Please note that this transcript was auto-generated. We apologize for any minor errors in spelling or grammar.

Julie Shields-Rutyna: [00:00:00] So welcome everyone. Good evening. My name is Julie Shields Rutina, and I am the Director of College Planning, Education, and Training at MEFA, and I want to welcome you to this MEFA webinar, College Athletics in Admissions. And as we have been for the last Good number of years. We’re very fortunate to have with us Mike Janicki, who is school counselor at, oh, that says the wrong, that says the

Mike Janicki: wrong

Julie Shields-Rutyna: school.

Mike is at Old Rochester Regional High School. We’ll have to fix that.

Mike Janicki: Missed that slide. See, that’s how

Julie Shields-Rutyna: long, that’s how long you’ve been working. And, um, so he is going to be your presented this evening, and, um, we’re gonna have a we’re gonna have a great a great webinar. Uh, just a little bit about MEFA.

MEFA has been around since 1982, and our mission is to help families plan, save and pay for college. Um, most [00:01:00] importantly, at this point, I’d like you to know to please use MEFA as a resource. Um, we have some contact information that you’ll see at the end of the slides. And, um, If you have any questions as you go along in this process, please always feel free to reach out to us and this evening.

I’m sure you have some questions of your own, and I’m sure Mike’s going to answer them. But if if he doesn’t, or if you want to make sure you have you have a question, you want to make sure that Mike touches upon just use the Q and a function and I will monitor that and I can bring up those questions with Mike either at an appropriate time or at the end.

Thank you so much. And if you do need to leave early, um, but just please know we will give you the, a link to the recording and the slides, um, within a couple of days. And if you need closed captioning, you can also hit that CC button and you’ll see the words that we’re speaking, um, across the screen. And with that, Mike, I’m going to turn it over to you.

Mike Janicki: All right, thank you. Um, just to kind of introduce [00:02:00] myself a little bit. Um, I’ve been doing college. Um, for about 2025 years and through interspersed in all of that, more than just being a parent of student athletes, you know, through right through college and or through high school and into the college arena.

Um, I did a little bit of time working as the interim, uh, athletic, uh, academic advisor for student athletes at Providence College for a little bit. Um, did a little coaching. at, um, at the college level for softball, uh, coach at the high school level, my own kids, um, my oldest who since graduated college was being recruited, um, to the division two level and then ended up not being able to play.

Uh, due to medical reasons, he’s currently, uh, involved in baseball scouting, [00:03:00] um, you know, helping high school, junior high, junior college students make it to, uh, the next level. My middle daughter’s doing club sports, something we’ll talk a little bit about at the division one level. And then my youngest is also playing, uh, lacrosse.

Um, went back and forth between the team and club team. Um, and again, we’ll talk about fit and how that all works in. And then as soon as this is over, I’m actually running downstairs to go watch my nephew, uh, who’s currently playing for the University of Wisconsin. Um, so go Badgers. He plays division one ball.

So I can talk about his experience a little bit at the, um, kind of the big time, um, recruiting level. So anyways. A little bit about my involvement and tonight we’re going to talk about kind of what is college athletics, uh, the eligibility, uh, how you become, you know, ready and eligible [00:04:00] to play. Uh, and then the big thing that I know a lot of people have questions is how to get seen.

How does the college search, um, play out in this, in this environment. Okay. And if, like Julie said, if there’s any questions, pop them into the, uh, the Q and a section and we will, uh, we’ll certainly get those get those addressed. One thing to keep in mind, um, throughout this whole thing. 2%. Only 2 percent of high school athletes are offered athletic scholarships.

So right off the bat, please don’t think that, you know, I have a superstar athletes cause I hear this on the sidelines all the time. Um, you know, we’re working for a college, uh, scholarship more likely than not. It’s not going to be an athletic scholarship. 2 percent of athletes receive scholarships. So I [00:05:00] don’t mean to burst bubbles there, but just understand the reality of, um, kind of what’s out there.

So first and foremost, we want to talk about the NCAA, what it is quickly. Um, this is, you know, the NCAA is, is, you know, March madness, you know, college football. This is what everyone knows. college athletics to be three divisions. Um, they’re not based on school size. Um, division is mostly we’ll talk about what distinguishes each of them.

Divisions is, is essentially how a school, how a college university allocates money towards the athletic program. So you’ll have. schools like Bryant University, you know, at a few thousand students be at the division one level just as the University of Michigan with, you know, 100, 000 students. Um, it’s really how the university [00:06:00] wants to allocate money and fun sports.

Um, and it’s not just football and basketball, it’s everything from bowling, archery, rifle, you know, every and every sport you can possibly think of. Um, So really the, the differences between division one, two and three at the division one level, quite honestly, it’s a full time job, you know, and I don’t mean 40 hours a week.

