
Robert Morris
Sacred Heart
Monmouth
Albany
Eastern Washington

I'll add a few to the list that have shown no serious interest in my son, but (for whatever reason) I felt that they might be a good fit for him.

Northern Arizona
UMass
Villanova
Towson
Hofstra
Sacramento State

So far, there are a few conferences that have completely ignored him (Gateway, for example), and his 3.2 GPA and 27 ACT score don't set the Ivies hearts aflutter, but that's okay.

I apologize if this is an inappropriate question for this board, but I'm just a dad trying to help my son make one of the biggest decisions in his young life.

Thanks!

Butler University is one of the 3 PFL school on that list. A high academic school with a 2nd year coach who has people excited about the program after years of futility.

Visit the site at http://butlersports.cstv.com/

[patssle]

Unless your son plans/is capable of going to the NFL...I would say choose the school based on academics. Football will carry him for the next 4-5 years. His degree will carry him for the next 50+ years.

[BobbyMo]

Robert Morris, if you have not looked into it deeply is roughly 15 miles from downtown Pittsburgh, so there are plenty of pro games to go to, everything except nba.

About 5 miles around are any stores (best buy, target, etc.), and many restaurants in Robinson Township.

It appears to me, that the NEC is attempting to improve and grow the conference. If there is anything else specifically you would like to know, please PM me.

[BobbyMo]

Butler University is one of the 3 PFL school on that list. A high academic school with a 2nd year coach who has people excited about the program after years of futility.

Visit the site at http://butlersports.cstv.com/

Having been to Buter, I would say it is worth a trip if you have not made one there yet. Great campus. xnodx

[eagle1]

That is a very impressive list. I am an Eastern Washington fan but don't think that I am automatically going to say he should go to EWU but rather I will offer suggestions to the schools that I am familiar with. First off the Big Sky schools listed are both excellent programs with solid coaching and tradition. Both Montana and Eastern Washington have won or shared the conference in the last four seasons. Montana has some of the best facilities and fan bases in all of FCS and Eastern Washington is a blue collar type program that is surrounded by excellent coaches. The only other school on that list that I am familiar with is UC Davis. They are a new FCS school that has been competitive from day one. They have won at the D2 level and are a solid program with excellent coaches. Academically they are head and shoulder above Montana and Eastern Washington. Can't go wrong with either one of the three. Enjoy the process and don't get caught up in the smoke and mirrors schemes. Go Eagles!!!

[BobbyMo]

Enjoy the process and don't get caught up in the smoke and mirrors schemes. Go Eagles!!!

I think that is the most important thing to keep in mind. Your son is lucky to have someone who is so interested in helping him make the best choice. xnodx xthumbsupx xnodx

[SeattleGriz]

I am biased toward Montana, so here is a nice highlight list put out by the University Relations.

http://www.umt.edu/urelations/highlights.htm

By the way, Montana has had 28 Rohodes Scholars. For awhile, they were top 10 in the nation amongst public schools.

[patssle]

Football wins against MSU-Bozeman: 66

Football losses against MSU-Bozeman: 35



xlolx xlolx

That's on their highlight page? xlolx

[Grizalltheway]

Here's some propaganda to sway him towards Montana:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU7IU2uyDvA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxmzgAFKgDI

[AggieFinn]

UC Davis

So far, there are a few conferences that have completely ignored him (Gateway, for example), and his 3.2 GPA and 27 ACT score don't set the Ivies hearts aflutter, but that's okay.

I apologize if this is an inappropriate question for this board, but I'm just a dad trying to help my son make one of the biggest decisions in his young life.

Thanks!

Not inappropriate at all. I'll speak a little for the UC Davis Aggies, it's nothing I'm sure Coach Bob Biggs wouldn't say himself.

3.2 and 27 doesn't seem too bad, granted a lot of UC Davis incoming freshman probably were in the 3.5+ range, but this isn't the Ivy League, so it's completely normal to see those numbers head into Davis.

UC Davis has a reputation for maintaining the "student" in student-athlete. Pretty much everyone who plays football, without too many exceptions, that I can recall, graduates from UCD with a degree. In Davis you'll find one of the widest ranging engineering programs in the country. We have 11 undergraduate engineering majors, the most of any UC. The other major colleges at UC Davis besides Engineering, are Agricultural and Environmental Science, Letters and Science, and Biological Sciences. You can find all the information you need right here about UC Davis as a student:

http://facts.ucdavis.edu/ (http://facts.ucdavis.edu/)

As a football program, UC Davis has recently completed its 4-year transition from Division II football to the FCS. We are now officially eligible for a FCS playoff bid in 5 months. We compete in the Great West conference, 2 time defending conference of the year in the FCS by a variety of rating systems. Other schools we currently have in conference are North Dakota State, Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo, South Dakota State and Southern Utah. NDSU, CP and SDSU are all ranked in the top 25 FCS Preseason Polls. The Aggies were co-GW champs in 2005 and finished 4th in 2006 (you'll notice that with the exception of SUU, the Great West tends to beat up on itself quite a bit). NDSU and SDSU are moving to the Gateway for the 2008 season. Incoming schools to the Great West will be the University of North Dakota and the University of South Dakota who are transitioning up to FCS football over the next 4 years.

The UC Davis football program is undoubtedly known for its "little program that could" mentality throughout the 70's, 80's and 90's. With minimal scholarship capabilities, UC Davis was always in the hunt for a D-II National Title, this could be described as "Aggie Pride", something very dear to every UC Davis Aggie student, player, coach or alumni.

We currently hold a 37 consecutive winning season streak that has survived some very difficult competition over the years. Aggie Football players and the students have a very close bond, and there isn't a huge gap between the Team and the community at large.

The core of the coaching staff have been coaching together for over 20 years. We feature a potent passing attack, and have graduated many notable quarterbacks and receivers, most notably the NY Jets' Ken O'Brien who led the the NFL's best passer rating in 1985.

link to Ags playing professional football:
Aggies in the Pros (http://athletics.ucdavis.edu/FOOTBALL/Alumni/pros.html)

Defensively in recent years, UC Davis has been known for their ability to stop the run, they have a defense that relies on speed and sticking to assignments.

Facility-wise, we have just opened up a new state of the art, Bowl-type Football/Lacrosse facility. It houses 12,000 as of right now, with plans of expanding up in the 20,000+ range, at which time a decision to move UC Davis football up to the FBS level will undoubtedly come into play as the Aggies continue to establish themselves nationally at the FCS level.

Aggie Stadium (Jim Sochor Field)
http://ucdavismagazine.ucdavis.edu/issues/sp07/graphics/StadiumAerial_4c_HR.jpg

more pics here:
http://www.aggiepack.com/pages/football/tickets.htm (http://www.aggiepack.com/pages/football/tickets.htm)

Our FBS foes of recent years include Stanford (who we beat 20-17) in 2005, then #21 FBS Texas Christian in 2006, and this season we play the upstart San Jose State University Spartans. Future FBS bouts will no doubt take us to a variety of places on the West Coast, Fresno State, Nevada, Idaho, San Diego State and possibly some Pac-10 Teams.

The school is large, about 30,000+ students, very big by FCS standards, and the town of Davis is quiet, safe, friendly and within distance of Sacramento (20 min.) and the SF/Oak Bay Area (about 1 hour). We feature a lot of heat and clear skies in the summer time, and a little bit of rain, but still plenty of clear days in the winter.

[Model Citizen]

Your son should pick a school for the education, but the reality is that he's got to like the coaches too.

I'm interested in your thoughts on how he got on the radar with such a diverse list of schools. What contact have you had with recruiting services?

[lc83]

Having been to Buter, I would say it is worth a trip if you have not made one there yet. Great campus. xnodx

Think Butler!!!

[401ks]

There are some good schools and programs on that list. You really have to have examine various aspects.....academic programs offered, academic support, coaches, facilities, and to a lesser extent fan support and climate if those are determining factors.

Montana is the highest level program on that list if you take only the football program itself into account. The facilities and fan support are outstanding.

UNH currently has a tremendous coach and renewed interest in its football program.......great New England small town feel and nice campus.

I'm sure that other fans can tell you more about the rest.

(P.S. - if you are going to check out UNH, check out Maine too. ;))

Unfortunately, our "college tour" that begins next week has been shortened to only one week because of son's other commitments. UNH was on the original itinerary, but had to be cut for lack of time. We also had to cut out the Midwest portion of the trip. Schools like Purdue, Butler, and Dayton got dropped from the schedule.

The silence from the Maine coaching staff has been deafening! xrolleyesx

[401ks]

Think Butler!!!

Butler was the very first school to express interest in my son as a student-athlete. Unfortunately, our visit to the school this summer had to be cancelled due to lack of time.

I was just looking for "inside stuff" from folks who know the schools and the programs well. Sort of some "Princeton Review"-type stuff (Butler isn't in the Princeton Review) about the campus, campus life, and maybe inside scoop about the football program and coaching staff. We can read the web sites, and he gets tons of "propaganda" from the schools. Just looking for a different perspective.

[401ks]

Your son should pick a school for the education, but the reality is that he's got to like the coaches too.

I'm interested in your thoughts on how he got on the radar with such a diverse list of schools. What contact have you had with recruiting services?

Academics is the first consideration, but obviously the coaches and the football program come in a close second.

No recruiting service. He did an analysis of Division I schools where he thought he might want to attend and play football. He then sent out his highlight DVD to 115 schools, along with a transcript and such. He's heard back from 45 schools so far. 20 or so appear interested in him. Out of that 20, 10 or 12 I would call "seriously" interested. Some are FCS. Some are FBS.

[401ks]

Butler University is one of the 3 PFL school on that list.


Isn't it one of the FOUR PFL schools on the list?

Butler
Drake
San Diego
Dayton

[MaroonMafia]

What are his interests other than school and football? If he enjoys the outdoors (fishing, hiking, camping, skiing, etc.), you can't go wrong with Montana!!!

[SeattleGriz]

xlolx xlolx

That's on their highlight page? xlolx

I agree, but that should give you some idea of how BIG that game is to Montanans

[PapaBear]

Unless your son plans/is capable of going to the NFL...I would say choose the school based on academics. Football will carry him for the next 4-5 years. His degree will carry him for the next 50+ years.

This is common advice. It's also dangerously wrong. If your son is on scholarship, he will spend upwards of 3-6 hours A DAY -- in season and off season -- in and around the football facilities. His coaches and teammates will become his family, his friends, his support system -- his entire social circle. If he does not absolutely LOVE the people and facilities associated with football, his college experience will be miserable and his grades will suffer.

There's a little less pressure if he's non-schollie, only because he doesn't technically lose anything if he quits football. But if football is paying his way, then you should evaluate the school's football and academics with equal vigor. Neither should carry more weight than the other.

I ain't guessing, here. Speaking from experience.

[DetroitFlyer]

First, I am a grad, my wife is a grad, my daughter is a senior there, and I hope my son attends in the future. Dayton is a special place. Most folks that are there cannot even begin to describe what makes it so special, they just know that it is a fantastic place to develop as a young adult and receive a top notch education. You probably know that Dayton is a top 100 national university as ranked by US News and World Reports. Dayton has a sense of community like no other school. If you son chooses Dayton, he will make the best friends of his life, for life!

I'll share my daughter's decision making story. I am, as you might gather, a serious UD supporter. We have had Dayton flags, footballs, basketballs, shirts, coffee mugs, etc. in our homes since she was born. As such, she really had no interest in going to Dayton. ( Dayton overload I think ). Even so, she agreed to visit the campus, along with about five other schools. When she was done, ( and to be honest I did not direct her, she made her own decision ), she said that she felt most at home and most welcomed at Dayton. Fast forward three years, and she is still thrilled with her choice.

As for football, you cannot go wrong playing for Mike Kelly. He may just be the best coach at the FCS level in the land. An almost sure future college hall of famer! Program wise, Dayton has a very strong winning tradition and good fan support for an FCS team. The PFL offers the opportunity to play all over the country, and we usually have at least one OOC game against a traditional / scholarship FCS team, ( Fordham the next three seasons ).

Good luck with your decision making process. I agree 100% that where your son fits in is number one. An unhappy student is not a successful student!

Go Flyers!!

[Bison06]

I will give an outsiders input here. I have played 3 football games in Montana in my life and I don't even have the words for how much fun I had. The fans are very football savvy and the scenery speaks for itself. I can't speak on the academics side of things, but if I could go back Montana would have definitely been on my list.

[andy7171]

This is common advice. It's also dangerously wrong. If your son is on scholarship, he will spend upwards of 3-6 hours A DAY -- in season and off season -- in and around the football facilities. His coaches and teammates will become his family, his friends, his support system -- his entire social circle. If he does not absolutely LOVE the people and facilities associated with football, his college experience will be miserable and his grades will suffer.

There's a little less pressure if he's non-schollie, only because he doesn't technically lose anything if he quits football. But if football is paying his way, then you should evaluate the school's football and academics with equal vigor. Neither should carry more weight than the other.

I ain't guessing, here. Speaking from experience.
I agree completely with PapaBear.
I was at the TowsonCenter from 2pm until 7pm everyday during the season and for about 3-4 hours during the off-season. If he doesn't like the facilites or the coaches, he'll be in he11. I would bump up coaches likablility and facilities to equal of the school itself. College football at the FCS level is a full time job. I'm not saying its more important that going to class, but it takes up the same, if not more, time per week.

Other factors that could come into play, does he want to go far away from home? Does he want a small college town feel or more urban? What size of a student population would he feel comfortable being a part of?

