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Could someone explain how recruting visits work.

JRK1212

Troll
Just currious about how things go down. How do the players get from
the airport to campus. How long are they here. Where do they stay.
What do they while they are here. Who pays for the trip. etc.
Also, what is the difference between and official visit and an unofficial one. Thanks.
 
From that link...

Official Visit: Any visit to a college campus by a prospect and his parents paid for by the college. The college may pay the following expenses: Transportation to and from the college;
Room and meals (three per day) while the prospect is visiting the college; and,
 Reasonable entertainment expenses, including three complimentary admissions to a home athletics contest.

A prospect may not take more than five official visits and each visit may not last longer than 48 hours. Official visits may not be taken by a prospect until after the first day of classes of his senior year.

*****************

JRK, I think that answers a lot of your questions. While the prospect is here, they may make a quick trip into the foothills (lots of guys have never seen snow, so that can be cool for them) or see Denver. On campus, they meet with professors, tour the facilities, speak with coaches, get to know some players, etc. Pretty much what you'd expect. For lodging, I've even seen the Buffs put the prospect & family member(s) up in the St. Julien. Some of the local restaurants they favor are ESPN Zone in Denver and Pasta Jay's in Boulder.

An Unofficial Visit is when the prospect pays his own way. It doesn't count against the 5 Official limit. The school doesn't pay for anything on an Unofficial, but may comp some tickets and give tours & whatnot. Most times, Unofficial visitors will be locals or underclassmen.

Speaking of unofficial visits, we may be entertaining some in the next few weeks alongside the OVs. That's pretty typical and can pay dividends this year and next (great players want to play with other great players).
 
Under the former administration, the recruits on a visit would get paired up with a current member of the team who would serve as an ambassador and show them around. Some thought went into the pairing, based on factors like position, home town, ect.

The coach's household might be used for a home cooked meal and a chance to make the player feel like part of the family.

Accommodations are going to be made, based on the recruit's interests and the school's desire to sell the program. Does the player want to spend the night in the dorms? That might be arranged. If the kid wants to check out a lecture relating to a declared major, that might be arranged.

Maybe the kid wants to hang out in the locker room and play video games. That's cool, too.

For really special recruits, they might get to see the unicorn.
 
JRK, I think that answers a lot of your questions. While the prospect is here, they may make a quick trip into the foothills (lots of guys have never seen snow, so that can be cool for them) or see Denver. On campus, they meet with professors, tour the facilities, speak with coaches, get to know some players, etc. Pretty much what you'd expect. For lodging, I've even seen the Buffs put the prospect & family member(s) up in the St. Julien. Some of the local restaurants they favor are ESPN Zone in Denver and Pasta Jay's in Boulder.

I agree with nik, and here is a little more detail from talking to recently recruited players (as in the past few years.) As with the other posters, we know what it was like in past years, not sure if Embree will mix it up. But in recent past, I have asked four or five recruits what their visits were like and this is a general picture:

If the player flies in to DIA, someone from the team (a coach or grad assistant, usually, typically NOT a player) meets them at the airport. 99% of the time this is on a Friday night. Exceptions would be if the recruit also plays basketball or whatever, and might not get in until Saturday, but usually it's a Friday.


  • If there are other players coming in the same weekend, they will all meet up at a restaurant with most of the coaches, sometimes coaches' wives and kids, and a host player for each recruit. The host player might have something in common with the recruit: similar or same position, or comes from same state or city. They try to pick kids who have some charisma and enthusiasm.

  • ESPN zone in Denver closed down now, but that was one spot they used to take recruits, lots of TVs, bar food, informal when they are getting to know everyone. They'll try to go somewhere fun on Friday night, but more bowling/video game/sports bar fun, good clean entertainment.