I mean like 50, 60 hours a week. Sometimes, um, there are scholarship opportunities at the D one level. Most, honestly, most scholarships, um, outside of basketball and football are not going to be full scholarships. Um, there’ll be, you know, some, uh, monies your way. We will talk about NIL, um, at the point just so I can explain what that is, the name, image, and likeness.

But for the most part, um, most scholarships are going to be partial scholarships at the Division I [00:07:00] level. Division two, um, you know, is a little bit, is a little bit more emphasis placed on scholar on the academic side of things. Um, not so much, uh, your conferences are going to be more local. I mean, you’ve got the big 10, uh, big 10 conference, which stretches from coast to coast.

Uh, that is not going to be the case, uh, at the D at the D two level. If you are thinking of planning at the D two level. Um, quite honestly, there are a lot of super competitive programs at the D2 level that are, you know, will rival and beat some D1 programs. Uh, my son was at, uh, University of Tampa, uh, D2, uh, lacrosse national champions, and I would put them up against many.

Uh, D one [00:08:00] programs. Okay. Uh, there is some, some incredible competition, um, at the D two level D three. Um, you know, it’s a smaller, uh, smaller emphasis. Um, um, you know, that that’s the majority of high school athletes are going to continue on to the D three level. Uh, no, um, athletic scholarships, programs. Um, mostly merit based academic, uh, scholarships, if, if any at all, um, shorter practice seasons, less emphasis on the athletics and more on the academics.

Also worth mentioning, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, um, these are going to compare, these are schools that are going to be about mid sized, um, mostly, uh, Great Lakes region, Midwest region. Um, the emphasis on athletics is going to be at [00:09:00] comparable to D two type work, uh, and time commitment.

Um, you know, but again, there’s a hand from blanking off the top of my head right now. Schools in the area here, um, but mostly will be in the great lakes, Midwest region schools. Um, and then your national junior college athletic association, these are gonna be your two year. Um, community college programs.

Um, and it can be a really good, a really good option if you as a place to, if you need to raise your GPA a little bit, um, to become more academically competitive for, uh, and available for coaches. Um, if you need to spend a little time getting, you know, working on skill and strength, um, the Duke Junior College program.

option can be a way to go. So we want to jump into some eligibility. Um, [00:10:00] throughout this, one thing to keep in mind, uh, 2. 3 or take a knee. That’s usually the best way to, um, to think about this. And it’s really talking about your GPA. So through these couple of slides, I really want to start the M to really repeat myself that we’re talking about student athletes.

The student piece of this is really the most important piece. Okay. Um, you’re no good to your team. You’re no good to your coach. If you’re not making grade and ineligible. Okay. It is, you are first and foremost, a student athlete. Um, the idea here to be eligible to, to play at the division one and two first, obviously [00:11:00] graduate high school, um, complete 16 core courses.

We’ll talk about that on the next slide. And the 10 7 rule you may hear is that you have to complete 10 of those core courses before your 7th semester, before the start of your 7th semester. So that’s the start of your senior year. At the D2 level, that 10 7 rule isn’t the case. Um, and again, it’s the 2. 3.

Um, 2. 2 at Division 2 level, but I always say If you work for the higher GPA, 2. 3, um, you’re going to be eligible for anything else, okay? The NCAA is no longer using the ACT, SAT sliding scale, but just be aware that specific schools and specific majors might still require an SAT score. Okay. So the [00:12:00] NCAA is not using that as an eligibility requirement, but a school or a major at that school may require the SAT eligibility at an academic eligibility at a division three school is simply admission to the, to the, to the college.

Okay. Um, you do not need to go through The certification process similar or at the same way that a D1 or D2 school would be expecting. Um, just be admitted to the, the school, the college, and you’re eligible to, uh, to play. Excuse me for this cough. I’m sorry. Um, when we talk about your GPA, this is how, and, and the course requirements, this is how the NCAA, um, calculates that and what they’re looking for.

Without, to make it very clear [00:13:00] and to make it very simple, if you take English, math, science, social studies every year, which ideally would be the way to go about the college search process. Anyway, even outside of the student athlete realm, if you take English, math, science and social studies all four years, you’re going to be one, you will be eligible and you will have exceeded what the N C double a is requiring of you.

Okay. Um, they’re looking for four years of English, three years of math. But again, I always say Take the fourth year of math. Take the fourth year of social studies, rather than the two that they’re looking here. Take the fourth year of science, rather than the two years they’re looking for here. And you will be more competitive than, um, people you’re applying and looking, working against, [00:14:00] uh, to make the team.

Um, as far as the GPA and the calculation there, um, there are no points for, you know, a B plus or a B minus, um, an 80. An 87 is a B. A 92 is an A. There’s no A minus, there’s no B plus things there. Um, so you would just calculate your quality points, your GPA, and that’s how you would come to a 2. 3. Ideally, um, you know, a quarter, a full year class is, is one and so you would just calculate your GPA there.

