an inflated need to increase wins.” Do you suppose this pressure
might influence a coach’s recruiting motivations?
When coaches get fired, it is painful. It hurts. To avoid los-
ing their jobs, they try to find ways to
ensure that they win. Coaches who
win usually don’t get fired. One of the
best ways to ensure a winning program
is to have athletes on their team that
are better than the athletes on oppos-
ing teams. Because most coaches don’t
want to be fired, they try to find ways to
enroll superior athletes. You can decide
what this fact means: in 2007-08 there
were thirty-one coaching changes in
Division I football programs. That’s ten
percent of the programs.
How do coaches get better athletes?
They recruit them. They know that
other coaches are recruiting for the
best athletes, too. They also know
that competing coaches are recruit-
ing for their financial and professional lives. They know that
the competition is vicious. If they are to be successful in the
recruiting battle, they must be prepared to do everything pos-
sible to recruit the best athletes.We hear of violations primarily in the highly visible, Divi-
sion I, revenue-producing sports, but coaches in other sports
and other divisions violate and/or stretch the limits of the
NCAA rules, regulations, and bylaws, as well. Remember the
value (and therefore the importance) of booster donations to10 The Sports Scholarships Insider’s Guide
Green Influence
The December 20, 2004,
NCAA News quotes
Doug Williams, former NFL
quarterback with the
Washington Redskins and
current college coach, “We
may say it’s about black and
white, but in the end it’s
green. The big-time boost-
ers and alumni are out there
and the [college] presidents
and athletic directors are
afraid to make a decision
that might irk some of their
big-time boosters.”