  • After dinner, they get driven to Boulder and checked in to a hotel - a nice hotel. (If parents accompany the recruit, they'll be at the same hotel, but not the same room.) The host players may be allowed to take the recruits to see their apartment or go out for a little bit, but CU is very restricted about what recruits do. I heard at some other schools, they may still take a kid out to a place where there is drinking - not so likely at CU, recruit visits are very monitored.

  • Saturday & Sunday they will squeeze in a few things, such as: a seminar about the history of the school, academics and all the support kids will get at CU, maybe some professors from various departments will be there to answer questions about majors, tutoring, etc. The athletic department will razzle-dazzle the parents, especially, with a presentation about all the amenities available from homework sessions, staff support, how to choose classes, etc. They will talk about the value of a CU education, and how much a football scholarship is worth. There will be food, lots of it.

  • If the basketball team is playing, the recruits might be taken for the game, or for part of it.

  • They'll tour the campus and see the various buildings, go inside a few and see what classrooms are like. They'll see the bookstore, for example, and if there's time, they'll probably check out the Hill and some of the businesses nearby.

  • They'll spend time inside Dal Ward, noting the trophies, touring the weight room, checking out all the sweet nike gear in the lockerroom, watching some inspiring videos of past CU greats in the team room, then walking out on Folsom field.

  • Either Sat. afternoon or Sunday after breakfast, there might be a trip up to Chataqua or somewhere in the hills for the non-Colorado kids to say "wow, THAT's what snow looks like. Wow, these mountains are gorgeous ... "

  • Depending on the crowd, Saturday dinner might be at coaches' homes, or at a place such as Pasta Jay's. Player hosts will stay with their recruit for all these events, most of the time, or as much as possible, trying to get a bond going. If a recruit or his parents ask for something particular, like a tour of a certain building, an introduction to a certain professor, or a walk on Pearl Street Mall, they try to accommodate.

  • There's usually a breakfast Sunday a.m. either at the hotel or at Dal Ward, and some of the recruits will be invited in for a one-on-one with the head coach back at his office (most of the time). For some schools, this is when an official offer is made, and the recruit may accept or ask for more time if he's considering other offers. Some schools, such as CU, often have made offers prior to the official visit, but not always. Some schools or the HC like to make a big presentation during the visit.
By lunchtime on Sunday, the official visit is winding down. A few people leave early, a few stay for lunch, but by the afternoon, most of the recruits will be headed back to DIA.
 
They used to go to the Westminster Dave & Busters in the Barnett years. I worked there at the time. A lot of the opposing teams stayed at the Westin in the Promenade as well. I always thought that was a little weird.
 
I thought the opposing teams chose a hotel location nearby but NOT in Boulder, so locals couldn't pull the fire alarms, etc.

mmm ... wonder if our recruit guys will do the Dave and Busters thing now that ESPN is gone -- but I think they liked showing off Downtown Denver, so guys would realize there was a big city and all it offers (professional sports, Elitches, etc.) very near to Boulder. There's a Hard Rock Cafe and a fancy bowling place on the 16th street mall - maybe one of those.
 
I thought the opposing teams chose a hotel location nearby but NOT in Boulder, so locals couldn't pull the fire alarms, etc.

mmm ... wonder if our recruit guys will do the Dave and Busters thing now that ESPN is gone -- but I think they liked showing off Downtown Denver, so guys would realize there was a big city and all it offers (professional sports, Elitches, etc.) very near to Boulder. There's a Hard Rock Cafe and a fancy bowling place on the 16th street mall - maybe one of those.

That makes sense why they were at the Westin then. BTW Solich was a good tipper. He even laughed when I told him go buffs when he was leaving.
 
So, at Auburn, if the kid is really, really good, when and where do they offer the dad the $200K? Do they make a direct deposit or put in in an envelope with unmarked bills?

CU told my kid that if I wanted to go to a football game or anything, just let them know. Can they still do that? That was about the extent of my wonderful recruiting experience as, soon after, my kid said he was sick of running and didn't want to do it in college.
 