There’s some, um, online on the NCAA website, there’s some worksheets where you can just simply plug in your, your grades and you know, whether it’s a year long class and they’ll calculate it for you. Um, um, I’m trying to think anything else there, but [00:15:00] again, just take four years of English math, science, social studies, and, and you’re good.

Okay. And so what schools will be looking for as far as certifying that you’re eligible. The NCAA has created the eligibility center, and this is where you will kind of simply register that you’re interested in being a student athlete. If you’re looking, there are three different levels, uh, through the eligibility center.

One would be a profile page. This is going to be, uh, it’s a free. Um, uh, free certification there, free, free registration, um, you know, used by division three coaches, um, what happens when you register, you will be given an N. C. A. A. I. D. So that if and when you meet with a coach, they will, um, more often than [00:16:00] not just ask you for the I.

D. Number because they will then, um, Uh, track and record on their end, um, who they’re meeting with, uh, when and just meet their NCAA, um, uh, recruiting obligations just for their, their reporting on their end. If you are looking at a division one or two school, you will need the second, uh, version on the eligibility center.

It’s an academic and amateurism certification. This, uh, this, there’s a 100 fee to it. Um, this is just to confirm that you are academically eligible and that you may have maintained your amateurism status. Um, in all, in both of these, or all three of these, once you register, your high school will see that.

Uh, you can let your guidance counselor know, but there should be [00:17:00] somebody at the high school who monitors the NCAA, uh, eligibility center and you either, you know, however your schools has this set up, uh, your, your guidance counselor, the school’s registrar. Somebody will upload your transcript to the Eligibility Center and they will confirm, uh, your amateur or your academic eligibility.

The last version here is really if you’re an international, uh, student, which I don’t imagine anybody here is part of an international student, uh, program. Um, but then if you’re transferring, uh, you would, if you’re transferring as a college student, uh, you would then go back to the eligibility center and register with the amateurism account.

Uh, really quickly, if you’re looking at, um, uh, any IA school. Uh, the requirement when I crossed that out, they’re no longer [00:18:00] looking at the, uh, SAT scores. Um, but one thing to note, uh, GPA is a 2.0 out of a four and one of the unique pieces is that you, they want you, they need you to be in the top. half rank in the top half of your senior class.

And you would just need to provide, um, a certified, you know, official letter, uh, stating that you are in the top half of your graduating class. Uh, just something unique to the NAIA, uh, eligibility at the junior college level, uh, similar. Uh, to the D three level would just be, uh, that you’re, you know, you’ve graduated high school and, um, have been accepted to, to the junior college, um, you know, that you’re, you know, again, your amateur status, um, but if you meet the entrance requirements for the institution, [00:19:00] you’re eligible to play.

If this is kind of getting, you know, looking down the road a piece, but if that’s something you are looking at, just to be aware of that at that point, if you do want, if you’re interested in transferring, you go to a junior college and then you transfer. Um, you’ll need to work with your, at that point, your current coach, the coach you’re looking at playing with.

Um, you know, you’ll work with the athletic department to get your, um, uh, transcript sent over, uh, cause it, you know, it’s easy now working with the high school. To, to have your transcript sent, but you’ll need to work with your, at that point, the junior college, um, to, to get everything sent over to the NCAA, and then just maintain, you know, a rigorous course load, because again, you’re coming back to the student athlete piece, um, you know, when you’re at the junior [00:20:00] college, when you’re at whatever college you’re at, maintain grades throughout the entire process, um, again, coaches, You’re no good to somebody if you’re no good to your team, if you’re not academically eligible.

So just maintain grades the entire way through. So I think this is what a lot of people are looking for is the recruiting piece and. Um, you know, how to get out there, how to get seen.

So I want to break this down. Can I just

Julie Shields-Rutyna: ask you one question that came in? Um, the question is, are all prospective student athletes required to enroll in that eligibility center?

Mike Janicki: Uh, it’s a good idea to, um, if, if, if all you’re doing is thinking of a division three, um, If you’re thinking division three level, um, even it’s free, you know, you throw your name, address, and phone number in there and what high school you go [00:21:00] to, um, you know, no harm, no foul.

Um, it’s, you’re not, you’re not losing anything by not registering, um, or you’re not losing anything by registering. Um, it’s a good idea to just in case, you know, you get there. We’ve had a lot, we’ve had a number of situations where, um, you know, you get to college, like, you know what, I’ve been, I’ve been playing ball all my life.

I’m tired. I don’t want to. And then you get to college and we’ve had students do this, like, you know what, I kinda, I kinda miss it. I want to, I want to get back on the field. And they call back to the high school as a freshman then. And, and then, you know, then we’re going through this at that point. Um, so sometimes it’s just easier to just do it now.

Um, if you are, one thing I forgot to mention, if, if you’re, if your [00:22:00] potential to be a division one athlete, division two athlete, if it, if it is substantial, I mean, if you’re really that good, and we’ll talk about. the reality of ability. Um, you should register for the, um, uh, the amateurism status, academic status, um, possibly as early as sophomore year.