[Col Hogan]

Unless your son plans/is capable of going to the NFL...I would say choose the school based on academics. Football will carry him for the next 4-5 years. His degree will carry him for the next 50+ years.

Second the motion.....

[carney2]

You have given us an incredibly diverse list. There does not seem to be any kind of a common thread other than "these are the schools who have expressed some interest." My opinion is that you need to do some more "homework" before moving further into the decision process. Your "homework" will fall into two major categories:

FOOTBALL:

Facilities, coaches, "fit" with the current stdent athletes, etc. Frankly, I am not competent to comment here, but you seem to be getting some good advice elsewhere on this thread. Whoever said that football is only half of the decision process was correct, however.

ACADEMICS/OTHER:

Geography: I don't know where you live, but I do know that Montana AND New Hampshire or UC Davis AND Albany would not be on my short list. You have to use some common sense here, and the further your son is from home, the less his family will participate in his college and football experience.

Size: You know your son. I don't. Ask yourself if his college career (all aspects of it; not just football) will be better at a large university or at a smaller school. The answer here isn't the same for everyone.

Available Majors: Forget it. It doesn't matter. If your son is like the average college student, he will change majors 2 or 3 times before he graduates. I know people (too many) who have said that Charlie (or Debbie) wants to be a marine bioligist, and dear old Wassamatta U. has a great (how they reached this conclusion I'll never know) marine biology program. They overlook the fact that a bachelors degree in marine biology buys one very little in the workplace. This is a field that generally requires some graduate training. My point is that when it comes to majors think it through, but don't overthink it.

Academic Fit: Get yourself a "Fiske's Guide," a Petersen's Guide," whatever. In fact, get more than one of them. This is a big decision. Start making comparison's of your son's class rank, ACT/SAT scores with those of the incoming freshman classes at the various schools. You definitely don't want him to be in the bottom 20% or whatever. It will be an uphill academic struggle for 4 or 5 years. Frankly, unless your kid is a blooming genius, I don't think I'd want him skewed too far in the other direction either.

Urban Environment or Not: Some kids thrive in an urban setting. Some don't. What has been your son's experience up to now?

This is a great time for both you and your son. It is very encouraging that you are involved because, frankly, it is not and cannot be "his decision." This is probably the first major decision of his life and he has neither the experience nor the tools to make it. He needs guidance - and probably some heavy handed guidance - from you and his other adult advisors.

Good luck.

[McNeese75]

What are his interests other than school and football? If he enjoys the outdoors (fishing, hiking, camping, skiing, etc.), you can't go wrong with Montana!!!


I had forgotten how nice that old Griz helmet looked xthumbsupx I say bring it back along with the copper jerseys xnodx

[401ks]

Yes, the common thread in this diverse list IS that these are all schools that have shown a particular interest in my son as a football player. That is the starting point of this entire endeavor. (Well, the second point after the initial screening by my son of Division I schools with football programs.)

The "Football" portion of this exercise may be the most difficult. My son has already had a few college coaches BS him about their program and/or the recruiting process. Most have been terrific, however. Where my son fits into a particular school or a particular football program may be hard to assess. This is almost like a marriage. It takes quite some time to find out if that girl who makes your heart go pitter-pat also will be your life-long soulmate.

The Geography portion brings mixed feelings. While, as a father, I would want my child to stay close to home while in college :o , as a father I realize my obligation to help my son grow into a well-rounded adult. My son has lived his entire life in our small (but wonderful) part of the country. After high school in Michigan, I lived in Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Tennessee, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Florida, Idaho, Utah, California, and Missouri before settling down near my current locale. I don't want my son to grow into a provincial adult. He needs to get out and experience more of the world. If, after four or five years away at college, he wants to come back "home" that's great. But at least he'll know how some "other people live".

The "Size" portion has somewhat taken care of itself. He said early on that he didn't wish to play football for a DII, DIII, or NAIA school. He said that he "didn't want to feel that he was in high school for another four or five years". If he wasn't good enough to play DI ball, he would end his football-playing days in high school. While Arizona State was his original "top choice" (and he took an unofficial visit there earlier this year), it is a HUGE school and personally I wonder if my son would get "lost" at a school that large. But...

The "Majors" part is interesting. I asked him early on, "If a very attractive school/football program offers you a scholarship but doesn't have a ****** major or degree program, what would you do?" His reply? "Change my major!"

"Academic Fit" is a tricky situation. My son is bright, but he's no genius. While Stanford and Princeton (for example) showed early interest in him (but have backed off after seeing his transcript), I wondered if he would have been overwhelmed at those institutions. That is a question that we'll definitely address when decision time gets closer.

"Environment" is less of a tricky situation. He has said that he doesn't want to go to school in "boonyville". He has grown up in a large metropolitan area and would probably pull his hair out if he lived in a too-isolated environment. That being said, he's never experienced anything else. At the moment, he's trying to keep a relatively open mind.

He's just in the third or fourth mile of this recruiting marathon. We shall see what transpires over the next six months. I will be interesting, I'm sure! :D

Thank you for all of your thoughtful comments! xthumbsupx

[401ks]

I agree completely with PapaBear.
I was at the TowsonCenter from 2pm until 7pm everyday during the season and for about 3-4 hours during the off-season. If he doesn't like the facilites or the coaches, he'll be in he11. I would bump up coaches likablility and facilities to equal of the school itself. College football at the FCS level is a full time job. I'm not saying its more important that going to class, but it takes up the same, if not more, time per week.

Other factors that could come into play, does he want to go far away from home? Does he want a small college town feel or more urban? What size of a student population would he feel comfortable being a part of?


We will definitely be discussing the "time spent with football team" issue. That is a great point that we haven't really discussed.

On your other point: This Sunday we are leaving for an all-too-brief tour of some of the colleges on the list. He's visited some colleges in the past (fell in love with Stanford, and felt that Arizona State was "chill", for example), but he should come home with a better idea of the "feel" of a variety of different colleges and football programs. Off the top of my head, I would say that any student population under 4,000 or so might be getting a bit too small for his tastes. His current high school has 2100 students.

Thanks!

[401ks]

First, I am a grad, my wife is a grad, my daughter is a senior there, and I hope my son attends in the future. Dayton is a special place. Most folks that are there cannot even begin to describe what makes it so special, they just know that it is a fantastic place to develop as a young adult and receive a top notch education. You probably know that Dayton is a top 100 national university as ranked by US News and World Reports. Dayton has a sense of community like no other school. If you son chooses Dayton, he will make the best friends of his life, for life!

I'll share my daughter's decision making story. I am, as you might gather, a serious UD supporter. We have had Dayton flags, footballs, basketballs, shirts, coffee mugs, etc. in our homes since she was born. As such, she really had no interest in going to Dayton. ( Dayton overload I think ). Even so, she agreed to visit the campus, along with about five other schools. When she was done, ( and to be honest I did not direct her, she made her own decision ), she said that she felt most at home and most welcomed at Dayton. Fast forward three years, and she is still thrilled with her choice.

As for football, you cannot go wrong playing for Mike Kelly. He may just be the best coach at the FCS level in the land. An almost sure future college hall of famer! Program wise, Dayton has a very strong winning tradition and good fan support for an FCS team. The PFL offers the opportunity to play all over the country, and we usually have at least one OOC game against a traditional / scholarship FCS team, ( Fordham the next three seasons ).

Good luck with your decision making process. I agree 100% that where your son fits in is number one. An unhappy student is not a successful student!

Go Flyers!!

I am rather disappointed that we had to cut Dayton out of our "college tour" plans for lack of time. Dayton and Butler absolutely were places that I wanted my son to see and experience. :( We shall see what transpires from here.

Thank you for your terrific comments and insights. They are greatly appreciated! xthumbsupx

[401ks]

This is common advice. It's also dangerously wrong. If your son is on scholarship, he will spend upwards of 3-6 hours A DAY -- in season and off season -- in and around the football facilities. His coaches and teammates will become his family, his friends, his support system -- his entire social circle. If he does not absolutely LOVE the people and facilities associated with football, his college experience will be miserable and his grades will suffer.

There's a little less pressure if he's non-schollie, only because he doesn't technically lose anything if he quits football. But if football is paying his way, then you should evaluate the school's football and academics with equal vigor. Neither should carry more weight than the other.

I ain't guessing, here. Speaking from experience.

Just like my response to Andy7171... This is a topic that we've rarely discussed and I see how important this could be.

Thanks!! xthumbsupx

[401ks]

What are his interests other than school and football? If he enjoys the outdoors (fishing, hiking, camping, skiing, etc.), you can't go wrong with Montana!!!

Hmmmm......

But how is Montana in the cars, girls, music, and video games departments?? (not necessarily in that order!) :D

[HensRock]

Your question is not inappropriate for this board in any way. We are glad you stopped by.

First, let me commend you and your son's approach to picking a school and not being swayed by the limelight of FBS. There are some execellent opportunities at FBS schools to be sure, but there are many at the FCS level as well. It's all Division I athletics, so apart from football, your son will be in a Div I environment for other sports either way you go. That being said, there's also a better chance of your son getting playing time at the FCS level if he's (as you suggest) a "tweener" (could go FBS or FCS).

You mention athletic scholarships, so you should know that some of the schools on your list do not offer schollies while others offer Grant-in-Aid and others offer the full compoliment of 63 equivalencies allowable by the NCAA at the Div I-FCS level. As many here have suggested, you need to take academics into account - very importantly. Get a good school for your son's chosen major or field of interest. It goes a long way.

With that said, here's a breakdown of the schools you listed: (my opinion of course)

The following are Non-Scholarship:
University of San Diego
Butler
Dayton
Drake
Robert Morris
Sacred Heart
Monmouth
Albany (has recently added schollies and is ramping up. Very Good FB program on the rise and has AD commitment to success)

The Patriot League schools offer Grant-In-Aid ($ assistance [supposedly] not based on athletics). They offer strong academics in a "near Ivy League" atmosphere.
Georgetown
Lafayette
Colgate

The rest are Full-scholarship (or close to it)
Montana (top notch FB facilities and atmosphere)
University of New Hampshire (national power lately, but facilities are poor)
UC Davis (strong traditional Div II program extending it's success into FCS)
Eastern Washington (solid Big Sky school)
Northern Arizona (solid Big Sky school)
UMass (solid Colonial school, national power lately, good facilities)
Villanova (Catholic University, mid-range facilities, poor performance of late)
Towson (added scholarships about 4 years ago - young program on the rise - good facilities )
Hofstra (limited success since joining the A-10, good location & facilities)
Sacramento State (no info)

[401ks]

Thanks, HensRock!

(Personally, I'm a bit disappointed that Delaware has not shown any interest in my son, but...)

Thank you for your opinions about the various programs. That's the kind of stuff I was looking for.

One question: In your scholarship list, shouldn't Monmouth, Robert Morris, and Sacred Heart be in a "Recently Added Scholarships" category along with Albany? It is my understanding that these NEC schools have all recently added scholarships (but not all up to the NEC "limit" of 36) just like Albany. Please clarify.

Thanks, again!

[Ruler 79]

Academically it is Colgate. Football wise it has to be Montana and UMASS.

Whatever you do, stop in and meet Bob Ford from Albany. He is like a father away from home. OUTSTANDING coach (has been around since the beginning of time and has no intentions of leaving even after the stadium is built) and human being. He truely has your son's best intrest first. His devotion to his players and academics puts him in a class by himself. You will do well to at least visit Albany.

Did I mention he wins 65-70% of their games and will be fully funded in the next few years.

[lc83]

Butler was the very first school to express interest in my son as a student-athlete. Unfortunately, our visit to the school this summer had to be cancelled due to lack of time.

I was just looking for "inside stuff" from folks who know the schools and the programs well. Sort of some "Princeton Review"-type stuff (Butler isn't in the Princeton Review) about the campus, campus life, and maybe inside scoop about the football program and coaching staff. We can read the web sites, and he gets tons of "propaganda" from the schools. Just looking for a different perspective.

If you were not able to make a visit this summer there are many other opportunities to visit. The Homecoming game vs San Diego Sept. 29 at BU would be an excellent time to go. I am an incoming BU recruit and it was last years Homecoming game that made my decision. I know a thing or two about the school if you have questions. Just tell your son there is a 60/40 percent split between females and malesxsmiley_wix. Near a big city too so there is much to do on and off campus.

[LBPop]

As candid a look at Georgetown as a biased (and proud) Dad can offer:

Facilities - Terrible
"Stadium" - Worse
Location - Wonderful (Beautiful City, but a real campus)
Cost to Visit - High
Things to do when you visit - unlimited
Education - about as good as it gets
Value of Degree - Among the best
Other sports to root for - Final Four
Money available for football - sparce
Money available for aid to players - sparcer (I didn't go to Georgetown)
Opportunities after graduation - Outstanding
Team record - pitiful
Cost (without considering financial aid) - ridiculous
Would I do it again? In a heartbeat!
Would LBKid do it again? Even if he had to pay for it allI hope that helps with at least one of the schools on your list. You are beginning a wild and wonderful ride. While I hope this is not true, your son may never again have such a large number of adults asking him to be part of their organization. Enjoy it; I wish you and him the same level of happiness and satisfaction that LBMom, LBKid and I have experienced.

xthumbsupx

[carney2]

My second post to this thread - and I really ought to learn when to shut up. I note that you want the "inside stuff" and I also notice that no one has yet commented on my favorite FCS school, Lafayette, so here are some things that come to mind:

LOCATION: Easton used to be the big negative on every Lafayette student's list. Not so anymore. The city has upgraded itself in many ways over the past 10 years or so and now has a real nice "small city" feel to it. In addition, easy access to New York and Philadelphia (a little over one hour to each) places it in a great location if you don't want to put up with the day to day experiences in these mega-opolises. In addition, College Hill is one of the nicer residential areas in Easton.

