Post by vabigpoppa on Jul 19, 2010 15:52:55 GMT -5
hamptonroads.com/2010/07/dollars-and-sense-college-sports-tries-do-more-less
Dollars and sense: College sports tries to do more with less
Posted to: Men's College Basketball Sports
By Ed Miller
The Virginian-Pilot
© July 4, 2010
Duggar Baucom has crunched the numbers and planned the itineraries. If anyone knows how to stretch a buck on the July recruiting trail, the VMI coach does.
He'll drive where he can and fly only if he must, using tickets purchased far in advance to get the lowest fares. If plans fluctuate - if an event is canceled or a player he wants to see is a no-show - he'll think long and hard before paying expensive fees to change his ticket.
"You just try to spend wisely," Baucom said.
He has no choice. VMI's basketball recruiting budget for fiscal 2009, the last year figures are available, was $17,954. By comparison, Virginia spent $171,045, Virginia Tech $146,607 and Old Dominion $90,191. By U.Va. standards, that was a frugal year.
The Cavaliers spent an average of $228,563 chasing players over a four-year period, including $294,000 in 2006. VMI's four-year average was $28,000, Norfolk State's just $17,122.
The disparity in recruiting budgets is another example of the gap between college basketball's haves and have-nots. Big and small schools don't necessarily target the same players, but in the summer, most everyone turns up at the same events. Even schools like VMI and NSU that recruit mostly regionally must travel far from home to see the guys they're pursuing.
That shooting guard from the next town over might be playing AAU ball in Las Vegas this month.
"It really taxes our budget," Baucom said. "The majority of the money we spend in recruiting is spent in the summer."
Still, it can be a sound investment, because for all its flaws, the July evaluation period is an equalizer of sorts. The busiest month on the recruiting calendar is chock -full of large events that offer a chance to scout many players at once, giving cash-strapped programs more bang for their recruiting buck.
"July is very important," said NSU coach Anthony Evans. "You have to get out and see as many kids as you can."
Even if you must do it on a shoestring.
Evans, whose program spent $20,885 in 2009, saves money by driving as much as possible and by targeting a few large events. He'll be in New Jersey, Indiana and Florida this month, while his assistants will head to Vegas, where upwards of 1,000 teams will play in three major tournaments involving 16- and 17-year-olds.
Having more money would mean he could get to more events, like the coaches at larger schools, who not only can roam farther and wider, but can change plans on short notice without worrying about blowing the budget.
"I have friends who are assistants and head coaches at BCS-level schools who can just go to the airport and buy a ticket," JMU coach Matt Brady said, with a touch of wonder in his voice. "I had a friend who went to the airport and spent $2,000 on one flight to see one kid."
That's not a luxury most low and mid-major schools enjoy. Nor do they have access to another time-saving perk available to many coaches in the largest conferences: private planes.
"I don't have the school plane waiting for me," Radford coach Brad Greenberg said, laughing. "I've got four connections waiting for me."
That makes in-season air travel tricky for Greenberg, whose $48,000 budget at Radford is about one-third of what his brother Seth spends at Virginia Tech.
The Hokies will spend more in July alone - about a quarter of their annual budget, coach Seth Greenberg said - than some schools have available for an entire year. Tech's Greenberg said he won't stay more than a day or two at a single event. He'll criss-cross the country from Las Vegas to Orlando to Phoenix, and then back to Orlando.
"My schedule can change in a heartbeat, and if I have to see a specific player I'll change my ticket in a heartbeat," he said.
Seth Greenberg said he would have thought twice about doing that when he coached at South Florida and Long Beach State. At Tech, he recruits against schools that travel in similar fashion, and needs to keep pace.
"It's not like we're being extravagant," he said. "Everyone has their own level."
The difference in levels is most pronounced during the season, when deeper pockets can really come in handy.
Many coaches in the ACC, for example, can coach a game on a Saturday afternoon, take a private plane to see a recruit that evening and return the same night. Virginia's Tony Bennett is among them.
"I don't have unlimited access, but there are opportunities to go and do that if it makes sense," Bennett said. "Being at a place where you can use the plane in certain situations, that's something you're very fortunate to have, because time is of the essence."
Particularly during the regular season. That's why many coaches without access to such time-saving perks have resisted occasional calls to eliminate the summer evaluation period and restrict recruiting to the regular season.
Such a schedule would work for the big boys but would be disastrous for smaller schools, Brady said.
"We would get crushed trying to see the same volume of kids, one kid per day," Brady said. "That would knock us out financially."
ODU's Blaine Taylor, whose budget puts his program firmly in the upper middle class of state Division I schools, said he's not a big fan of the July period. Much of the month is about making appearances. Being seen by recruits can be as important as seeing them. It's all part of the mating dance between team and prospect.
"Once I think a guy is good enough, how many times do I need to see him?" he said.
It depends on the recruit, and who else is interested. Several summers ago, the Monarchs staff followed Chris Warren, a point guard from Orlando, from event to event. On the final day of the recruiting period, Taylor and assistants Jim Corrigan and Rob Wilkes were watching Warren when a coach from Mississippi walked in.
"All of a sudden, they jump in and the kid decides he wants to play in the SEC," Taylor said.
The flip side is that July can also be a month to find hidden gems. Taylor was watching another player one summer when former Monarch Jonathan Adams caught his eye.