Um, you, you would know if you’re that good because of the responses you’re probably already getting. Um, You know, and I’ve been on a lot of, we’ll talk about that later on. Um, but does that, yeah, I would register. I would say if there’s any chance of playing register.

Julie Shields-Rutyna: Great.

Mike Janicki: Okay. Long answer to a short question.

Sorry.

Julie Shields-Rutyna: No, that was perfect. Thank you.

Mike Janicki: So the top, the top bullets here are the student piece. [00:23:00] Okay. And the bottom bullets here are the athletic piece. Really the student is first. Okay. Um, I keep saying that and I’ll always say that. Um, You need to start early. Okay. Um, and it’s about picking the right school, the right major to make sure that it’s the right fit.

When you walk on campus, does it feel comfortable? You know, I know when, when we were doing this with my daughter, we were looking at some pretty hefty, um, You know, D one school. She played field hockey. Soon as we walked onto campus at American, it was, it was kind of funny. I mean, we just, we got off, we got out of the car and she immediately looked around and was like, where’s the bookstore.

We’re buying a sweatshirt right now. It’s about fit. Um, and if you can have that gut feeling, um, you know, that’s, that’s what it’s all about. Um, And, and again, that [00:24:00] fit goes to the entire thing, uh, the entire campus environment. Then once you’re happy, There, how does athletics fit into that campus experience?

You know, fine, you’re, you’re, you’re happy walking across campus, but, you know, are you happy walking into the gym? What’s the weight room look like? What are the responsibilities of a student athlete? Meaning, a lot of times coaches, you know, the coaches will run, um, Summer camps, you know, that’s how they in some cases.

That’s how they’re making some some money for the for the university And do they use the team as camp counselors for you know, running summer basketball baseball softball camps You know, what is the responsibility? When you’re on spring break, you know and and think [00:25:00] of the sport that you play You know, if you’re playing, if you’re playing soccer and as a fall sport, you know, is your season going to go through Thanksgiving if you’re playing.

Basketball, your, your season’s going to cut through, you know, the Christmas holidays, um, you know, are you going to have games? Are you going to be able to come home? Um, you know, when the campus is empty for spring break and you’re playing softball, uh, or crew, um. You know, you’re going to be in season. So what is, you know, the vacation, the, the schedule is different from the academic calendar.

So these are all things to think about. Um, you know, your summer responsibilities, you know, how busy you are in the season, you know, whether you’re at the high school level, you know, AAU, no matter where you’re playing right now, double it, triple it. Is what the [00:26:00] expectation is going to be on campus. Um, Are you going to be able to, um, you know, if you have a night class, at the same time you have a game, you know, how are you going to make up classes?

How are you going to, how are you going to fit in lab work? You know, if you’re a nursing major, um, if you’re an engineering major, how are you going to fit that into your practice and, and, um, film studies? So I think this is probably the slide people always are wondering about. So here we go. Um, if you want to get seen by a coach, it’s going to take some leg work for the most for again, 2 percent of high school athletes will be offered any kind of scholarship.

So just getting seen is, um, if, if your ability, if your [00:27:00] talent has truly risen to that level, you’re going to be fine. If you’re truly at that level, you’re going to be fine. Um, it doesn’t help to self promote yourself. Um, but, for the rest of us, you’re going to want to be an advocate for yourself. And this is the student piece.

Okay, not mom and dad. Um, not, uh, your AAU coach. Coaches on campus want leaders on their team and you demonstrate you are the leader by the student taking the lead here. Okay. So reach out to coaches, you know, do your Google search, hop online to the athletic page of whatever school you think you might be interested in and, you know, drop them a line, drop them an email.

And be to the [00:28:00] point, okay? Coaches don’t have the time, especially in season, coaches don’t have the time to be reading through the fluff. Get to the point, share your name, your NCAA ID, um, height, weight, what, you know, position, uh, how do they get back in touch with you, what’s your GPA. Share your GPA. Okay.

Because, and we just had this case at school the other day, where, I mean, a coach was honest. The coach was honest. Like, you know, we shared the kid, you know, the kids shared their GPA and, and they’re like, you know what, I’m not going to waste anybody’s time. Um, and you don’t want to waste people’s time.

Okay. Um, be honest, um, share your coaches, your high school coach, your AAU coach, your, you know, your, your Babe Ruth, whoever you’re working with, your club coach, how can the, how can the college coach get in touch with your, Um, your current coach and then [00:29:00] whatever link you have to, um, a huddle account, um, you know, film that you may have, um, you know, scouting reports, upcoming tournaments that you might be going to.

I spent more time than I can imagine. Um, On, on lacrosse, uh, sidelines and, you know, they’re, they’re crawling with coaches, but if the student hasn’t told, you know, whatever university, whatever college that they’re going to be there. That coach that you want to play for could be watching another field. Um, you know, tell them that you’re going to be at, you know, you’re going to be up at Stowe Vermont for lacrosse tournaments.