SIZE: With 2,300 or so students and no graduate school, this cuts both ways. I personally like smaller schools, but recognize that it isn't everyone's cup of tea. You say that under 4,000 will be a negative on your list, so...

GOOD ACADEMICS IN A GOOD ACADEMIC CONFERENCE: No bones about it, at any Patriot League school your academic career does not take a back seat to your athletic career. It may not be everyone's attitude on this board, but I find no way that I can shade this as a bad thing.

GOOD OPPORTUNITIES; GOOD CONTACTS: The opportunities for internships and employment are fantastic. The alumni are influential and involved. Easy access to major commercial markets like New York doesn't hurt. As an example, I point to Lafayette's all-everything linebacker of a few years ago, Cornelius Bennett. He had a cup (more like a sip) of coffee with the Chicago Bears, and is now embarked on a very promising Wall Street career that began, I believe, with a College sponsored internship.

THE SOCIAL SCENE: A very intense social scene that seems to appeal to most athletic types who were at the social epicenter of their high schools. I will just say that both of my kids applied and were accepted. I discouraged my older daughter who I knew would not do well socially, but encouraged her sister who I knew would thrive. (Neither attended.) Fraternities are on the downswing; sororities seem to be headed the other direction. Is generally not regarded as a "suitcase college" where the kids pack up and go home every weekend. I take this as a plus. The kids do not want to leave on weekends. It has become their "home."

FOOTBALL FACILITIES: In a matter of two years they have gone from rundown eyesore to one of the best in the East. Fisher Stadium has become a Taj MaFootball.

FOOTBALL COACHES: When you see Frank Tavani coming at you, your first reaction is "My God, an Arab terrorist." Then he opens his mouth and you will fell like this is someone you have known for years. He is a very genuine guy who, I believe, has the best interests of each and every one of the athletes in his charge in mind at all times. His top assistants are beginning to earn some length of service awards for their tenure on College Hill. Must be something good going on here.

FOOTBALL PROGRAM: Seems like forever, but it was only 8 short years ago that the former College President commissioned a study that, among other things, provided an option of dropping football. Now the program has reeled off three straight League championships and three straight I-AA/FCS playoff appearances. With the new facilities and the current attitude, the program is here to stay. Football is currently "king" on College Hill.

FOOTBALL FAMILY: The coaching staff and the players have bought in to some sort of "we are family" concept. They are a close-knit group where lifelong friendships are formed.

OH YEAH: I almost overlooked the fact that being part of the Lafayette-Lehigh game is a really unique experience that can be reproduced at only a handful of other schools.

I hope this helps. I hope that it's the kind of thing you were looking for.

[Ronbo]

I had forgotten how nice that old Griz helmet looked xthumbsupx I say bring it back along with the copper jerseys xnodx

That's never been used. It's actually a possible future version.

http://www.anygivensaturday.com/forum/image.php?u=3058&dateline=1177394681

[Ronbo]

Hmmmm......

But how is Montana in the cars, girls, music, and video games departments?? (not necessarily in that order!) :D

Montana football players are treated like celebrities here. I'll let you come to your own conclusions on what possibilities that presents.;)

[401ks]

Wow!

All this stuff is GREAT! Keep it coming!! xthumbsupx

Thanks a million.

[WrenFGun]

I thought I'd indulge a bit about UNH, since I haven't seen but more than few tidbits here and there regarding them. As people have mentioned, they have become something of a national power of late, and as a result, have season the quality of their recruits increase rapidly over the last few years, putting themselves in a potential position to be successful for quite sometime.

I would have a hard time arguing with those who say that our facilities are poor, as they kind of are. However, more and more work is being put into improving them, starting with the move to field turf this season. I suspect you will see more and more improvement as time moves on.

The fanbase is improving rapidly as well, as most every home game was a sellout last season. UNH plays in a competitive conference and has consistently gotten better and better in my time there.

I have just graduated, and am returning for graduate study, which might suggest something about the quality of education. UNH has improved their reputation quite a bit in my time there, and I'm ery pleased with where they are headed.

As far as location goes, UNH is located in Durham, NH, which is far from a big city, but does feature a very nice campus and beautiful views. In addition, UNH is within 20 minutes of both Dover and Portsmouth, which feature plenty of restuarants, movie theaters and bowling alleys. It is also only 90 minutes from Boston, and has a train that goes right into North Station at the TD Banknorth Garden.

I'd close with three things: feel free to contact me if you would ever like more information on UNH. Also, there are a few UNH players who lurk on these boards, so perhaps you might be fortunate enough to run into one of them. Third, go visit. I had a much different view of UNH until I actually got here.

Hope that helps!

[JMU Duke Dog]

401ks, has JMU shown any interest in your son? JMU won the national title in 2004 and has built a solid program that should be good and hopefully challenge for national elite status. JMU has some of the best workout/academic help facilities in the entire country for football players including FBS and FCS. JMU's stadium is also going to have renovations and expansions (worth $10 million) which will make it one of the crown jewels in FCS in the upcoming years. If you have any questions about JMU do not hesitate to ask me or other JMU posters. Good luck with everything!

PS. JMU is also approximately 65% female if that helps!

[Pard94]

That is quite the diverse list of schools. With a list such as that it is really going to come down to where you son most "connects" on his visits. I suspect that you are quickly going to narrow that list down as your son determines in what type of environment he wants to spend the next 4 years.

I can only speak to a few of those schools because I only have first hand knowledge of a few of them. I played for Lafayette and had a whoely positive experience. I return to campus at least a couple of times a year and I am always excited to get back. Frank Tavani, the Head Coach, is a family man who actually has a son playing I-AA ball. I think this gives him a unique perspective as a head coach. As a Lafayette player you are more than just an assett to the coach. You are a person first. I think they do a great job of stressing the importance of football without ever coming close to forgetting that you are a student first and an athlete second. I enjoyed it so much that I got my older brother to transfer from Villanova to play for the Leopards (he had an awful experience at Nova and that is all I will say about that). We both enjoyed it so much that my little brother followed in our footsteps and played OG for Lafayette for 4 years. I met my wife while at Lafayette and she loved it as well. It's a real family affair for us!

I think you can't go wrong with any PL school. you will play quality football and get a top notch education in return...and he'll have some fun too!

UNH is a legitimate top program. I have lived in NH for the last 12 years and I have been on their capmus numerous times. One thing you may want to consider with UNH...it is a hockey school first and foremost and always will be. Take that for what it is worth.

Looks like your son is in a no-lose situation. Tell him to enjoy every second of the recruitment process and, indeed, his entire playing career. He is in a unique situation he is not likely to experience again in his life.

Best of luck.

GO PARDS!

[Go...gate]

This is common advice. It's also dangerously wrong. If your son is on scholarship, he will spend upwards of 3-6 hours A DAY -- in season and off season -- in and around the football facilities. His coaches and teammates will become his family, his friends, his support system -- his entire social circle. If he does not absolutely LOVE the people and facilities associated with football, his college experience will be miserable and his grades will suffer.

There's a little less pressure if he's non-schollie, only because he doesn't technically lose anything if he quits football. But if football is paying his way, then you should evaluate the school's football and academics with equal vigor. Neither should carry more weight than the other.

I ain't guessing, here. Speaking from experience.

This is excellent advice. If he is happy with the program - and the program honestly thinks academics is most important and encourages its kids in that regard - he will do very well.

You have selected many excellent schools from which your son will have the chance to earn a degree with lasting value for graduate school or the business world.

Sounds like you have a very fine son - and he has a very caring father. Congratulations and best wishes in your selection.

[Go...gate]

401ks, has JMU shown any interest in your son? JMU won the national title in 2004 and has built a solid program that should be good and hopefully challenge for national elite status. JMU has some of the best workout/academic help facilities in the entire country for football players including FBS and FCS. JMU's stadium is also going to have renovations and expansions (worth $10 million) which will make it one of the crown jewels in FCS in the upcoming years. If you have any questions about JMU do not hesitate to ask me or other JMU posters. Good luck with everything!

PS. JMU is also approximately 65% female if that helps!

Do they have a grad school for old guys like me?? With those odds, I might be able to slip the surly bonds of bachelorhood.

[HensRock]

Thanks, HensRock!

(Personally, I'm a bit disappointed that Delaware has not shown any interest in my son, but...)

Thank you for your opinions about the various programs. That's the kind of stuff I was looking for.

One question: In your scholarship list, shouldn't Monmouth, Robert Morris, and Sacred Heart be in a "Recently Added Scholarships" category along with Albany? It is my understanding that these NEC schools have all recently added scholarships (but not all up to the NEC "limit" of 36) just like Albany. Please clarify.

Thanks, again!

I'm not the one to ask about NEC and scholarships, I know Albany is adding and I think Monmouth is as well. I do not know about the rest. As I recall this was a hotly debated topic in the league last year. If the league is putting a cap at 36, then you obviously might have a harder time getting an offer than one of the schools that gives the full 63 allowed by NCAA. As for Delaware, I think it might have what your son is looking for.
1. Large, but not HUGE ( apx 17K undergrad/ 4K grad last I checked)
2. Small, college town atmosphere but close to large cities (Phila, Baltimore, D.C., NYC all within a couple of hours drive)
3. "Big-Time" fan support and feel (22K+ sold out every regular season game since 1999)
4. Excellent academics (tough school to get into actually)
5. Beautiful campus setting - very "Ivy League" looking with it's Georgian architecture.
6. Very good value (consistently listed in US News & World Report list of best education values for the $)
7. "Wired". This is impotrant to look for in a school as well. How have they incorporated technology into the classrooms and dorm-rooms. UD's campus was one of the earliest to have all dorm rooms wired for internet access, for instance. (Access to library card-catelog from your room)

Send Coach Keeler your son's info.
mailto:[email protected]

[JMU Duke Dog]

Do they have a grad school for old guys like me?? With those odds, I might be able to slip the surly bonds of bachelorhood.

Currently, JMU's graduate school is small as the focus is on undergraduate education. This fall JMU will have a total enrollment of 18,000+ students but only approximately 1,000 of them will be for graduate studies. JMU is known for graduate studies in education or health-related disciplines (such as audiology, dietetics, speech pathology).

[401ks]

I'm not the one to ask about NEC and scholarships, I know Albany is adding and I think Monmouth is as well. I do not know about the rest. As I recall this was a hotly debated topic in the league last year. If the league is putting a cap at 36, then you obviously might have a harder time getting an offer than one of the schools that gives the full 63 allowed by NCAA. As for Delaware, I think it might have what your son is looking for.
1. Large, but not HUGE ( apx 17K undergrad/ 4K grad last I checked)
2. Small, college town atmosphere but close to large cities (Phila, Baltimore, D.C., NYC all within a couple of hours drive)
3. "Big-Time" fan support and feel (22K+ sold out every regular season game since 1999)
4. Excellent academics (tough school to get into actually)
5. Beautiful campus setting - very "Ivy League" looking with it's Georgian architecture.
6. Very good value (consistently listed in US News & World Report list of best education values for the $)
7. "Wired". This is impotrant to look for in a school as well. How have they incorporated technology into the classrooms and dorm-rooms. UD's campus was one of the earliest to have all dorm rooms wired for internet access, for instance. (Access to library card-catelog from your room)

Send Coach Keeler your son's info.
mailto:[email protected]

Everything you cite are reasons that I'm a little disappointed that Delaware has not shown any interest in my son. The original package with his highlight/full game DVD, transcript, etc. went out to Delaware on March 10, 2007. Just like with Maine, the silence from the Delaware coaching staff has been deafening! :( Oh well... He has to concentrate on the programs that ARE interested in him.

[401ks]

You have selected many excellent schools from which your son will have the chance to earn a degree with lasting value for graduate school or the business world.

Thanks for your kind words.

One minor correction...

These are the schools that have (so far) "selected" my son. I WISH that he was in a position of "selecting" the schools that he will consider. (The guys in that position have multiple offers from FBS schools lined up already!) "Interest" and "offers" are two very distinct things in this crazy world of college athletic recruiting. We shall see which schools remain in the running for him to "select". xcoolx

[Go...gate]

401ks, has JMU shown any interest in your son? JMU won the national title in 2004 and has built a solid program that should be good and hopefully challenge for national elite status. JMU has some of the best workout/academic help facilities in the entire country for football players including FBS and FCS. JMU's stadium is also going to have renovations and expansions (worth $10 million) which will make it one of the crown jewels in FCS in the upcoming years. If you have any questions about JMU do not hesitate to ask me or other JMU posters. Good luck with everything!

PS. JMU is also approximately 65% female if that helps!

Do they have a grad school for old guys like me?? With those odds, I might be able to slip the surly bonds of bachelorhood.

[PapaBear]

What's your son's level of interest in Maine?

Has the Maine staff made any contact with him at all, or did you initiate the correspondence?

What offensive and defensive positions does he play? What's his size? What type of high school did he go to, what type of O & D system did they run and what kind of success did they have?

Don't take Maine's lack of response as a slight to your son. Each school is different and looks for different things in its recruits. It may be that he plays a position Maine feels is "secondary" in its recruiting needs, right now.

Either way, I'm interested in your answers to the above ... if you have the time and inclination to respond.

[Grizaholic17]

Montana Grizzlies are the answer for you!