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So, at Auburn, if the kid is really, really good, when and where do they offer the dad the $200K? Do they make a direct deposit or put in in an envelope with unmarked bills?

CU told my kid that if I wanted to go to a football game or anything, just let them know. Can they still do that? That was about the extent of my wonderful recruiting experience as, soon after, my kid said he was sick of running and didn't want to do it in college.

It's considered bad form to offer the $200K during the recruiting visit.:smile2:

As far as "if you want to go to a football game or anything ..." that's perfectly legal. Any potential recruit who can get to the game may request a certain number of tickets (I can't remember now if it's 3 or 4, but something like that.) Attending a game on your own dime (except for the ticket) is considered an "unofficial visit" and recruits may take as may as they wish, although certainly it's a little easier for a kid to get on the recruit list if he actually intends to play football.

There are always a number of high school kids who attend CU games who don't intend to go to CU, but get free recruit tickets to games. No harm there, every once in a while, one does decide to check it out. High school coaches can also request free tickets to games, whether they attend with recruits, or just to watch the game with other adults.

The staff can give a recruit access to the field/sidelines, if they choose, or just give them tickets to sit with other recruits in the stands, allow them in the locker room, etc. They cannot give them (on an unofficial visit) food, drink, clothing or other special considerations that have any monetary value. If they lend a kid a jacket because it's snowing (official or unofficial visit doesn't matter), they must get it back after the visit. Otherwise it's an ncaa violation.
 
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Most of the visitors have already left and will be in town early this afternoon
 
Most of the visitors have already left and will be in town early this afternoon

:nod:

I believe Tu'umalo got in yesterday since the NCAA accommodates for the travel distance from Hawaii by allowing an extra day for the OV.
 
And Embree makes his own stamp on the festivities.

Per Kyle Ringo:
One change is already in the works. More interaction, less isolation.
Hawkins used to limit the number of people a recruit and his parents would interact with on campus to a few. Recruits would be closely chaperoned by members of the operations staff.
Embree is hosting recruits on the club level at Folsom Field on Friday afternoon and evening where they can mingle with assistant coaches, operations staffers, academic advisers, professors and plenty of other members of the campus community. If a recruit or his parents have a question about the school or the program, someone at those gatherings should be able to provide the answer.
And it all comes with a beautiful backdrop that can be matched in only a few stadiums elsewhere in college football.
 
And Embree makes his own stamp on the festivities.

Per Kyle Ringo:
One change is already in the works. More interaction, less isolation.
Hawkins used to limit the number of people a recruit and his parents would interact with on campus to a few. Recruits would be closely chaperoned by members of the operations staff.
Embree is hosting recruits on the club level at Folsom Field on Friday afternoon and evening where they can mingle with assistant coaches, operations staffers, academic advisers, professors and plenty of other members of the campus community. If a recruit or his parents have a question about the school or the program, someone at those gatherings should be able to provide the answer.
And it all comes with a beautiful backdrop that can be matched in only a few stadiums elsewhere in college football.

Thanks, AJ. I was going to bring this to everyone's attention.

If you are a CU alum and doing well in your field of study as a career, you might consider contacting the AD to let them know that you are available to speak to any recruits who express interest in your major.
 
I'm a CU alum; however, whether I'm doing well is fairly subjective. :smile2:
 
Thanks for the info guys. So does anyone know what the itinreary was for this weekend and presumably the next weekend as well.
 
Thanks for the info guys. So does anyone know what the itinreary was for this weekend and presumably the next weekend as well.


Everyone just pieces it together from what the recruits tell reporters, what we hear on the grapevine, and when people see the recruits during the visits (for example, at the BBall game, they were obvious.) But CU won't release an itinerary to the general public, so we don't interfere with the visits. If you happen to run into someone, it's all good, but they don't want a crowd at the hotel, or at the bowling alley, or at the lunch place with their own agenda.
 
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