Um, and you know, that’s really. You know how you’re [00:30:00] going to get seen there. There are, um, uh, scouting services that, you know, I have seen people use. I’ve also seen people throw a lot of money at these where you really don’t need to I mean, if you’re diligent, if you’re responsible enough and you’re, you have strong enough communication skills, which I hope you do, um, you don’t necessarily need that.

And again, these should be student initiated contacts. When you do meet with a coach. These are, I don’t need to go bullet by bullet, but these are just some things to, uh, that you really want to keep in mind. Um, you know, what’s a typical day like, you know, in season, out of season. Um, and you know, the second bullet’s a big one, especially for those that are looking at engineering majors or nursing majors, health studies majors, where There’s going to be [00:31:00] substantial academic demands, you know, and, you know, do you want to sacrifice your career aspirations for, you know, a couple of years of, of, um, college ball and, you know, two of my kids made that choice to play club sports rather than, um, at the D one or D three level and, and well, D one, two and three, um, you know, to play club sports It’s still competitive.

You’re still traveling to some extent. You’re still, um, you still have that team that athletic competition piece. Um, but it’s not the same. Um, it’s not the same, you know, so you can manage you can balance. Um, you can have that appropriate student athlete balance. Um, You know, meal plan options. I mean, [00:32:00] having been a parent of a student athletes, you know, I’m sure we all know how much they eat.

You know, what’s the meal plan on campus? Um, sometimes it’s cheaper when they go away to school. Um, you know, what’s the application, you know, how, how, how do you go about going through that, um, the application piece? Um, you know, what happens if a coach leaves? You know, can you, you know, how much longer that if you really like a coach and you want to play for them, you know, what’s their commitment to the school?

Um, and then last, this last bullet here, and this was something that was affecting my nephew when he was in this process, is the transfer portal. Um, You know, we’ve heard a lot about that on the SPN and the news and all that stuff, but the transfer portal is where, you know, current D1 athletes can more easily hop from school to school.

And again, if you are at that [00:33:00] ability, if you’re at that talent range, um, you know, if you’re a, if you’re a shooting guard and you know, the transfer portal is opening up a number of shooting guards. Are you going to go with a high school kid or are you going to go with a college junior, you know, with seven years of eligibility left, you know, that kind of thing.

Um, you know, so just something to be something to be aware of. Um, next couple of slides we want to talk about. These are, these are going to be more for the NCAA. Um, and just the recruiting, uh, recruiting timeline, a contact is any time that a coach says more than hi. And quite honestly, that’s how it’s written.

Um, anytime a coach says more than hi to you, you know, walking down the sidelines, whatever, uh, to your, your parent, um, if they say, hi, how are you? Uh, that’s a contact. [00:34:00] Um, and there’s a certain, there’s a contact period. So on the, this will be different from, um, from sport to sport. And then a little bit different from D1 to D2.

All of these calendars are posted on the NCAA webpage. Um, so your contact period will be those. days, weeks, months. Um, and again, different from sport to sport, but those, that timeframe that a coach can say more than hi to you. Um, a dead period would be when they cannot have any contact. They can call, they can drop emails, but you cannot meet them face to face.

And without

Julie Shields-Rutyna: Oh, can I just ask? There is a question here, and I thought maybe while you’re [00:35:00] addressing this contact because you say it’s different in different situations, someone did ask. Is it true that you can’t reach out to coaches until spring of sophomore year? Would you say

Mike Janicki: you can reach out? Yeah, I mean, I wouldn’t, but I mean, you can reach out when you’re in second grade.

I mean, if you’re a child prodigy, um, you, you, the individual can reach out to coaches anytime. Um, there’s a certain, I would be careful with, you don’t want a badger. Like, you know, if at the sophomore level, if you’re really that good, coaches will be coming to you. If you’re really that good. Um, if coaches aren’t coming to you at that point.

I want to, I want to be careful how I phrase this. I don’t want to say you’re not that good, but it, it, it, it, that’s kind of how it plays out. [00:36:00] I want to be careful. Like I don’t want to, I don’t want, I’m not, I’m not trying to crush somebody’s dreams here. Um, but if your talent level rate, right, raises to that ability, coaches will be kind of looking at you.

Um. You know, at, at, uh, particularly in basketball, um, you know, we’re, we’re talking about the difference between playing, you know, local. local AAU tournaments, you know, coming from Massachusetts, you know, we’re, we’re, we’re not shy about traveling to, you know, Vermont, New York, you know, kind of regional tournaments and showcases.

I’m talking about where you reach the level where you’re flying to Nashville. one weekend and then flying to Houston the following weekend. That’s [00:37:00] the next level ability that I’m talking about for some of those division one, um, uh, programs. And as I say that, I also want to. Be careful. It’s that’s also different from sport to sport.