Terrific scenery, good academics (won the Big Sky Presidential award), big party school (always a plus for college students), and above all, a football program that has seen 14 straight years of playoffs (record), and has traveled to the championship 5 of the last 12 years, and has won it twice in those tries. Not to mention it has one of the loudest stadiums overall in the Nation (even out of 1-A schools).

[USDFAN_55]

Hmmmm......

But how is Montana in the cars, girls, music, and video games departments?? (not necessarily in that order!) :D

I know San Diego is not lacking one bit in any of those categories, especially the women. The school is roughly 60% female, and being only 5 minutes from the beaches is not a bad perk either. The school's campus is one of the best I've ever seen, the academics are top notch, and the city is great. The football team has been doing well in past years, and hopefully this upward trend continues. Wouldn't you love to go watch your son play football in San Diego? What a great excuse to visit America's Finest City as often as possible.

[Grizalltheway]

Yes, the common thread in this diverse list IS that these are all schools that have shown a particular interest in my son as a football player. That is the starting point of this entire endeavor. (Well, the second point after the initial screening by my son of Division I schools with football programs.)

The "Football" portion of this exercise may be the most difficult. My son has already had a few college coaches BS him about their program and/or the recruiting process. Most have been terrific, however. Where my son fits into a particular school or a particular football program may be hard to assess. This is almost like a marriage. It takes quite some time to find out if that girl who makes your heart go pitter-pat also will be your life-long soulmate.

The Geography portion brings mixed feelings. While, as a father, I would want my child to stay close to home while in college :o , as a father I realize my obligation to help my son grow into a well-rounded adult. My son has lived his entire life in our small (but wonderful) part of the country. After high school in Michigan, I lived in Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Tennessee, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Florida, Idaho, Utah, California, and Missouri before settling down near my current locale. I don't want my son to grow into a provincial adult. He needs to get out and experience more of the world. If, after four or five years away at college, he wants to come back "home" that's great. But at least he'll know how some "other people live".

The "Size" portion has somewhat taken care of itself. He said early on that he didn't wish to play football for a DII, DIII, or NAIA school. He said that he "didn't want to feel that he was in high school for another four or five years". If he wasn't good enough to play DI ball, he would end his football-playing days in high school. While Arizona State was his original "top choice" (and he took an unofficial visit there earlier this year), it is a HUGE school and personally I wonder if my son would get "lost" at a school that large. But...

The "Majors" part is interesting. I asked him early on, "If a very attractive school/football program offers you a scholarship but doesn't have a ****** major or degree program, what would you do?" His reply? "Change my major!"

"Academic Fit" is a tricky situation. My son is bright, but he's no genius. While Stanford and Princeton (for example) showed early interest in him (but have backed off after seeing his transcript), I wondered if he would have been overwhelmed at those institutions. That is a question that we'll definitely address when decision time gets closer.

"Environment" is less of a tricky situation. He has said that he doesn't want to go to school in "boonyville". He has grown up in a large metropolitan area and would probably pull his hair out if he lived in a too-isolated environment. That being said, he's never experienced anything else. At the moment, he's trying to keep a relatively open mind.

He's just in the third or fourth mile of this recruiting marathon. We shall see what transpires over the next six months. I will be interesting, I'm sure! :D

Thank you for all of your thoughtful comments! xthumbsupx

I have a feeling he would find Missoula a perfect fit. The city itself has 60 to 70 thousand, and there are about 100K in Missoula county. Despite what MSU fans will tell you, it's a city that you have to try very hard not to like. As a freshmen last year, it seems like I met a hundred people from Chicago, and they all loved it there. As someone mentioned before, football players are most definitely treated like celebrities, and during the fall, Griz football is the only game in town.

[BrevardMountaineer03]

If I was choosing between those schools these would be the ones I would seriously consider from that list.

Montana
University of New Hampshire
UC Davis
Lafayette
Colgate
UMass
Hofstra

I would have to go with UNH here, this is a solid list of Top FCS schools that if I were recruited by them, I would seriously consider.

Academically, however, I can't comment on them due to no knowledge of their academic standings.

[Seawolf97]

:) First you are great dad to have a such an interest in your sons future, college is great experience. You may want to check out Albany as it is on your list. They have a great program on the way up, great academic record and not a bad city to hang out in.
Im a product of SUNY system ( Buffalo State ) graduated centuries ago and my daughter graduated from Stonybrook Class of 97. Albany offers a host a majors and of course the SUNY system is cost effective and you will like the campus.
Good luck in your hunt !xpeacex

[rmutv]

Tremendous question, and some tremendous answers. A few things to clear up and then add about Robert Morris University.



Thanks, HensRock!

(Personally, I'm a bit disappointed that Delaware has not shown any interest in my son, but...)

Thank you for your opinions about the various programs. That's the kind of stuff I was looking for.

One question: In your scholarship list, shouldn't Monmouth, Robert Morris, and Sacred Heart be in a "Recently Added Scholarships" category along with Albany? It is my understanding that these NEC schools have all recently added scholarships (but not all up to the NEC "limit" of 36) just like Albany. Please clarify.

Robert Morris offers scholarships. All schools in the Northeast Conference offer scholarships. They offer LESS in number than the other FCS schools, but they do offer them and they will continue to rise, albeit slowly. They can and should be classified as rising programs, with less significant legacies but very bright futures. Most of the Northeast Conference schools are smaller in size, but offer high quality programs and rather beautiful campuses and/or prime locations.

Now, about Robert Morris University. Some of this might be a refresher if you have had a chance to visit us out in Moon Township, PA, but it can't hurt to repeat it! ;)

LOCATION: Moon Township, Pennsylvania is located just ten minutes away from the Pittsburgh International Airport and 15-20 minutes away from downtown Pittsburgh. While it is a suburban campus, most students bring their cars and go into the city often. The campus is full of hills and wide open greens, and we're in the process of expanding.

SIZE: Robert Morris has 5,000 undergraduates and about another 1,000 graduate students and it is slowly growing.

GOOD ACADEMICS IN A GOOD ACADEMIC CONFERENCE: For a report on how the NEC and Robert Morris did in the recent Academic Progress Report, you can read about it on my blog, which contains several additional links. Here's the direct link to the article: http://colonialscorner.blogspot.com/2007/05/ncaa-hands-down-academic-punishment-rmu.html
The two major programs right now are the Business/Marketing programs and Communications/Information Systems programs. RMU started off as a strict business school and has alumni scattered throughout Fortune 500 companies and local companies. The Communications program is helped by RMU-TV and the Academic Media Center, which possesses Regional Emmy winners and other award winners on its staff and what will be the third largest television studio space in Western Pennsylvania once WPXI 11 (NBC) finishes their new studio in Pittsburgh.

GOOD OPPORTUNITIES; GOOD CONTACTS: Robert Morris students do very well in internships and part-time employment opportunities. RMU has a special Communications Skills program that all students are required to take - basically an intensified English program - and that focuses on communicating effectively in the business environment. No matter what field you're in, it's a valuable set of classes that works on everything from giving effective presentations to preparing documents correctly to writing a resume.

THE SOCIAL SCENE: There's a lot of partying in the dorms, a large cafeteria and coffee shop, but most of the events occur off campus. RMU is still a commuter campus, stemming from its business school days, and students often opt to go downtown instead of staying on campus. If your son has a car and is at least semi-outgoing, he'll make friends in no time and they'll be going out and enjoying themselves easily. It's a friendly campus, lots of pretty girls and outgoing people, but also a very normal campus. Low crime rates both on and around campus and new dorms expected to be installed within 4-5 years - just in time for him to graduate!

FOOTBALL FACILITIES: Brand new Joe Walton Stadium went up in 2005. Before that, RMU played up the road at Moon High School. Joe-Dub stadium is located so that it overlooks Moon Township, and it has state of the art facilities within the actual complex and field turf on the field. Lights will be going up in the future, along with plans for added seating. Right now it seats 3,000+. There's also a training field elsewhere on campus that's occasionally used and high class weight rooms both at the Stadium and in the Jefferson Center closer to the dorms.

FOOTBALL COACHES: NFL experience and lots of it. Joe Walton has been the only coach at Robert Morris, starting the program back on July 27, 1993. Walton played eleven years as a tight end in the NFL for the Giants and Redskins, served on staffs with the Skins, Giants, and Jets, and then was the head coach of the Jets from 1983-1989. He capped his NFL career as the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers until 1991 until Chuck Noll left. Walton's assistant head coach, Dan Radakovich, was his main man on his Jets staff. Scott Farison just moved into the defensive coordinator position, replacing Radakovick who is working with both sides of the ball now. D-Line/Special Teams coach John Banaszak won three Super Bowl rings with the Steelers in the Steel Curtain days.

FOOTBALL PROGRAM: Robert Morris started their program in 1993, playing for the first time in 1994, and quickly became a force in I-AA/FCS football. RB Tim Hall was the first star at RMU, playing two years and earning an NFL paycheck when he was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the 1996 NFL Draft. Hall played two years in the NFL, suffered an injury and was about to be signed by the Kansas City Chiefs when he was inexplicably gunned down in KC. RMU won their first NEC titles in 1996 and 1997, also becoming the only team in the NEC to win the ECAC Classic games (no longer exists). Robert Morris won the NEC again in 1998 and 1999, and then went 10-0 in 2000 to win it for an amazing fifth straight year. The Colonials were gutted due to veterans a poor spurt of recruiting from 2001-2005, but they've rebounded and might be the most dangerous team in the NEC this year. The NEC will be tough, but the Colonials are young and explosive. We'll see how they do this year.

FOOTBALL FAMILY: The coaching staff and players get along tremendously. There's not a whole lot of turnover outside of graduation, and the Colonials have a tremendous graduation rate. The players are close knit, and it's not limited to positions or offense/defense. They are a family and they back each other up.

OH YEAH: RMU and local rival Duquesne get a back seat to Pitt and West Virginia, but the Colonials and Dukes have been making noise the past couple years. Both have rising basketball teams, while Robert Morris has a potential conference championship coming in men's ice hockey. Joe Walton Stadium gets rocking for RMU-Duquesne football games and the Charles L. Sewall Center is absolutely insane lately for RMU-Duquesne basketball games. Last year included a 79-78 thriller of a win for RMU.

Good luck to you and your son in what will be an exhausting but very rewarding search. He should go to the school that best fits him, because that's where he will only truly be happy.

[FargoBison]

I'd choose UCD, they have a great coach with a program that has had a history of success. Plus the school is solid in academics. think it offers about everything your looking for.

[AZGrizFan]

Unless your son plans/is capable of going to the NFL...I would say choose the school based on academics. Football will carry him for the next 4-5 years. His degree will carry him for the next 50+ years.

Exactly what I was thinking as I was perusing that list. Academics first. Athletics second, unless he feels he's a sure-fire NFL calibre player.

[UNH SUPERFAN]

401ks

I have had 2 sons play football at UNH and I can report the following to you:

1. Head coach Sean McDonald is as straight a shooter as you will find. What he tells you will be the truth, good news or bad, and I've found all his coaches to be the same. My wife and I have the utmost respect and admiration for the football program at UNH.

2. As an add-on to the above, UNH recruits high quality kids. I've found all the Wildcat players to be courteous, humble, and their parents to be great people. Academics is an absolute focus both during and after the season.

3. Because UNH does not typically go out and get FBS transfers your son can progress in the system with some assurance that if he is good enough he will play and not have his position taken by some kid coming in from a FBS school.

4. UNH has a great football family. It's fostered by the coaches and athletic department at every home game by the "5th Quarter" parent/player/coaches get together. I have always felt great about the direction we were headed at UNH even when we were losing.

I don't want to gloss over the inevitable hardships and disappointments a player goes through in 4-5 years at a major football school. Coach Mac is a great man, but he is a tough, tough taskmaster! Everything is competitive and the kids schedules are tough. But I can highly recommend the New Hampshire football program to you.

[UNHFan99]

I agree with everything UNHSuperfan said.

The advice that was given to me by legendary Lafayette Coach Bill Russo when he was helping me with this process was when I found a school for football try and picture myself not playing football and see if I still wanted to be there. My top two scholarship offers were from Hofstra and UNH. At the time hofstra was the obvious choice based on Football alone, but i wasnt wild about the city or long Island. Hofstra was a top 20 team and seemed to be on the rise and UNH was easily below 500, but when I took my visit to UNH I loved everything about it. Plus I liked that it was 15 minutes from the beach. So it seemed like the type of place I would be happy at if football didnt work out. As it turned out UNH is now a power in football, but at the time we were miserable.

Academics is also the other obvious reason to choose a program. UNH has a very high graduation rate amongst its players.

I wouldnt choose a school based on how hot their program is because in most cases that changes every 2 or 3 years. Go somewhere you would be happy because the realistic outlook is most guys dont make it 4 or 5 years in a program.

I wouldnt trade my time at UNH for anything.

[andy7171]

Go somewhere you would be happy because the realistic outlook is most guys dont make it 4 or 5 years in a program.

This is a good post as well. I was part of a 26 player class at Towson. After 5 years there were only 8 of us left from that original class.

[lc83]

Think Butler!!!

