How To Connect Your School To An Afa Online Community

Transcription

1 Video: What if there was a place where qualified student athletes could connect with the NAIA schools, scholarships and coaches that fit them best? A place where all NAIA colleges and universities could market themselves and recruit the best and brightest talent? A place where the information that parents and students need to make an informed decision is right at their fingertips. And the right students for your institution are at yours. Now, there is. That place is Path to Play a virtual world where student athletes, NAIA coaches and admissions can come together in an easy-to-use online and mobile environment. Students get inside access to the recruiting process and more opportunities to prove themselves to coaches. You get greater exposure, qualified prospects and ultimately, better retention. Path to Play. It s a good fit for athletes. A good fit for coaches. And a good fit for the NAIA.

2 Path to Play: The really good ideas are the ones that can be boiled down captured in a few words. (Point) 55 seconds A place where qualified student-athletes connect with NAIA schools, scholarships and coaches that fit them best. 17 words

3 We outlined this concept at the April convention, but we ve been working on it for a couple of years: Innovation Workshops, Eureka Ranch, Cincinnati Les, Rita, John yellow card Pathfinder Really lit a spark for me through a conversation with one of our EC employees: Nikki Vandepopulier Talented, smart, anchored in our core values Sent information couldn t connect with coaches Eventually found a home at a state school in Missouri We missed the connection with Nikki not part of any NAIA coach s network

4 Good ideas are the ones that speak directly to people s needs. Thousands of students like Nikki quality student-athletes looking for a home And there are thousands of NAIA coaches each year looking for students: We surveyed 1,000 NAIA of them 80%: expected to drive enrollment in their sport Recruiting budget: $1,000 - $2,500 per year 85% would like a database of regional recruits 88% would like to get their eyes on recruits at an NAIA Showcase We looked at data supplied by NAIA athletic directors: Looking at the reported rosters on our campuses right now, the NAIA institution in the middle of the range the median carries 20 fewer players than the standard roster established for NAIA championships. In the next two years, our institutions will add 200 new sports teams Students looking for schools & schools looking for students. There is a need.

5 And good ideas are unique. There is nothing else in the mobile space where students live no site, no platform, no recruiting service dedicated entirely to you, this community of NAIA institutions. It s time we change that. And let me make one more very important point by way of introduction. This is a one-of-a-kind model: we are a national association of intercollegiate athletics 254 institutions of higher education, 5,000 coaches with actual teams, actual roster spots, with actual classrooms, and actual scholarships, offering to share our knowledge, introduce our coaches, explain our process, and open our doors to families interested in exactly that. This is not a recruiting service. They don t have what we have. They say: Build a profile with us, and we ll tell you how to attract the attention of a coach. We don t have any, but good luck.... Meaningful connections to our coaches through an established, credible national athletics association is something of great value. It is innovative, and it is unique.

6 So how does it all fit together? As you saw, two pieces of the puzzle. The first piece is you: let s tell the story. This is your community populated by you, shaped by you, and introduced by you: Special experience at NAIA institutions Financial aid administrators, admissions officers, coaches, students: unraveling the mystery of college recruiting Academics Campus life High-caliber athletics Character initiatives All told through your pictures, your video, the authentic voice of your students, your coaches And, of course, Path to Play will highlight your coaches, and their particular recruiting standards and needs

7 The second piece of the puzzle? Students. Let s invite students into the community. Tell us about yourself. Full picture of yourself as a student and athlete. Tell us what you re looking for in your college experience. Show us you ve got what it takes: Academically (Eligibility Center) Athletically (NAIA Showcase) Character (service, faith, community) See how you measure up. Compare your Showcase results, your academic performance, with: NAIA varsity student-athletes NAIA conference and national champions Sample workouts Track your progress toward recognition as an NAIA-caliber student-athlete, based on national standards established by NAIA administrators and coaches Chat with current NAIA student-athletes and coaches Post information on the student-athlete social feed

8 Now, Path to Play connects the pieces of the puzzle:

9 Students (one hand) with schools and coaches (the other hand) that fit.

10 Your coach women s soccer enters this information: Center midfielder 3.5 cumulative HS gpa or better 24 ACT or better Verified 40-yard time of 5.5 or under At least two years HS varsity or elite-level play Verified HS conference or elite-level honors HS or premier coach recommendation HS student is looking for: School within 300 miles of Chicago Offers athletic aid in women s soccer Nursing & health sciences 2,000 students or fewer Faith-based

11 It s a dynamic system: Feel free to change your preferences, modify your weighting As students complete more pieces of the puzzle (Showcase, test scores, classwork), they demonstrate they have what it takes and score higher as a fit for you As you find students of interest (those you want to recruit & those to keep an eye on), you build your list. Communicate Let students know you re interested Reach out to make contact Set your permissions to establish when (and how) students can contact you You re in charge of the communication process That s how Path to Play works. Connecting qualified students with NAIA schools and coaches that fit.

12 $1.5 million in initial start-up expenses Like any start-up, need cash to ensure operations to break-even High tech start-ups critical mass Revenues: student Path to Play subscriptions, Showcase, sponsorships Seeking investment of $5,000 first year from each NAIA institution, with commitment to Yrs 2&3 based on COP s review of financials So, let s consider that $5,000 investment. Is it worth it? Well, what is it worth to identify and market the NAIA and your institution to half a million to a million HS students every year for this coming year and every year after? What s that worth to you? What s that worth to all of us? What s it worth to have qualified students you decide the number, 100, 200 students who have indicated they re looking for a school like yours, with the programs they want, the atmosphere they desire... what s it worth to have those students to build your existing teams, this year, next year, the year after that? For your coaches to have a place where they can go devoted to the NAIA, with only our coaches in attendance to see hundreds of highly motivated students introduce themselves and showcase their athletic skills? To help your inexperienced coaches and coaches in new and emerging sports build quality teams on your campus in the years ahead? Is it worth a $5,000 investment now to build a model that, after a few years, delivers cash dividends annually for you and the COP to use as you see fit? What is it worth to have your colleagues outside the NAIA look at this model, and call you and ask: What are you all doing over there?

13 We have been charged with growth, and we re bringing to you an initiative that speaks to your strategic priorities: Grow awareness Grow the pool of students Grow revenue Grow membership Now, it s yours to evaluate the product, and its worth..