You know, if you’re running cross country, you know, it’s one thing to put up good times at, you know, at Van Cortlandt Park. Um, but then are you also being invited to Penn relays? Um, that kind of. level, you know, indoor track. Are you going down and running at, um, you know, in New York City? Um, and then going out to bend or, you know,

there’s a point where you reach and you kind of know where you hit that next level. And again, some of that is different from sport to sport. I don’t know how many people here are involved [00:38:00] in, in, in, in bowling. Um, you know, but you know, the clock, will speak for itself. Your, your score in golf will speak for itself.

Um, you know, you may, some of those team sports kind of change the dynamic a little bit. Does that, does that help?

Julie Shields-Rutyna: I think that, I think that’s good.

Mike Janicki: Okay. Okay.

Julie Shields-Rutyna: Thank you.

Mike Janicki: We’ll have

Julie Shields-Rutyna: more, but I try to catch the questions as you’re covering. So. Okay.

Mike Janicki: Okay. evaluation is simply when a coach comes to observe.

Okay. And again, there’s different calendar and different dates when that coach, uh, can have, um, can evaluate. But again, that evaluation may fall outside of the contact time. Um, so they can be on the sideline. watching you, but they can’t talk to you. Okay. [00:39:00] An official visit. Anytime an official visit is when the school, the college pays for the trip to come visit.

Um, you know, going back to the eligibility center, you would need this in the college would need, uh, the student athlete to have already registered for the eligibility center. Um, and, you know, there are some different caveats between tickets and lodging and meals, um, particularly for basketball and football.

Um, you know, uh, all of that stuff will be worked out by the compliance. And all of these colleges will have a compliance officer on campus that monitors, um, you know, coaches contacts. communication with potential athletes. Um, the opposite of an official visit is the unofficial visit where the, you know, you can go to campus.

I, [00:40:00] you know, to answer the question before, you know, even as a sophomore, as a freshman, um, you know, you want to go see a, a game on campus. You want to go visit the campus. Um, that’s on your dime. Absolutely. Go ahead. Um, there’s no, no issue with, um, uh, visiting campus at all. Um, you know, you may or may not be able to speak with a coach.

Um, you know, when, when one of my kids was, was, uh, thinking about playing, um, you know, we met with a coach, uh, division three level. So it’s a little bit, uh, looser communication. Um, you know, we visited. Went to campus, watched the game, um, after the game, waited a couple, waited some time and then walked across the field and introduced himself to, to the lacrosse coach.

Um, you know, so you can have those, uh, at the division three level. Um, it’s a little bit easier to have those communications and [00:41:00] those conversations, um, with, with coaches. This idea, actually moving forward, I need to switch this slide. It’s no longer called the letter of intent. Um, but this is the athletics aid agreement and this is really, um, same kind of concept as the former letter of intent.

But when you formally commit to playing at for a school, um, You know, you would sign a letter, uh, in this case, an agreement that you, the updated term is agreement, uh, that you would play for that university and no longer engage in recruitment, um, endeavors with other schools. Basically, you’re taking yourself off the list and you’re committing to one particular, uh, school.

Um, you know, it’s, it becomes a contract in essence. And, um, you know, so [00:42:00] if, you know, if you want to switch that, uh, the school, the college would need to let you out of essentially that contract. Um, uh, or you would, you know, you could transfer to the other school and sit a couple semesters. Um, And not be part of the team, but, you know, again, the, the compliance office on campus would be, uh, the best resource, uh, for that.

Um, just some things, just to really, uh, final issues to consider. You know, grades. It’s all about grades. You know, I’ve said it a couple times already. If you know, if you’re not making academic progress, you know, you’re going to be academically ineligible. You know, you’re, you’re, you’re no good to your teammates while you’re sitting in study hall and they’re on the field.

Um, you know, and, [00:43:00] and the other piece here is, um, Um, you know, desire to play as parents. You know, we’re all, we are, we’re incredibly, you know, it’s so cool to watch our kids, you know, succeed. Um, you know, but you know, in my, in my personal case, when I was, I was a runner in high school, when I got to college, I was done.

Um, I still love to run. I still, I, you know, it’s something that I do. It’s something who I am, but I was, Done, um, coming outta high school as far as competitive, you know, running, um, racing, um, you know, so who’s, who’s, who really wants this? Um, if it’s something that the, that, that your child really wants, that’s what we do.

We, we support our kids. That’s, that’s who we are. That’s, that’s, you know, that’s it. Um. But are we, but are we pushing? So just be aware of that. And again, I’ve said this a couple of times, the reality of ability, um, you know, [00:44:00] we, as parents look, look at our kids through, you know, rose colored glasses. Um, but it’s, it’s, you know, helpful to have, uh, an outside observer, give an honest opinion of, um, ability.

Um, and that’s where coaches can be really helpful. Okay. Um, and then also the, I mentioned it earlier, the transfer portal, um, you know, how does that affect one program to another and one year’s success to another? Um, I mean, geez, we can look at Indiana university football. You know, they made the college football playoffs this year, Indiana football.