[carney2]

As candid a look at Georgetown as a biased (and proud) Dad can offer:

Facilities - Terrible
"Stadium" - Worse
Location - Wonderful (Beautiful City, but a real campus)
Cost to Visit - High
Things to do when you visit - unlimited
Education - about as good as it gets
Value of Degree - Among the best
Other sports to root for - Final Four
Money available for football - sparce
Money available for aid to players - sparcer (I didn't go to Georgetown)
Opportunities after graduation - Outstanding
Team record - pitiful
Cost (without considering financial aid) - ridiculous
Would I do it again? In a heartbeat!
Would LBKid do it again? Even if he had to pay for it allI hope that helps with at least one of the schools on your list. You are beginning a wild and wonderful ride. While I hope this is not true, your son may never again have such a large number of adults asking him to be part of their organization. Enjoy it; I wish you and him the same level of happiness and satisfaction that LBMom, LBKid and I have experienced.

xthumbsupx

Hey, LB, just to show how irrational and arbitrary the college selection process can be, when my younger daughter interviewed at Georgetown I got so p-o'd that I had to pay to park that I had her cross the school off her list. She went to Cornell. What might have been.

[Grizaholic17]

I will give an outsiders input here. I have played 3 football games in Montana in my life and I don't even have the words for how much fun I had. The fans are very football savvy and the scenery speaks for itself. I can't speak on the academics side of things, but if I could go back Montana would have definitely been on my list.
Did you play us one of the times when you upset us by 2 points. Oh that made me furious.

[Mountaineer#96]

I don't know why Wofford isn't on your list.........if education is a top decision maker they have got a great program. I was heavily recruited by them in 2003 and the only thing that bothered me with their campus was that the Army ROTC program was weak. ASU had a strong one so that was my factor for choosing App State. ( I would say it all worked out well) x 2 :)

[Mountaineer#96]

[QUOTE=Mountaineer#96;603720]I don't know why Wofford isn't on your list.........if education is a top decision maker they have got a great program. I was heavily recruited by them in 2003 and the only thing that bothered me with their campus was that the Army ROTC program was weak. ASU had a strong one so that was my factor for choosing App State. ( I would say it all worked out well) x 2 :)

[carney2]

I don't know why Wofford isn't on your list.........

You might try actually READING the original post. The list is the schools "that are currently showing interest in my son as a student athlete." Obviously (to me, anyway) Wofford is not one of the schools "currently showing interest." That may very well be the explanation for "why Wofford isn't on your list."

[401ks]

You might try actually READING the original post. The list is the schools "that are currently showing interest in my son as a student athlete." Obviously (to me, anyway) Wofford is not one of the schools "currently showing interest." That may very well be the explanation for "why Wofford isn't on your list."

Hey carney2, you can cut the guy a little slack. I DID say: "I'll add a few to the list that have shown no serious interest in my son, but (for whatever reason) I felt that they might be a good fit for him." He has the right to ask why Wofford isn't on my supplementary list.

I also have the right to plead ignorance, insanity, the 5th, or all three! :o

[carney2]

Hey carney2, you can cut the guy a little slack. I DID say: "I'll add a few to the list that have shown no serious interest in my son, but (for whatever reason) I felt that they might be a good fit for him." He has the right to ask why Wofford isn't on my supplementary list.

I also have the right to plead ignorance, insanity, the 5th, or all three! :o

My wife cuts me no slack. I pass it on.xrulesx

[LBPop]

Hey carney2, you can cut the guy a little slack.

Just a prominent member of the AGS family lookin' out for the new guy.xnodx

[danefan]

LOCATION: Albany, New York. That state capital of New York. The "Capital District" is very diverse in setting and residents. The City of Albany is home to approximately 100,000, but the Capital District itself is getting close to about 500,000. The downtown business center is as city-like as most larger cities. What Albany has that other's don't is that you can drive 15 minutes West and be in the "Country", you can drive 40 minutes North and be at Saratoga (best small city in America if you ask me), and you can 2.5 hours either East or South and be in Boston or NYC, respectively.

SIZE: Albany has 14,000 undergraduates and about another 3,000 graduate students.

GOOD ACADEMICS IN A GOOD ACADEMIC CONFERENCE: Albany is a top notch Public Research University. We have the largest and most advanced Nanotechnology center in the WORLD, which is growing by the minute. Albany is also has nationally ranked programs such as Criminal Justice (#1 or #2 in the nation depending on the year); Business School is great along with many others.

GOOD OPPORTUNITIES; GOOD CONTACTS: With 14,000 undergraduate students, you can imagine the alumni connections. The school has a great internship office and especially in the New York State Government. I graduated from the School of Criminal Justice and just graduated from law school. I have a top paying job with the second largest law firm in the world right along side many Ivy league graduates. Getting that job was as much a product of being a UAlbany grad as anything else.

THE SOCIAL SCENE: Albany is a fun time. Plain and simple people here party. Albany does not have a huge fraternity scene. There is a law in the city of Albany that prevents more than 6 unrelated people from living together and because of that there are no traditional frat houses. Albany is a bar town. The good thing is though, being a metropolitan area students do not have to drive themselves. There are free bus services for students and cab ride from downtown to campus range from $2 to $5 per person. It is a safe city and is getting safer everyday. The police patrol the student hangouts on horseback, bicycle and foot. I have been a home owner in the city for over 2 years now and have never had a problem.

FOOTBALL FACILITIES: OK, let's start with the good. Albany is the summer home to the NY Giants. We have great great practice facilities. We have a state of the art locker room with mahogany lockers and plasma tv's. Our weight room (varsity athletes only) will rival any at the FCS level. Here comes the negatives...we have a bad "stadium". It needs work and there is a campaign going to build a new stadium. Additionally the athletic training facilities need to be upgraded which is a plan for the new stadium as well. A quick search on this board will find pictures of the stadium plans.

FOOTBALL COACHES: Well the only thing I have to say here is Bob Ford. Coach Ford has been our programs ONLY football coach EVER! He's a great guy and becomes a second or sometimes first father to almost all of the guys who play for him. He is brutally honest to both players and parents and will not stand for any crap on his team. He is highly respected in the coaching world and is on the Board of Directors of the American Football Coaches Association. He recently served as the AFCA's president. He has compiled over 200 wins and is one of the top active winning football coaches in all of college football. He has more connections that anyone I know. If you're son is at all interested in being a football coach himself there is no better place to play football than Albany. Albany has long been considered a coaching factory and some very well known coaches were former assistants and players for Coach Ford.

FOOTBALL PROGRAM: Albany is a perennial contender in the NEC. We have been improving out of the NEC in great strides the last few years. Last year we traveled to Delaware and won and also beat Lehigh on the road. This year we travel to Montana, Colgate and Fordham as well as play Hofstra at home (in addition to the NEC schedule). There has been talk for a while that Albany is going to leave the NEC for a full-scholly league. Nothing is set is stone yet and it all depends on where and when a league opens up. We could have joined the Big South this year but turned it down because it was not a great fit. We also had a player drafted the last year in the 6th Round to the Eagles. In addition we two other players signed free-agent contracts. We have former players in both the Arena League and Arena2 League. (Albany has an arena2 team).

OTHER NOTES: Albany is a great up and coming University. Our basketball team has made the NCAA tourney the last two years and our lacrosse program is becoming a perennial national contender (ranked #2 for most of the season last year). Our softball and baseball teams also made the NCAA's this year as well as our Volleyball team. Our Track and Field teams also had great years and sent some athletes to the NCAA championships.

If you're interested in any more details please send me a PM and I'd be happy to share.

Good luck on you're journey and remember that academics is most important because its more than a long-shot to make the NFL.

[Grizalltheway]

LOCATION: Albany, New York. That state capital of New York. The "Capital District" is very diverse in setting and residents. The City of Albany is home to approximately 100,000, but the Capital District itself is getting close to about 500,000. The downtown business center is as city-like as most larger cities. What Albany has that other's don't is that you can drive 15 minutes West and be in the "Country", you can drive 40 minutes North and be at Saratoga (best small city in America if you ask me), and you can 2.5 hours either East or South and be in Boston or NYC, respectively.

SIZE: Albany has 14,000 undergraduates and about another 3,000 graduate students.

GOOD ACADEMICS IN A GOOD ACADEMIC CONFERENCE: Albany is a top notch Public Research University. We have the largest and most advanced Nanotechnology center in the WORLD, which is growing by the minute. Albany is also has nationally ranked programs such as Criminal Justice (#1 or #2 in the nation depending on the year); Business School is great along with many others.

GOOD OPPORTUNITIES; GOOD CONTACTS: With 14,000 undergraduate students, you can imagine the alumni connections. The school has a great internship office and especially in the New York State Government. I graduated from the School of Criminal Justice and just graduated from law school. I have a top paying job with the second largest law firm in the world right along side many Ivy league graduates. Getting that job was as much a product of being a UAlbany grad as anything else.

THE SOCIAL SCENE: Albany is a fun time. Plain and simple people here party. Albany does not have a huge fraternity scene. There is a law in the city of Albany that prevents more than 6 unrelated people from living together and because of that there are no traditional frat houses. Albany is a bar town. The good thing is though, being a metropolitan area students do not have to drive themselves. There are free bus services for students and cab ride from downtown to campus range from $2 to $5 per person. It is a safe city and is getting safer everyday. The police patrol the student hangouts on horseback, bicycle and foot. I have been a home owner in the city for over 2 years now and have never had a problem.

FOOTBALL FACILITIES: OK, let's start with the good. Albany is the summer home to the NY Giants. We have great great practice facilities. We have a state of the art locker room with mahogany lockers and plasma tv's. Our weight room (varsity athletes only) will rival any at the FCS level. Here comes the negatives...we have a bad "stadium". It needs work and there is a campaign going to build a new stadium. Additionally the athletic training facilities need to be upgraded which is a plan for the new stadium as well. A quick search on this board will find pictures of the stadium plans.

FOOTBALL COACHES: Well the only thing I have to say here is Bob Ford. Coach Ford has been our programs ONLY football coach EVER! He's a great guy and becomes a second or sometimes first father to almost all of the guys who play for him. He is brutally honest to both players and parents and will not stand for any crap on his team. He is highly respected in the coaching world and is on the Board of Directors of the American Football Coaches Association. He recently served as the AFCA's president. He has compiled over 200 wins and is one of the top active winning football coaches in all of college football. He has more connections that anyone I know. If you're son is at all interested in being a football coach himself there is no better place to play football than Albany. Albany has long been considered a coaching factory and some very well known coaches were former assistants and players for Coach Ford.

FOOTBALL PROGRAM: Albany is a perennial contender in the NEC. We have been improving out of the NEC in great strides the last few years. Last year we traveled to Delaware and won and also beat Lehigh on the road. This year we travel to Montana, Colgate and Fordham as well as play Hofstra at home (in addition to the NEC schedule). There has been talk for a while that Albany is going to leave the NEC for a full-scholly league. Nothing is set is stone yet and it all depends on where and when a league opens up. We could have joined the Big South this year but turned it down because it was not a great fit. We also had a player drafted the last year in the 6th Round to the Eagles. In addition we two other players signed free-agent contracts. We have former players in both the Arena League and Arena2 League. (Albany has an arena2 team).

OTHER NOTES: Albany is a great up and coming University. Our basketball team has made the NCAA tourney the last two years and our lacrosse program is becoming a perennial national contender (ranked #2 for most of the season last year). Our softball and baseball teams also made the NCAA's this year as well as our Volleyball team. Our Track and Field teams also had great years and sent some athletes to the NCAA championships.

If you're interested in any more details please send me a PM and I'd be happy to share.

Good luck on you're journey and remember that academics is most important because its more than a long-shot to make the NFL.

Not trying to hijack, but that's one of the strangest things I've ever heard. xconfusedx

[MaroonMafia]

^Missoula tried to pass the same law a few years ago (and I think it would have allowed no more than 2 unrelated people living together).

[danefan]

Not trying to hijack, but that's one of the strangest things I've ever heard. xconfusedx

Its called a grouper law and it was intended to prevent brothels....about 100 years ago!

They won't change it an its Constitutional (famous Supreme Court case that everyone reads in law school Village of Belle Terre v. Borass) The case is actually a challenge by a bunch of Stony Brook students to the same law down there.

We had 8 football guys in one house my junior year and we would have to flip up the beds in the two bedrooms and say they were being used for storage when the inspector came around. They do check in the student sections. Weird and a huge waste of money I know.

[Dane96]

LOL...OMG...we did the same thing when I was at UA. My house on Hudson (498) was a NOTORIOUS Sig Ep house (prior to us getting booted for extracurricular partying). WE used to hide our clothes...everything.

Such a ridiculous law. Ironically, you can have ON CAMPUS frat houses...so the law is outdated and stupid. WE were this close (fingers nearly touching) to getting Albany to build frat houses up by the RACC.

Everyone...whether you like lawyers or not...give DANEFAN A HAND...kid just finished the Bar Exam...which may be worse than pre-season football camp on a hot day.

CONGRATS BUDDY!!!!

[401ks]

Just came back from our "college tour" that included campus tours and meetings with the coaches at five FCS schools, as well as "swing through" visits at three other FCS schools.

What an absolutely WONDERFUL trip we had! There are some terrific things happening at the FCS level, and some truly wonderful, dedicated coaching staffs. My son and I were incredibly impressed.

It will make my son's eventual decision that much more difficult, however. :o

[AggieFinn]

Just came back from our "college tour" that included campus tours and meetings with the coaches at five FCS schools, as well as "swing through" visits at three other FCS schools.

What an absolutely WONDERFUL trip we had! There are some terrific things happening at the FCS level, and some truly wonderful, dedicated coaching staffs. My son and I were incredibly impressed.

It will make my son's eventual decision that much more difficult, however. :o

Hopefully he will be an Aggie. xsmiley_wix

Best of luck to your son...miles of opportunites and experiences are ahead of him. Tell him to learn, to have fun and to grow as a human being. xcoolx

[crunifan]

As a UNI fan I think I should put in a good word for our MVC/in-state buddy, Drake.

