Let me ask the question that a professor asked my son, who was also being recruited for sports:
“Do you want to be a _______ player, or do you want to be an engineer?”
His answer was B. And that’s where he went. He’s now an engineer. Doing well and happy.
For traditional business curriculum in NJ, I’d look at Rutgers (NB & Camden), Rider, Rowan (a lot of cash and political capital is invested in the Rohrer college of business), TCNJ first, in no particular order. Rankings are brochure stuff. As a recruiter, I’ve found that the same companies recruit from all of them and have seen no differentiation of value to those companies based on brick-and-mortar and lush greenery. It all comes down to the student’s accomplishments and where they feel they can succeed best.
I love sports. But it’s no reason to pick a college, any more than any other extracurricular activity. It should enhance the experience, not be the reason for existence. At the highest level, in the best case scenario, it’s over in one’s mid-30s. The most likely scenario is that it prolongs college by a year. Student-Athlete, not Athlete-Student.
For Who? For What?