I mean, come on, it’s not a thing. Um, and yet there they are because of the portal. Um, you know, I’m not poopooing Indiana, uh, football, but the, the, that’s just not a thing, um, but because of the portal, they made it. Um, [00:45:00] and again, you know, just to kind of touch base on the student athlete piece. One, you know, I, I always, I, I just gotta keep coming back to this.

Um, You know, that top bullet there, I was working, um, uh, UConn women’s basketball game, uh, number of years ago and in the middle of, you know, signing autographs and, and doing a press piece after, uh, a game. Um, I’m not going to start naming names here, but, um, you know, the, the, the athlete was asking the traveling secretary for the team, like what class do I have tomorrow?

Um, you know, it’s the level of D one commitment, um, again, regardless of the sport, whether it’s basketball, football, which are the big ones, um, or, you know, track. The, the time commitment at the D one level [00:46:00] is substantial, is substantial. Um, regardless of its, you know, D one, two or three, um, schools will have an academic advisor.

Um, they’ll certainly have some form of academic support, um, to maintain. Um, that you’re making progress, uh, throughout all your classes, whether that be, you know, study hall, whatever it is. I monitored study halls when I was a academic advisor at Providence, um, and worked with students, tutored students.

That’s what you got to do. Um, and it comes down to eligibility. You know, if you’re not making grades, you’re not, you’re not eligible. Um, here, I just, I think I mentioned this already, you know, really who’s Who’s desire is it to play? Um, just have, you know, just have that conversation. I think it’s always helpful.

Um, one thing that’s come up, uh, over the last few [00:47:00] years is the whole concept of name, image, and likeness, the NILs. Um, and again, this is going to be your Division I and II, uh, predominantly. Um, not necessarily everybody’s being paid, um, to play. I don’t think my nephew’s getting anything. Um, but, um, one thing that started to pop up and we were getting some notices at the school was there are some nefarious, uh, organizations and people out there saying, you know, telling our.

athletes that they will get them contracts. Um, that’s not a thing. It’s not a thing. Um, so if you start being contacted by, you know, re certainly read between the lines, bring any of those communications. to your school, to your guidance counselor, to your [00:48:00] coach, um, to your athletic department, um, and ask, is this legit?

Um, anything legit as far as NIL contracts, uh, will be, they, they can’t be connected to the school, but there’ll be loosely connected to, you know, an alumni association, um, you know, some sort of. loose affiliation with the, the, the college itself. Um, you know, but just be careful that you’re not, um, you’re not signing anything.

You’re not reaching out to, um, thinking you’re about to sign a big contract. Um, in those cases, you’re probably being had. Um, and then lastly, you know, again, I mentioned this earlier, if, you know, prep school, junior college. If you’re at the point where like, you’re, you’re just on the cusp, you know, um, you know, you need that, you need that year, that two years, [00:49:00] um, to, you know, get a little bit bigger, get a little bit stronger, get a little bit more skilled to get your grades up a little bit more.

Um, you know, prep school, junior community college can be that way, um, to make that little bit bigger splash. Um, you know, so that’s also an avenue to, um, to consider and then connect.

Julie Shields-Rutyna: Um, so Mike, we have, we have a good number of questions sort of on the same topic. So we’ll start there, I think, um, which is just, um, the.

The, the contact, no contact period. Yeah. Uh, the def defining that when the coach can reach out or not. Just a number of people wanted more clarity around that. Okay. Yeah. So

Mike Janicki: for the most part, I guess the easy way to do [00:50:00] this is. If you’re, if we’re talking division three, it’s really, you’re fine, you’re fine.

Um, you know, you know, coaches will reach out. It doesn’t really apply at the division three level. We’re really talking about division one and two. Um, And, you know, those calendars can be found on, if you just do a Google search, contact period, division one football, you know, it’ll come up. Um, and, you know, within those dates, that’s when a coach can contact you, can have that conversation with you.

Um, you know, if it’s a dead period, um, they can’t. you know, there’s no communication. Um, and again, for the most part, I imagine, again, I don’t know who’s, who’s, who’s viewing this right now. Um, for the most part, [00:51:00] most high school athletes are looking at division three level. Um, and that communication, you’re going to be, you’re going to be okay.

You’re going to be okay.

Julie Shields-Rutyna: That’s great.

Mike Janicki: We walked. I mean, my son and I, we, we just walked right across the field and talk to the coach. It wasn’t like he ran hiding, um, you know, it’s, it’s not, it’s not, um, that concern and you know, at showcases at tournaments, um, You know, when you’re sitting in a field house full of basketball courts or badminton courts or whatever, um, you’re, you’re fine talking to division three coaches.

Julie Shields-Rutyna: That’s great. And so actually you just mentioned college showcases. Are they worth it or helpful? And what about those businesses asking for fees to get you in front of college coaches?