Drake is a great school in Des Moines, Iowa. I'm not sure if you have ever been to Des Moines, but it is a great city. A metro of over half a million, it is definitely not what people expect from Iowa. Plus, Drake has an excellent academic reputation. I know that it has a very good reputation in Pharmacy. Drawbacks include it is a non-scholarship program. Drake is a school would have to visit and really feel it is a perfect fit. But I believe it is a great school that should receive a good amount of consideration.

[UAalum72]

Its called a grouper law and it was intended to prevent brothels....about 100 years ago!

They won't change it an its Constitutional (famous Supreme Court case that everyone reads in law school Village of Belle Terre v. Borass) The case is actually a challenge by a bunch of Stony Brook students to the same law down there.\
As I recall they began enforcing this in the student ghetto thirty-odd years ago to try to control the parking situation in areas where there are almost no off-street spaces.

[Tailbone]

Just came back from our "college tour" that included campus tours and meetings with the coaches at five FCS schools, as well as "swing through" visits at three other FCS schools.

What an absolutely WONDERFUL trip we had! There are some terrific things happening at the FCS level, and some truly wonderful, dedicated coaching staffs. My son and I were incredibly impressed.

It will make my son's eventual decision that much more difficult, however. :o

What schools did you visit?
Can you tell us what you thought of each?

[401ks]

What schools did you visit?
Can you tell us what you thought of each?

Since my son is currently being recruited by a number of FCS and FBS schools, it wouldn't be appropriate to comment specifically on the few schools that we visited on this trip.

That being said, I will say that while my son has a handful of "favorites" at this point (both visited and unvisited), each of the schools that we visited last week has some wonderful things to offer a student-athlete and we concluded that he could happily attend and play football at any of those schools. Even the "worst" (relatively speaking) was a fine school that he would be proud to attend and represent on the football field. xthumbsupx

[McTailGator]

I'm the father of a high school senior who is being seriously recruited by a number of FCS schools (as well as a number of FBS schools). While some would say that he absolutely should accept an FBS offer over an FCS offer, or an FCS scholarship offer over an FCS non-scholarship "offer", we feel that the "right fit" is more important than the "prestige" of a particular football program or even if "athletic" scholarship money is attached to his admission.

That being said, I felt that this might be a good place to gather some feedback from the FCS faithful about their schools (or their competition ;) ). Without giving you specific details about my son (his planned major, for example), I would appreciate some candid pros and cons about the following list of schools, and their football programs, that are currently showing interest in my son as a student-athlete. The list is purposely random. Please do not read anything into the order presented.

University of San Diego
Georgetown
Montana
University of New Hampshire
UC Davis
Butler
Lafayette
Dayton
Colgate
Drake
Robert Morris
Sacred Heart
Monmouth
Albany
Eastern Washington

I'll add a few to the list that have shown no serious interest in my son, but (for whatever reason) I felt that they might be a good fit for him.

Northern Arizona
UMass
Villanova
Towson
Hofstra
Sacramento State

So far, there are a few conferences that have completely ignored him (Gateway, for example), and his 3.2 GPA and 27 ACT score don't set the Ivies hearts aflutter, but that's okay.

I apologize if this is an inappropriate question for this board, but I'm just a dad trying to help my son make one of the biggest decisions in his young life.

Thanks!


Here is my $.02.

First and above all, your son needs to go to the school where he feels most comfortable. Not just with the athletic department, but with the SCHOOL itself. If he's not happy for the next 4 or 5 years, than his education will suffer.

Next, you and he need to consider the type and quality of the education he will recieve while in school. But remember, he needs to be happy and cofortable there.

Finally, he needs to consider his fit into the teams system. What does the depth chart look like now, what about in 2 or 3 years? If he's there just to play football, then the non-schollys probably won't excite him.

Who else is that school recruiting that could compete with him and make him NOT a good fit?

xtwocentsx

[lizrdgizrd]

Since my son is currently being recruited by a number of FCS and FBS schools, it wouldn't be appropriate to comment specifically on the few schools that we visited on this trip.

That being said, I will say that while my son has a handful of "favorites" at this point (both visited and unvisited), each of the schools that we visited last week has some wonderful things to offer a student-athlete and we concluded that he could happily attend and play football at any of those schools. Even the "worst" (relatively speaking) was a fine school that he would be proud to attend and represent on the football field. xthumbsupx

Can you keep us apprised of his "short list" once he's narrowed it down a bit?

[401ks]

Can you keep us apprised of his "short list" once he's narrowed it down a bit?

Certainly!

I think that you may have to wait until sometime in December for a true "short" list to emerge, however.

[RedSpartan]

There's been some great advice on this thread. Well done, AGS. xthumbsupx

I'll add my thoughts on Colgate, as an alum and former player.

LOCATION: Hamilton is often referred to as being in the middle of nowhere. While that's not exactly true (Syracuse is about 45 minutes away, NYC a couple hours), it is, more or less, a small college town, and most students don't go anywhere on the weekend. It is what you make of it. That said, Colgate and Hamilton have worked together in recent years to really add to the town. There is now a new movie theater and nightclub, for example. Also, Colgate's golf course is one of the top college courses in the nation. Hamilton is a very nice town, with some beautiful old residences and a real historic feel in some places. The small-town thing isn't for everyone, but it really adds to the feel and identity of Colgate being its own community, apart from anyone else.

SIZE: About 2800 students, no grad school. I preferred this to a larger school, and felt that the students were more of a community than elsewhere. Still, the size can make it resemble a big high school, with cliques, etc. This, of couse, exists at larger schools, too, but it's probably just more noticeable at a smaller school. Anyway, I understand that you say that under 4,000 will be a negative for you.

GOOD ACADEMICS IN A GOOD ACADEMIC CONFERENCE: As Carney stated, at any Patriot League school your academic career does not take a back seat to your athletic career. I found the quality of education there to be outstanding. The professors were all easily accessible for extra help if needed, and I think they really wanted to see their students succeed. Most of those that I had were passionate about their subjects, and it showed and rubbed off. In addition, the academic facilities are now second-to-none, in my opinion. Colgate just completed a multi-million dollar upgrade to its library, and added a new $50 million science center.

GOOD OPPORTUNITIES; GOOD CONTACTS: Excellent opportunities for employment and internships. Colgate's alumni are eager to help out in any way they can. As to the football team in particular, Colgate has begun a mentoring program for the players, where former players and/or alums assist with job placement and career services training.

THE SOCIAL SCENE: I would describe Colgate similar to how Carney described Lafayette -- a very intense social scene that seems to appeal to most athletic types who were at the social epicenter of their high schools. Not a "suitcase college" where the kids pack up and go home every weekend -- it's their "home." Quite frankly, it took me a while to come out of my shell, but once I did I didn't want to graduate. Great friends, great times.

FOOTBALL FACILITIES: Top-notch, and constantly being upgraded to stay that way. In fact, the football field was just converted to FieldTurf this summer. The locker rooms, in my opinion, are better than some pro teams' facilities I've seen.

FOOTBALL COACHES: Here's where I can't sing praises loud enough. Coach Biddle is a man of few words, but when he speaks, you listen. He's the quintissential Player's Coach. Guys would run through walls for him. He's a no-BS guy, he'll give it to you straight, but he's not a screamer and won't put you down. He's always in the weight room working out with the team (and sweating like you wouldn't believe). He practices what he preaches -- hard work and discipline. That said, he cares about the players off the field as well. Always preached academics first. You can go to him, or any other coaches, with any problems, academic or otherwise. He helped many players get tutors when I was there. And he plays no favorites -- treats the top players and walk-ons the same -- he just wants you to work hard. He's been there for 12 years now, with unparalleled success in Colgate's history. He's had opportunities to leave, but he's said he's got no interest in it, and I think the job is his till he wants to retire.

FOOTBALL PROGRAM: Colgate normally is competitive in other sports, but (and I admit my bias) it's a football school. Coach Biddle hammers this home to the players, too. While the program hit rock bottom in the early 90s, it's been nothing but success since Biddle got there, and should continue to be stable -- his top two assistants, Ed Pinkham and Dan Hunt (both as good as they come personally and professionally), have each been there over ten years as well, and aren't going anywhere. These guys are committed and passionate about Colgate and continuing to built on their successes. They set the example and work harder than anybody. I've seen it first hand.

FOOTBALL FAMILY: You're training, practicing, watching film, playing, etc., roughly 5-6 hours a day in the fall. You arrive at school weeks before the other students and form a bond with your fellow players and coaches. Really, there is nothing like it. It's a family, and you're in this together.

I don't think my pride and passion in my school is unique among Colgate alums, and while I'm sure that most people feel this way about their school, I just wanted to put in my two cents. Feel free to ask anything else. Good luck, and GO GATE!

(Thanks to Carney for the above format.)

[401ks]

Thanks, RedSpartan! Great stuff. xthumbsupx

I feel that I should make a slight alteration to my son's criteria.

Lafayette is one of the schools that we visited last week, and the enrollment at Lafayette did not seem to bother my son in the least. This may be more of an issue for a very small school that does not offer the "Taj MaFootball" that Lafayette offers, but...

(I don't think that it hurt that the rather attractive Tour Guide that we had at Lafayette flirted with my son! xlolx )

[AggieFinn]

(I don't think that it hurt that the rather attractive Tour Guide that we had at Lafayette flirted with my son! xlolx )

It's all honey up front on a recruiting trip, but you get to college and it seems to change a little xlolx xlolx xlolx

[401ks]

I'm the father of a high school senior who is being seriously recruited by a number of FCS schools (as well as a number of FBS schools). While some would say that he absolutely should accept an FBS offer over an FCS offer, or an FCS scholarship offer over an FCS non-scholarship "offer", we feel that the "right fit" is more important than the "prestige" of a particular football program or even if "athletic" scholarship money is attached to his admission.

That being said, I felt that this might be a good place to gather some feedback from the FCS faithful about their schools (or their competition ;) ). Without giving you specific details about my son (his planned major, for example), I would appreciate some candid pros and cons about the following list of schools, and their football programs, that are currently showing interest in my son as a student-athlete. The list is purposely random. Please do not read anything into the order presented.

University of San Diego
Georgetown
Montana
University of New Hampshire
UC Davis
Butler
Lafayette
Dayton
Colgate
Drake
Robert Morris
Sacred Heart
Monmouth
Albany
Eastern Washington

I'll add a few to the list that have shown no serious interest in my son, but (for whatever reason) I felt that they might be a good fit for him.

Northern Arizona
UMass
Villanova
Towson
Hofstra
Sacramento State

So far, there are a few conferences that have completely ignored him (Gateway, for example), and his 3.2 GPA and 27 ACT score don't set the Ivies hearts aflutter, but that's okay.

I apologize if this is an inappropriate question for this board, but I'm just a dad trying to help my son make one of the biggest decisions in his young life.

Thanks!

Just a quick update...

The NCAA "Contact Period" starts this Sunday. It will be interesting to see how often some of these coaches will be calling my son now that they're no longer restricted to one call per week.

My son's team is undefeated and playing in a playoff quarterfinals game this Friday. They won their league championship and their city championship (5 high schools in the city).

He is the defensive captain of his team, was awarded a "2-Star" rating by Scout.com, and was named by Scout.com as one of the top safeties in the state. He's having a very good year.

Most of the schools on the original list are still in the running, and they have been joined by other schools such as (FBS) Miami (Ohio). A couple of schools have been very upfront and honest. Lafayette let him know a few weeks ago that they wouldn't be offering him an official NCAA visit. William & Mary told him that they wouldn't be in a position to offer him a scholarship, but invited him to walk on. I wish that every coaching staff cared that much about the recruits and what they have to go through. xthumbsupx

Albany has made a strong push. They have "elbowed" their program on to the "serious consideration" list. Three FCS schools have already accepted my son as a student(!), but not yet officially offered a scholarship and/or a place on the football roster.

Princeton has come back into the picture. I thought that my son's grades and test scores knocked him out of that consideration, but at the moment that appears to not be the case. (His GPA has risen to 3.3 on it's way to 3.4.) Princeton seems to have taken into account the outstanding academic reputation of my son's high school.

The next two months should be VERY interesting! :D

[OLPOP]

Be careful. If the Ivys want him to apply for early admission, and that's where he'd be happy, he needs to make a choice now. If he waits, that slot may well be gone, even if he's told,"He's our #1 recruit."

[appstate38]

I'm the father of a high school senior who is being seriously recruited by a number of FCS schools (as well as a number of FBS schools). While some would say that he absolutely should accept an FBS offer over an FCS offer, or an FCS scholarship offer over an FCS non-scholarship "offer", we feel that the "right fit" is more important than the "prestige" of a particular football program or even if "athletic" scholarship money is attached to his admission.

That being said, I felt that this might be a good place to gather some feedback from the FCS faithful about their schools (or their competition ;) ). Without giving you specific details about my son (his planned major, for example), I would appreciate some candid pros and cons about the following list of schools, and their football programs, that are currently showing interest in my son as a student-athlete. The list is purposely random. Please do not read anything into the order presented.

University of San Diego
Georgetown
Montana
University of New Hampshire
UC Davis
Butler
Lafayette
Dayton
Colgate
Drake
Robert Morris
Sacred Heart
Monmouth
Albany
Eastern Washington

I'll add a few to the list that have shown no serious interest in my son, but (for whatever reason) I felt that they might be a good fit for him.

