THE REALITY ABOUT COLLEGE ATHLETICS

From the June 2000 IHSAA Bulletin

11,999 of 12,000 high school athletes will never play college sports!

Only about 1 athlete in every 10 high schools will play sports on college.

Less than 1% of high school athletes receive scholarship money to play sports in college.

Four things most college programs look for when scouting high school student-athletes:

1) A good academic background, including a good GPA and ACT scores. Is the student-athlete the kind of person who will attend classes regularly and strive to achieve a degree?

2) A good all-around attitude ranks immediately behind academic credentials. Is the student-athlete coachable, do they possess a good work ethic, and do they have a positive influence on their teammates?

3) Does the student-athlete have good character? Those student-athletes likely to be untrustworthy, who have trouble following rules, or are likely to get in trouble with the law usually pose to many risks for the college program.

4) Athletic ability is also vitally important, but ability alone is no guarantee one will be recruited by a college athletic program!

Remember, college freshmen student-athletes are required to be processed through the NCAA Clearinghouse if they wish to participate in NCAA Division I or Division II sports. They should contact their high school counselor for information.