Mike Janicki: Okay. Um, if, if you’re interested in a specific school and [00:52:00] that school is hosting a showcase, Yeah. Um, I mean, one, it’s a chance for you to get on campus.

See if you like it. It’s considered a college visit on your end. Um, you know, if it’s a school that you’re interested in, it can certainly be a valuable use of time. Um, it can, it can be, um, you know, sometimes, you know, I, I do know of some situations where, you know, college coaches are running those clinics, those showcases as camps, and I mean, we all know how much, how much money is made on camps, um, by some of these coaches.

Um, you know, if. If you’re serious about being at school there, I would take advantage of it. If you’re just getting blind invitations,[00:53:00]

you know, it wasn’t ever on your radar. If it’s just a blind invitation, you know, think about it. Think about it. Um, because in some, especially if, and I really mean, especially if you have to pay to participate, um, you know, if you’re being invited to spend, you know, a couple hundred bucks to go to a showcase for a school, it sounds, it could be a moneymaker there.

Um. You know, but if it’s a school that you’re interested in, it’s been on your radar, you’re kind of thinking about playing there. It could be, it could be worthwhile. And the second part there was, um, you know, individuals who can kind of put you in front of coaches. Um, you know, I, I’m not [00:54:00] always a big fan of that.

Um, I think if. If you treat this process, um, like you would almost like a part time job and put the time into it, um, and demonstrate your leadership by taking the initiative to do this yourself, I think that sends a stronger message than any third party could. Um, You know, no one’s going to be a bigger advocate for you than you.

Um, you know, if I’m a, if I’m a college coach and having talked with college coaches and college administrators, um, athletic directors about this, um, in fact, just kind of getting ready for this tonight, I called a couple of friends like, Hey, what kind of trends are you seeing? [00:55:00] You know, they want, they really want to hear from the kid themselves.

Um, you know, they know that the third party is there to make a buck. Um, but when the student demonstrates that initiative, that motivation, that’s a potential captain. You know, that’s, that’s, that’s going to be somebody that you can look to, um, on, you know, when the clock runs down. That’s somebody that you can, that’s somebody that you can count on as a leader in the locker room.

Because they’ve demonstrated it as a high school senior.

Julie Shields-Rutyna: Yeah. And so then I think you’ve answered this next question, but there’s a little twist on it. So I’ll just ask it also, if you have a coach at your high school that would be willing to call colleges.

Mike Janicki: Yes. Due to your

Julie Shields-Rutyna: performance. Is that a better approach?

Or

Mike Janicki: I think that’s a better approach. Yeah, absolutely.

Julie Shields-Rutyna: Still better. The student reach out to, but

Mike Janicki: yeah, well, I [00:56:00] mean, even, you know, when, when you are reaching out, you’re going to want to include your current, your coaches, contact information, because at some point, at some point those two are going to talk.

Um, and if that, if your college coach, if your club coach, um, makes that connection, that can be helpful because they’re, Yeah. You know, that coach is looking at it from, from a very pinpointed, um, spot. Um, they’re your coach. They see you in practice. They see you, um, in the locker room. They see you don’t know who you’re, what your personality is.

That third party doesn’t necessarily. Um, your college coaches is absolutely a valid, uh, a viable resource and not a viable. They are your resource. That’s, that’s, that’s your go to person.

Julie Shields-Rutyna: That’s great. So I don’t see any other [00:57:00] questions. I’ll give people another moment in case you have a last question for Mike, but this was great.

Lots of good information. And now you’ll get to go watch your nephew

Mike Janicki: on Wisconsin.

Julie Shields-Rutyna: All right. Well, oh, nope. Let’s see if we have one more.

Mike Janicki: One more?

Julie Shields-Rutyna: Would Patriot League schools follow the Division I rules?

Mike Janicki: Yeah. Patriot, Patriot League. Yeah. So Patriot League is going to, oh gosh, now you’re testing me. Patriot League will be division one. Yeah.

Julie Shields-Rutyna: Okay.

Mike Janicki: Um, I’m trying to there. Yeah. If you, if yes, uh, if you look at each college websites, um, the athletic page, you know, they’ll say somewhere pretty obviously someplace there, um, you know, what level they compete [00:58:00] at, but Patriot League will be.

That’s great.

Julie Shields-Rutyna: Well, Mike, cannot thank you enough. This is so great. And we’re getting some comments about how helpful this was. So thank you all of you for your great questions and hope everyone has a wonderful evening.

Mike Janicki: Awesome.

Julie Shields-Rutyna: Thanks. And yes, I will be sending the recording.

Mike Janicki: We good.

That was so great.

Julie Shields-Rutyna: All right. Well, I will talk with you soon. Mike.

Mike Janicki: All right. Sounds good. Thank you. All right.

Julie Shields-Rutyna: Thanks.

Mike Janicki: Yeah. I leave this thing out.