Northern Arizona
UMass
Villanova
Towson
Hofstra
Sacramento State

So far, there are a few conferences that have completely ignored him (Gateway, for example), and his 3.2 GPA and 27 ACT score don't set the Ivies hearts aflutter, but that's okay.

I apologize if this is an inappropriate question for this board, but I'm just a dad trying to help my son make one of the biggest decisions in his young life.

Thanks!


What??? No SoCon schools on the list.... I won't be offendedxbawlingx , the Universities you listed are all fine institutions. Just wondering though, as it may have been previously stated. But it does seem that your choices are all over the map. Could be difficult for travel especially across the country. It is a big decision, hopefully you will make a good choice and find a good fit for your son.

[Franks Tanks]

Just a quick update...

The NCAA "Contact Period" starts this Sunday. It will be interesting to see how often some of these coaches will be calling my son now that they're no longer restricted to one call per week.

My son's team is undefeated and playing in a playoff quarterfinals game this Friday. They won their league championship and their city championship (5 high schools in the city).

He is the defensive captain of his team, was awarded a "2-Star" rating by Scout.com, and was named by Scout.com as one of the top safeties in the state. He's having a very good year.

Most of the schools on the original list are still in the running, and they have been joined by other schools such as (FBS) Miami (Ohio). A couple of schools have been very upfront and honest. Lafayette let him know a few weeks ago that they wouldn't be offering him an official NCAA visit. William & Mary told him that they wouldn't be in a position to offer him a scholarship, but invited him to walk on. I wish that every coaching staff cared that much about the recruits and what they have to go through. xthumbsupx

Albany has made a strong push. They have "elbowed" their program on to the "serious consideration" list. Three FCS schools have already accepted my son as a student(!), but not yet officially offered a scholarship and/or a place on the football roster.

Princeton has come back into the picture. I thought that my son's grades and test scores knocked him out of that consideration, but at the moment that appears to not be the case. (His GPA has risen to 3.3 on it's way to 3.4.) Princeton seems to have taken into account the outstanding academic reputation of my son's high school.

The next two months should be VERY interesting! :D


Your son sounds like a great player, I am surpised Lafayette shut the door so soon. We probbaly get pretty few 2 stars recruits (although the merits of those recruiting services can be debated endlessly)

[401ks]

Your son sounds like a great player, I am surpised Lafayette shut the door so soon. We probbaly get pretty few 2 stars recruits (although the merits of those recruiting services can be debated endlessly)

Even though Lafayette was one of the schools that we visited this past summer, they had never really shown as much enthusiasm toward my son as had many other schools. In the coach's last letter, he said that they had other recruits rated higher. That certainly bodes well for the quality of Lafayette recruits this year!

They were honest and straightforward, and did it fairly early in the process. Our family greatly appreciated their thoughtfulness.

Each program has their own needs and each staff looks for different things in their players. My old joke is that if you put 12 football coaches in a room and present them with a game situation, you'll get 13 different opinions about what should be done! xlolx (Disclosure: I've been a football coach for 9 years. :D )

[401ks]

What??? No SoCon schools on the list.... I won't be offendedxbawlingx , the Universities you listed are all fine institutions. Just wondering though, as it may have been previously stated. But it does seem that your choices are all over the map. Could be difficult for travel especially across the country. It is a big decision, hopefully you will make a good choice and find a good fit for your son.

Thanks!

No SoCon schools have shown any interest. I'm not sure how much they recruit in our part of the country.

Travel is no problem. The "logical" part of me wants my son to spend his college years in a part of the country that is different from where he lives now. The "emotional" part of me would love to keep my first-born as close as possible. :o Birds gotta leave the nest, however. We just want him to be in the place that's best for him. FBS or FCS. Scholarship or non-scholarship. East Coast or West Coast or Somewhere In-between. We shall see.

[Tribe4SF]

Welcome to the meat-grinder that is college recruiting. The only advice I'll give is to accept only what is in writing, and stick to your priorities.

For everyone on here who is a booster of their institution, be careful what you say, and remember who you represent. The restrictions on us are clear, and absolute. NO CONTACT WITH RECRUITS!!!

[Fordham]

Good luck, 401ks! Sounds like your son has had/is having a great senior year and you're enjoying the ride. Hope he ends up where he's happy and that he's able to use his fball skills to get a great education.

All the best.

[Tribe4SF]

There's been some great advice on this thread. Well done, AGS. xthumbsupx

I'll add my thoughts on Colgate, as an alum and former player.

LOCATION: Hamilton is often referred to as being in the middle of nowhere. While that's not exactly true (Syracuse is about 45 minutes away, NYC a couple hours), it is, more or less, a small college town, and most students don't go anywhere on the weekend. It is what you make of it. That said, Colgate and Hamilton have worked together in recent years to really add to the town. There is now a new movie theater and nightclub, for example. Also, Colgate's golf course is one of the top college courses in the nation. Hamilton is a very nice town, with some beautiful old residences and a real historic feel in some places. The small-town thing isn't for everyone, but it really adds to the feel and identity of Colgate being its own community, apart from anyone else.

SIZE: About 2800 students, no grad school. I preferred this to a larger school, and felt that the students were more of a community than elsewhere. Still, the size can make it resemble a big high school, with cliques, etc. This, of couse, exists at larger schools, too, but it's probably just more noticeable at a smaller school. Anyway, I understand that you say that under 4,000 will be a negative for you.

GOOD ACADEMICS IN A GOOD ACADEMIC CONFERENCE: As Carney stated, at any Patriot League school your academic career does not take a back seat to your athletic career. I found the quality of education there to be outstanding. The professors were all easily accessible for extra help if needed, and I think they really wanted to see their students succeed. Most of those that I had were passionate about their subjects, and it showed and rubbed off. In addition, the academic facilities are now second-to-none, in my opinion. Colgate just completed a multi-million dollar upgrade to its library, and added a new $50 million science center.

GOOD OPPORTUNITIES; GOOD CONTACTS: Excellent opportunities for employment and internships. Colgate's alumni are eager to help out in any way they can. As to the football team in particular, Colgate has begun a mentoring program for the players, where former players and/or alums assist with job placement and career services training.

THE SOCIAL SCENE: I would describe Colgate similar to how Carney described Lafayette -- a very intense social scene that seems to appeal to most athletic types who were at the social epicenter of their high schools. Not a "suitcase college" where the kids pack up and go home every weekend -- it's their "home." Quite frankly, it took me a while to come out of my shell, but once I did I didn't want to graduate. Great friends, great times.

FOOTBALL FACILITIES: Top-notch, and constantly being upgraded to stay that way. In fact, the football field was just converted to FieldTurf this summer. The locker rooms, in my opinion, are better than some pro teams' facilities I've seen.

FOOTBALL COACHES: Here's where I can't sing praises loud enough. Coach Biddle is a man of few words, but when he speaks, you listen. He's the quintissential Player's Coach. Guys would run through walls for him. He's a no-BS guy, he'll give it to you straight, but he's not a screamer and won't put you down. He's always in the weight room working out with the team (and sweating like you wouldn't believe). He practices what he preaches -- hard work and discipline. That said, he cares about the players off the field as well. Always preached academics first. You can go to him, or any other coaches, with any problems, academic or otherwise. He helped many players get tutors when I was there. And he plays no favorites -- treats the top players and walk-ons the same -- he just wants you to work hard. He's been there for 12 years now, with unparalleled success in Colgate's history. He's had opportunities to leave, but he's said he's got no interest in it, and I think the job is his till he wants to retire.

FOOTBALL PROGRAM: Colgate normally is competitive in other sports, but (and I admit my bias) it's a football school. Coach Biddle hammers this home to the players, too. While the program hit rock bottom in the early 90s, it's been nothing but success since Biddle got there, and should continue to be stable -- his top two assistants, Ed Pinkham and Dan Hunt (both as good as they come personally and professionally), have each been there over ten years as well, and aren't going anywhere. These guys are committed and passionate about Colgate and continuing to built on their successes. They set the example and work harder than anybody. I've seen it first hand.

FOOTBALL FAMILY: You're training, practicing, watching film, playing, etc., roughly 5-6 hours a day in the fall. You arrive at school weeks before the other students and form a bond with your fellow players and coaches. Really, there is nothing like it. It's a family, and you're in this together.

I don't think my pride and passion in my school is unique among Colgate alums, and while I'm sure that most people feel this way about their school, I just wanted to put in my two cents. Feel free to ask anything else. Good luck, and GO GATE!

(Thanks to Carney for the above format.)

Since there are no names involved here, you're probably safe, but this is technically an NCAA recruiting violation.

[crunifan]

Obviously I know nothing about your son and his talent for football, although he clearly must be very talented to get looks from some of the schools previously mentioned.

I gotta vouch for a certain school in Cedar Falls, Iowa. We happen to have the nation's number one team! ;) I mean wouldn't you love to watch football in nice, warm 72 degree weather all season long?

[griz_fan_in_SanDiego]

I attended Montana and currently attend San Diego...

Montana: Beautiful campus, a lot of outdoor activities, great programs (at least the business School is that's the program I got my degree from), affordable, strong football tradition

San Diego: ranked 107 among national universities, not so respected in football but has a good team none the less, amazing campus, if you like urban areas San Diego is a great city, beach :D, but EXPENSIVE BEYOND BELIEF and no scholly

[griz_fan_in_SanDiego]

Obviously I know nothing about your son and his talent for football, although he clearly must be very talented to get looks from some of the schools previously mentioned.

I gotta vouch for a certain school in Cedar Falls, Iowa. We happen to have the nation's number one team! ;) I mean wouldn't you love to watch football in nice, warm 72 degree weather all season long?

you can do that in San Diego too xcoolx

[crunifan]

Obviously I know nothing about your son and his talent for football, although he clearly must be very talented to get looks from some of the schools previously mentioned.

I gotta vouch for a certain school in Cedar Falls, Iowa. We happen to have the nation's number one team! ;) I mean wouldn't you love to watch football in nice, warm 72 degree weather all season long?

you can do that in San Diego too xcoolx

Be quiet you! You're ruining the proposition! xlolx

[Houndawg]

SIU has a brand new $5,000,000 student/athlete academic and training facility, where your son will be in the weight room at 06:30, after an early study session. xnodx My son doesn't play ball, but if he still did, I'd be very happy to have him coached by a guy like Jerry Kill. He is very active in the community and founder of the Coach Kill Cancer Fund. Very much a leader by example. Not knowing your boy's major I can't say much about specific academic programs. Best of luck, and go with the academics.

[DSUHornet]

Unless your son plans/is capable of going to the NFL...I would say choose the school based on academics. Football will carry him for the next 4-5 years. His degree will carry him for the next 50+ years.

couldn't've said it better myself

[Screamin_Eagle174]

As a senior at Eastern Washington University I've had a fair amount of time to get to know the University well. I have been or currently am an Eagle Ambassador, member of the Greek system, University Newspaper (photo editor), and the Student Programming board.

Eastern is great because of the small-town feel. Everyone is real personable, and except for intro psych, most of the classes are under 25. Most buildings on campus are under a 5-8 minute walk. For the city-slickers, Spokane (second largest city in WA) is only a 20 minute drive away.

As for the football program, we're on track for a lot more success. After losing the Walter Payton award winner in 2005 (Erik Meyer) and many other All-Americans, we only had one rebuilding season; last year where we were 3-8. Right now our sophmore laden team is stepping up and showing a lot of heart and talent, as we're 8-3 and heading to LA to play McNeese this weekend. If there's anything else specific that you would like to know feel free to send me a message and I can give you my email or cell.

Start Something Big.... GO EAGS!

[CaBisonFan]

I'm the father of a high school senior who is being seriously recruited by a number of FCS schools (as well as a number of FBS schools). While some would say that he absolutely should accept an FBS offer over an FCS offer, or an FCS scholarship offer over an FCS non-scholarship "offer", we feel that the "right fit" is more important than the "prestige" of a particular football program or even if "athletic" scholarship money is attached to his admission.

That being said, I felt that this might be a good place to gather some feedback from the FCS faithful about their schools (or their competition ;) ). Without giving you specific details about my son (his planned major, for example), I would appreciate some candid pros and cons about the following list of schools, and their football programs, that are currently showing interest in my son as a student-athlete. The list is purposely random. Please do not read anything into the order presented.

University of San Diego
Georgetown
Montana
University of New Hampshire
UC Davis
Butler
Lafayette
Dayton
Colgate
Drake
Robert Morris
Sacred Heart
Monmouth
Albany
Eastern Washington

I'll add a few to the list that have shown no serious interest in my son, but (for whatever reason) I felt that they might be a good fit for him.

Northern Arizona
UMass
Villanova
Towson
Hofstra
Sacramento State

So far, there are a few conferences that have completely ignored him (Gateway, for example), and his 3.2 GPA and 27 ACT score don't set the Ivies hearts aflutter, but that's okay.

I apologize if this is an inappropriate question for this board, but I'm just a dad trying to help my son make one of the biggest decisions in his young life.

Thanks!

As far as I know, any of the schools that you listed are excellent. I'm a North Dakota State fan, so I'm partial to the Bison...but...

...in my own experience...your son needs to walk around some of the campuses and just get a feel for the environment. It's fine to visit with the coaches and some of the players...but that's not the whole picture of a university.

Is being within driving distance important to him? Only he knows the answer to that.

Is playing for a big-time program a high priority? Only he knows that

What does he plan to major in? I would want to visit the department and some of the professors in his degree area.

