An Examination of Influences and Factors on the Institutional Selection Processes of Freshmen Student-Athletes at Small Colleges and Universities

Analysis of Factors Influencing the College Choice Decisions of NCAA Division II Elite Track and Field Athletes

“…Specifically, females were slightly more focused on academic factors. These results paralleled both the findings of Gabert et al (1999) and Goss et al (2006), who found that academic factors had a greater influence for female student-athletes. Coaches of female track and field teams may want to involve academic components as they are recruiting student-athletes.…”

“…Also notable was that of the top five factors, only two out of the five were related to athletic participation. Similarly, Goss et al (2006) found that slight gender differences existed in the top factors influencing the college choice decision. Among the top five factors noted with males and females, males chose the most important factor as head coach while females chose degree programs.…”

Using Institutional Selection Factors to Develop Recruiting Profiles: Marketing Small, Private Colleges and Universities to Prospective Student Athletes

“…In an examination of factors influencing small-college student athletes' institutional choices, Goss, Jubenville, and Orejan (2006) found that influence was derived from a combination of athletic, academic, and campus-related influences, and that personnel could best recruit student athletes with strategies that incorporated amenities, public relations, and academics, thereby producing a distinctive brand that can be used as a platform on which relationships with prospective student athletes can be built. According to Judson, Gorchels, and Aurand (2006), the benefits of a distinctive brand that is well understood by a coaching staff and incorporated in its daily activities are boundless, and the concept of coaches become living embodiments of the university's brand may be closer to reality than many universities envision.…”

Roles of recruiter political skill, influence strategy, and organization reputation in recruitment effectiveness in college sports

“…Not surprisingly, there exists an abundance of anecdotal sport stories and news articles about recruiting in US college athletics. Yet, relative to the scholarly literature, minimal attention has been paid to recruiting in a sport context (e.g., Doyle & Gaeth, 1990;Goss, Jubenville, & Orejan, 2006;Judson, James, & Aurand, 2005;Treme, Burrus, & Sherrick, 2011), especially as it pertains to the role of recruiters. Consequently, there is a need to more thoroughly understand the underlying mechanisms that enable certain recruiters to transcend physical characteristics and have their actions more positively received (regardless of the situation), thereby improving their recruitment effectiveness.…”