How do struggling seasons affect standing verbals?

fenwaysouth
Sun, 29 Sep 2013 08:02:37 +0000

In my experience, the more athletically competitive divisions & conferences (ie…ACC, SEC, PAC12) are at much more risk of a coach backing out of a verbal commitment than less competitive divisions and conferences. They are the strongest athletic conferences for a reason. I know a few people in this category who had this happen to them. Also, I’ve seen scholarships reduced right before they were going to sign their NLI due to a poor season.

Most of our posters and readers are interested in academic schools with athletics (Ivy, Patriot NESCAC, elite D3s, and D3s). This is a whole different dynamic because Admission’s has a bigger voice in your son’s or daughters acceptance. I think 99% of coaches honor their commitments. However, every so often we hear about some one who doesn’t honor their commitment either because of struggles on the field of play or struggles in the classroom. Reading between the lines (over the years), I think some coaches get out of their verbals by letting Admissions know during the ED process who they really want (a “short list”) despite a previous positive pre-read for the student/athlete. I think when it does happen, that is how it goes down. Bottom line…always have a contingency plan. JMO.