Also, an unannounced visit where he doesn't visit with anyone in the football program would give him a better, more realistic feel of how the campus really is.

He needs to feel comfortable where he is. Football is important...but it should come second on the list. And if he hasn't been contacted by a school that he might be interested in...it could be that they just haven't noticed him yet. Those kinds of things happen. Get busy and send a movie and a short resume (grades, awards, leadership roles, letters from teachers & coaches, activities) to any school that looks attractive. A nice picture doesn't hurt either.

Look up the university on the internet and find the name of the AD or the head football coach. Get more aggressive and make them come to your son. Gateway teams are always looking for excellent students with an athletic gift. Any university is.

What is his projected position in college? I'd also look for a place that's hungry for a specific type of player.

You can help him with promoting himself...but be careful, and allow him the space to make a decision that feels like it's 'his.' That is vital.

[UNI Pike]

401ks,

With all of the info being sent your way, it looks like you are a IA or NH voter... Anyhow, I have had some exposure to a number of schools and students on and off your list. I will share my thoughts, for what they are worth-

Please note that I have degrees from U of Iowa, Northern Iowa (full disclosure).

Drake - This is a very good private school, however they are searching for a new head coach (again). That is a crap shoot on the recruiting. The school would be a bit small per your criteria with 5,000 students in the undergrad & grad fields. Has a substantial number of out of state students from Chicago & Minneapolis because of the cost (30k + per year versus 12k for state schools). The school itself is not in the best part of Des Moines, but definitely not the worst. Air service is so so, being a bit more expensive to reach than it should be.

UC Davis - opposite of Drake with 30,000 plus students. Fantastic computer science & ag related studies. Law, medical, and business programs for both under & grad are first rate. I believe that this is the third most popular UC school after Cal & UCLA. New FB facilities. And as they say, its two hours away from everywhere you would want to be (beach, bay area, sierra mountains, etc).

The campus has very liberal political leanings - this may or may not be an issue.

Downside is that school is on a wacky quarter system, meaning the FB teams plays 3-5 games before the students show up for fall classes. Classes are often taught be grad students. There is a great deal of money flowing through the campus given the proximity to Silicon Valley & SF. (There was one student I was working with whose parents' were debating where to build their fifth house).

Sac State - traditionally a commuter school with a large if not majority of students being part time. This is changing, and the school is starting to build school owned housing. Academics are definitely down scale from UC Davis. Recently there has been a great deal of turmoil over the direction of the school between the profs and administrators.

As for FB, they simply are not very good. UC Davis has been kicking their butts for years. Also, it can get brutally hot during the summer, with 90-104 degree temps. UC Davis is slightly cooler because of the weather patterns.

I know that UNI was not on the list, but a short note for them. The sports teams definitely play with chip on their shoulders, as many of the players were passed over by Iowa & Iowa State. In fact, the current QB and FB head coach were both walk ons. I think that the program has a bit of the old Nebraska feel, in that most of the coaches are alumni and the base of the programs are in state players, an active walk on program, and supplemented with out of state recruits.

About 13,000 students. The facilities are generally good to very good all round campus. Excellent programs for accounting, music and teaching. The largest class I had was 200 students (full tenured prof) versus Iowa with 1,000+ (grad student). I also had a class with 8 students. Downside is that the surrounding community is a bit on the quite side. It tends to be not as diverse as a UC Davis. It is more a working class school because of the large percentage of the student body from Iowa. Getting there by air is a bit of a trick, especially with weather.

Good luck with the search. Hopefully the stars will align for you and your son - a good school and a good staff that currently needs a safety.

[401ks]

Since there are no names involved here, you're probably safe, but this is technically an NCAA recruiting violation.

Tribe4SF,

Thank you. I truly appreciate your concern about the possibility of violating NCAA rules here, but I can assure you, RedSpartan's post came nowhere near a "technical" NCAA recruiting violation. Not even close.

RedSpartan does not fit any of the definitions of "Representative of Athletics Interest" as defined by the NCAA.

My unnamed, "hypothetical" xrolleyesx , mystery child does not fit the NCAA definition (for the purpose of this forum) of a "prospective student-athlete".

The reality is that the NCAA rules and definitions are so incredibly broad (i.e. a "prospective student-athlete" is really ANY high school student) that almost ANY discussion of ANY college with ANY sports program by ANYONE at ANY time could be viewed as a "technical" violation.

For example, if you are at a party and you start to talk about how wonderful William & Mary is, I can almost guarantee you that you are "technically" violating NCAA rules. The likelihood that someone at that party is a family member of a high school student is HIGH. That is a "technical" violation of NCAA rules because that little bit of W&M pride could be viewed as "recruiting".

Absurd? Of course.

Any post on this board by a student or "booster" of a particular institution that says positive things about that institution could be a technical violation of NCAA rules because a high school student (read: "prospective student-athlete") or a member of a high school student's family might read it.

Absurd? Of course.

Let's just use common sense here.

[401ks]

As a senior at Eastern Washington University ... If there's anything else specific that you would like to know feel free to send me a message and I can give you my email or cell.

Thanks, Screamin_Eagle! I really appreciate the input.

I will, however, point out that this is where that NCAA rules line becomes a little clearer and it would be wise for me to steer clear. Keeping the anonymity of the public board is the safe way to go at this time.

I promise to report at the end of this entire adventure how everything turns out. Everyone will get to know who my son is at that time, as well.

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Thanks, Screamin_Eagle! I really appreciate the input.

I will, however, point out that this is where that NCAA rules line becomes a little clearer and it would be wise for me to steer clear. Keeping the anonymity of the public board is the safe way to go at this time.

I promise to report at the end of this entire adventure how everything turns out. Everyone will get to know who my son is at that time, as well.

No prob.

[lucchesicourt]

Most classes, if not all, at UC Davis are taught by people with doctorates, and NOT by grad students. However, having been a genetics major, maybe it is only the science department that uses Phds,DVMs, and MDs as instructors. I did take math and history classes too, and they were also taught by Phds. I NEVER had a class that was taught by a grad student in 5 years there.

[Tribe4SF]

Tribe4SF,

Thank you. I truly appreciate your concern about the possibility of violating NCAA rules here, but I can assure you, RedSpartan's post came nowhere near a "technical" NCAA recruiting violation. Not even close.

RedSpartan does not fit any of the definitions of "Representative of Athletics Interest" as defined by the NCAA.

My unnamed, "hypothetical" xrolleyesx , mystery child does not fit the NCAA definition (for the purpose of this forum) of a "prospective student-athlete".

The reality is that the NCAA rules and definitions are so incredibly broad (i.e. a "prospective student-athlete" is really ANY high school student) that almost ANY discussion of ANY college with ANY sports program by ANYONE at ANY time could be viewed as a "technical" violation.

For example, if you are at a party and you start to talk about how wonderful William & Mary is, I can almost guarantee you that you are "technically" violating NCAA rules. The likelihood that someone at that party is a family member of a high school student is HIGH. That is a "technical" violation of NCAA rules because that little bit of W&M pride could be viewed as "recruiting".

Absurd? Of course.

Any post on this board by a student or "booster" of a particular institution that says positive things about that institution could be a technical violation of NCAA rules because a high school student (read: "prospective student-athlete") or a member of a high school student's family might read it.

Absurd? Of course.

Let's just use common sense here.

As I said, your "hypotheticals" make this discourse ok, but each poster knows (or should know) if they are a representative of athletic interest. Only RedSpartan knows for sure if he qualifies. If he contributes money to, or played for his institution, he is such a representative. If he has ever belonged to an organization that exists to support athletics at his school (such as the W&M QB Club), he also qualifies. Since he described himself as a former player, he is absolutely a representative of athletic interest.

If posters who qualify have sent you a personal message regarding your son, and you have replied, then "technical" is no longer the operative word. Common sense is certainly needed, but it is not a substitute for caution in protecting our institutions, and their recruits. Sensible or not, the restrictions on us as representatives of athletic interest are real. Keep your son and yourself anonymous, and all will be protected.

[Gil Dobie]

Welcome to the meat-grinder that is college recruiting. The only advice I'll give is to accept only what is in writing, and stick to your priorities.

For everyone on here who is a booster of their institution, be careful what you say, and remember who you represent. The restrictions on us are clear, and absolute. NO CONTACT WITH RECRUITS!!!

Good Point for boosters, season ticket holders, and alumni. xrulesx

[LBPop]

Enjoy the ride. The recruiting period is exhausting and exhilarating all at the same time. We have some lifetime memories from that experience. One of the most insightful comments we heard during the process was made by the (now former) football coach at Georgetown. As he sat in our family room he asked our son how he liked the recruiting process. Our son, who by now was worn out from answering the same questions over and over, was intrigued by the question and responded that he was enjoying it, but that it was wearing on him. The coach then advised him (I'm paraphrasing here) by saying, "Enjoy every minute because this may be the only time in your life that adult professionals will come to your home with the sole purpose of convincing you to be a part of their organization." We took his advice...you might consider doing the same. Good luck! xthumbsupx

[Ronin]

Really depends upon what your goal is.

If it's just a winning team and fan support -- Montana

If it's a good fit with coaching staff, facilities, etc. -- visit the school

If it's academics -- we need to know the major

From what I've seen the FCS still has a focus on the student/athlete.
Where the BCS is more of athlete/student focus.

[Franks Tanks]

Enjoy the ride. The recruiting period is exhausting and exhilarating all at the same time. We have some lifetime memories from that experience. One of the most insightful comments we heard during the process was made by the (now former) football coach at Georgetown. As he sat in our family room he asked our son how he liked the recruiting process. Our son, who by now was worn out from answering the same questions over and over, was intrigued by the question and responded that he was enjoying it, but that it was wearing on him. The coach then advised him (I'm paraphrasing here) by saying, "Enjoy every minute because this may be the only time in your life that adult professionals will come to your home with the sole purpose of convincing you to be a part of their organization." We took his advice...you might consider doing the same. Good luck! xthumbsupx

Do you know what Benson is up to now? He was a real star there for a while, and he was one of the finalists for the Lafayette head coaching job in 1999 when Russo retired. Of course Franky got the job, which was actually a pretty questionable move and not one the majority of the team agreed with at the time. How far we have come.

[401ks]

As I said, your "hypotheticals" make this discourse ok, but each poster knows (or should know) if they are a representative of athletic interest. Only RedSpartan knows for sure if he qualifies. If he contributes money to, or played for his institution, he is such a representative. If he has ever belonged to an organization that exists to support athletics at his school (such as the W&M QB Club), he also qualifies. Since he described himself as a former player, he is absolutely a representative of athletic interest.

If posters who qualify have sent you a personal message regarding your son, and you have replied, then "technical" is no longer the operative word. Common sense is certainly needed, but it is not a substitute for caution in protecting our institutions, and their recruits. Sensible or not, the restrictions on us as representatives of athletic interest are real. Keep your son and yourself anonymous, and all will be protected.

Tribe4SF,

I really do appreciate your concern, and thank you.

You bring up a good point, and in the spirit of being better safe than sorry, I wish to state here in the open forum that IF ANY POSTERS SEND ME A PM I WILL NOT RESPOND in order to be absolutely sure that no NCAA lines are crossed.

I've got to say that the folks here at AGS have been FABULOUS! xthumbsupx The collective wisdom that has been offered has been tremendous and extremely helpful.

Thank you!

[RAMS83]

Im not sure if a decision has been made regarding your son. I only clicked on this thread for the first time today.

Fordham University -

The gated campus is impressive with stone building architecture, open space and pretty landscaping throughout.

A solid reputation academically and the ability to experience all that NYC has to offer. What better place to be socially and / or for career oriented internships.

The football facilities are fine (clean /modern) but small 7000k seat stadium. Real Estate is hard to come by as far as facility expansion. The team won the 2007 Patriot League Championship this year and will likely be even better next year as many starters return.

The Head Coach is a former FDNY firefighter. He is a good coach and a good man.

I graduated 20 years ago and am a football alumni. Im glad I chose Fordham and have never regretted it.

[Seawolf97]

Tribe4SF,

I really do appreciate your concern, and thank you.

You bring up a good point, and in the spirit of being better safe than sorry, I wish to state here in the open forum that IF ANY POSTERS SEND ME A PM I WILL NOT RESPOND in order to be absolutely sure that no NCAA lines are crossed.

I've got to say that the folks here at AGS have been FABULOUS! xthumbsupx The collective wisdom that has been offered has been tremendous and extremely helpful.

Thank you!

No Thank You and good luck!xpeacex

[colorless raider]

Do you know what Benson is up to now? He was a real star there for a while, and he was one of the finalists for the Lafayette head coaching job in 1999 when Russo retired. Of course Franky got the job, which was actually a pretty questionable move and not one the majority of the team agreed with at the time. How far we have come.

I believe coach Benson is the DC at Towson.

[placidlakegriz]

Wow!

All this stuff is GREAT! Keep it coming!! xthumbsupx

Thanks a million.

Jump on a plane and come to the game in Missoula this weekend. You will get a great feel about Montana. its people, the university and football.

[UNI Pike]

Most classes, if not all, at UC Davis are taught by people with doctorates, and NOT by grad students. However, having been a genetics major, maybe it is only the science department that uses Phds,DVMs, and MDs as instructors. I did take math and history classes too, and they were also taught by Phds. I NEVER had a class that was taught by a grad student in 5 years there.

No offense meant, just conveying what I was seeing / hearing from a group of students I dealt with for 4 years. I was an organizational advisor. It is a great school for academics.

Plus, what other school has their own (official) program for making wine & brewing beer?
xthumbsupx