<p>On this forum I was in a discussion with a few who seemed surprised that I was asked by a coach about the level of support I could provide my non-revenue sport student-athlete. They were also just as surprised that I asked the coach about his athlete budget and his responsibilities regarding fund raising, mission objectives etc.</p>
<p>I tried to explain that revenue sports (football/basketball) take a very different approach towards disclosing those matters as they sell the program, whereas it seemed like non-revenue sport athletes where more asking how can you help me or what can I do to get your attention to be considered. </p>
<p>Anyway, what is so wrong with finding out what you're working with when considering program resources?</p>
<p>We had two baseball coaches (D3 small LACs) tell us their approach for fundraising to pay for the spring break trips. One said they ask the parents for money up front, another said they did fundraisers. One also said they relied heavily on a parent booster group for funding and providing such things as meals for players between games. Would it have kept ds off the team if we said there’s no way we could pay or participate? That wasn’t my impression. It just seemed to me that the coaches have a certain situation that they have to deal with and they’re looking for all the support they can get.</p>
<p>These seem like reasonable questions to ask. Some teams may provide for travel costs as well as team uniforms. Others do not. These could also be negotiable items to discuss before committing/signing.</p>
<p>That’s something else to add to our list of questions. It never crossed my mind to ask how spring break trips are funded. We’ve only had a few informational meetings with D3 coaches up to this point, and it hasn’t come up. All the teams we have looked at seem to go somewhere warm to play.</p>
<p>For us, have to pay for the winter break training trip-airfare, hotel, transportation, and food. It costs about $1000 plus airfare, depending on how much your S eats. Uniforms(swim suits, warm up jackets) also are on our dime. This is D3 Midd swimming.
Busses to/from meets, hotel rooms for overnights(3-4 to a room), some team meals are covered, but coach has them make lunches in the cafeteria to bring most of the time.</p>
<p>We are all asked to donate with a total goal stated (it’s easy to see your expected portion by doing the math). The coach is given the check and we get no accounting on where it goes. We are told all sorts of things about where the money goes. But to me it’s a rabbit hole - and woe to the parent who asks.</p>
<p>Great question. I totally would have thought that every team would pay for a team suit and warm-up suit, at least (ie, their “uniform”). The spring trip I wasn’t so sure about. Not too long my husband was talking with a parent of a swimmer at W&M which is DI but doesn’t give swim scholarships. The parent commented that they felt like they were always having to send a check to pay for something or other with the team. I guess this explains what they meant by that comment.<br>
Definitely a question to ask (who pays for what and an estimate of the amount if swimmer/parent has to pay) after an official visit and/or scholarship offer…
Those 2 week training trips to Hawaii don’t sound quite as wonderful if mom and dad are footing the full bill.</p>
<p>D. competes for a different NESCAC than oldbatesie’s S. So far, all uniforms, meals and travel have been paid by school. The dining hall packs the team boxes of lunch food when they have a day-long competition. If they will also miss dinner, she receives $7 to compensate for the meal-plan meal she missed. I thought this was an NCAA thing, but maybe not.</p>
<p>FWIW, D competes for a midwestern D1 mid-major U. The team pays for their “fast suit”, supplies warm ups, pays for travel during the season, and provides a stipend for meals when the team is on the road. D has had leftover stipend money both years, so the per meal $ amount is generous.</p>
<p>We have to buy the “cute” jacket, pants, shoes, workout T’s and compression shorts that the captains picked out. These are the items they wear to work out in and must wear whenever they are not swimming during the conference championship meet. We also pay for the in-season suit and all practice suits. The team gets discount pricing from its athletic gear supplier, so it is cheaper than if I tried to source them.</p>
<p>Travel trip costs are split between the team and the swimmers. We paid about $300 of the total trip cost - we were asked for a mandatory donation. We were not told exactly what this covered.</p>
<p>I think the money oriented questions are very good questions to ask! In the recruiting process my son was approached by a large number (30+) of coaches from all divisions. We only asked these types of questions of a small group of schools - the schools that were of true interest to my son. One other thing we noticed along the way is that some schools (not all) require an additional health insurance policy for the athletes - in several cases this added a few hundred dollars on to the costs from the get go - just something to consider - I stumbed upon this information at one school when delving into the “fine print”.</p>
<p>The other thing I would ask about with regard to spring trips is - Exactly who goes on the trip? At some schools everyone went. At others only the varsity roster went. Taking everyone on the trip was something that one particular coach used as a selling point for his school over another school. </p>
<p>On the topic of rosters - study the current rosters. Some schools over recruit. This happens a lot in the big D1 programs but also happens in the D3 programs as well. This was something that one particular coach used as a selling point for his program over another school - he does not over recruit and ABC university coach does!</p>
<p>I know that this thread is about financial support but I would like to add a word of caution about the idea of support and D3 athletics. This whole recruiting process has been very eye opening. Please be aware that while many of these D3 coaches say that they have pull with admissions or that they can support you in admissions many simply do not have any say or pull with admissions. Frankly I would not trust a single one who promises anything! I am sorry to say this because I know that there are decent coaches out there but unless you have it in writing I would not believe any promises! My son, in front of me and my husband, was promised the world by many coaches. In the end my son chose a school he likes and knows he will be happy attending even if he can not play his sport - remember things can change, things do change and injuries happen.</p>
<p>For my daughters D1 swim team, there are three levels of support: required, needed and requested.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Required: Training trip $1500, practice suits. </p></li>
<li><p>Needed: Two racing suits per year. Although one is provided per year, I don’t believe any of the swimmers actually use the brand selected by the school. </p></li>
<li><p>Requested: Parents usually provide snacks and a meal for the team at meets. Parents of swimmers not receiving financial aid are encouraged to pay for the training trips of those receiving aid.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>DIII NESCAC football here… which is hardly a revenue sport. I would venture a guess that ticket/gate receipts, alone, over the course of a season don’t come close to supporting most NESCAC football programs. </p>
<p>S1’s team has about 10? days of preseason conditioning on-campus in late August, and no more than a couple overnight stays during the season for far-away, in-league games (if they play @ Hamilton, Middlebury or Colby). Equipment and coaching salaries have to represent their greatest expenses.</p>
<p>Athletes are required to purchase/provide two sets of cleats (turf/grass), and any personal gear they wish to use under pads/helmet… which are provided. Team warm-up jackets and pants for away game travel are ‘on loan’ for the season, and must be returned. The only ‘perk’ athletes receive is communal laundering of their practice gear in-season. ;)</p>
<p>All parents contribute to tailgates - food & drink for players to enjoy after games, and for families to enjoy before, during and after games.</p>
<p>There are a couple fundraisers off-season… golf tourneys, alumni gatherings, etc. Parent participation is not mandatory… but I suspect a handful of generous benefactors clearly make or break a coach’s budget.</p>