Fielitz, L: Recruiting Student-Athletes at the United States

College selection is a complex interaction of numerous factors. This book investigated the reasons that student-athletes select the United States Military Academy as their college choice. Data were collected from freshman students and analyzed using a repeated measures multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) on twenty-three college selection variables. Post hoc pairwise comparisons were used to determine the importance of these selection factors. The results indicated the important factors for the different groups of student-athletes in the selection process. For all groups, excellent teachers were the most important factor in their college selection. Coaches should emphasize the quality of teachers, the opportunity to play at the Division I level, the academics, the athletic tradition/reputation, the opportunity to win championships and the campus/campus visit when recruiting prospective student-athletes. Coaches should also build positive relationships with the parents and the student-athletes in the recruiting process. Coaches can use this information to become more effective and efficient in the recruitment of student-athletes.