"July is a fickle kind of time," Taylor said. "But you've got to get out there."
Baucom said spending most of his limited recruiting dollars in July is a risk he has to take. Though larger schools have occasionally swooped in and taken prospects he's followed all month, on other occasions, his investment in July has paid off later in the year, when the smoke and hype clear and decisions are made.
"In the summer time, everybody thinks they are going to an ACC or a Big East school," he said. "Then they fall back to where they are supposed to go."
At that point, they remember who showed the most interest. Last summer, Baucom or an assistant traveled to every game that prospects D.J. Covington of Norfolk Academy and Rodney Glasgow of Olney, Md., played, wherever it might have been.
Both players signed with the Keydets.
"You've got to do the little things to make these kids feel important and build that relationship with them," Baucom said. "It worked for those guys."
On a tight budget, it was money well-spent.
Ed Miller, (757) 446-2372, ed.miller@pilotonline.com
Dollars and sense: College sports tries to do more with less
Posted to: Men's College Basketball Sports
By Ed Miller
The Virginian-Pilot
© July 4, 2010
Duggar Baucom has crunched the numbers and planned the itineraries. If anyone knows how to stretch a buck on the July recruiting trail, the VMI coach does.
He'll drive where he can and fly only if he must, using tickets purchased far in advance to get the lowest fares. If plans fluctuate - if an event is canceled or a player he wants to see is a no-show - he'll think long and hard before paying expensive fees to change his ticket.
"You just try to spend wisely," Baucom said.
He has no choice. VMI's basketball recruiting budget for fiscal 2009, the last year figures are available, was $17,954. By comparison, Virginia spent $171,045, Virginia Tech $146,607 and Old Dominion $90,191. By U.Va. standards, that was a frugal year.
The Cavaliers spent an average of $228,563 chasing players over a four-year period, including $294,000 in 2006. VMI's four-year average was $28,000, Norfolk State's just $17,122.
The disparity in recruiting budgets is another example of the gap between college basketball's haves and have-nots. Big and small schools don't necessarily target the same players, but in the summer, most everyone turns up at the same events. Even schools like VMI and NSU that recruit mostly regionally must travel far from home to see the guys they're pursuing.
That shooting guard from the next town over might be playing AAU ball in Las Vegas this month.
"It really taxes our budget," Baucom said. "The majority of the money we spend in recruiting is spent in the summer."
Still, it can be a sound investment, because for all its flaws, the July evaluation period is an equalizer of sorts. The busiest month on the recruiting calendar is chock -full of large events that offer a chance to scout many players at once, giving cash-strapped programs more bang for their recruiting buck.
"July is very important," said NSU coach Anthony Evans. "You have to get out and see as many kids as you can."
Even if you must do it on a shoestring.
Evans, whose program spent $20,885 in 2009, saves money by driving as much as possible and by targeting a few large events. He'll be in New Jersey, Indiana and Florida this month, while his assistants will head to Vegas, where upwards of 1,000 teams will play in three major tournaments involving 16- and 17-year-olds.
Having more money would mean he could get to more events, like the coaches at larger schools, who not only can roam farther and wider, but can change plans on short notice without worrying about blowing the budget.
"I have friends who are assistants and head coaches at BCS-level schools who can just go to the airport and buy a ticket," JMU coach Matt Brady said, with a touch of wonder in his voice. "I had a friend who went to the airport and spent $2,000 on one flight to see one kid."
That's not a luxury most low and mid-major schools enjoy. Nor do they have access to another time-saving perk available to many coaches in the largest conferences: private planes.
"I don't have the school plane waiting for me," Radford coach Brad Greenberg said, laughing. "I've got four connections waiting for me."
That makes in-season air travel tricky for Greenberg, whose $48,000 budget at Radford is about one-third of what his brother Seth spends at Virginia Tech.
The Hokies will spend more in July alone - about a quarter of their annual budget, coach Seth Greenberg said - than some schools have available for an entire year. Tech's Greenberg said he won't stay more than a day or two at a single event. He'll criss-cross the country from Las Vegas to Orlando to Phoenix, and then back to Orlando.
"My schedule can change in a heartbeat, and if I have to see a specific player I'll change my ticket in a heartbeat," he said.
Seth Greenberg said he would have thought twice about doing that when he coached at South Florida and Long Beach State. At Tech, he recruits against schools that travel in similar fashion, and needs to keep pace.
"It's not like we're being extravagant," he said. "Everyone has their own level."
The difference in levels is most pronounced during the season, when deeper pockets can really come in handy.
Many coaches in the ACC, for example, can coach a game on a Saturday afternoon, take a private plane to see a recruit that evening and return the same night. Virginia's Tony Bennett is among them.
"I don't have unlimited access, but there are opportunities to go and do that if it makes sense," Bennett said. "Being at a place where you can use the plane in certain situations, that's something you're very fortunate to have, because time is of the essence."
Particularly during the regular season. That's why many coaches without access to such time-saving perks have resisted occasional calls to eliminate the summer evaluation period and restrict recruiting to the regular season.
Such a schedule would work for the big boys but would be disastrous for smaller schools, Brady said.
"We would get crushed trying to see the same volume of kids, one kid per day," Brady said. "That would knock us out financially."
ODU's Blaine Taylor, whose budget puts his program firmly in the upper middle class of state Division I schools, said he's not a big fan of the July period. Much of the month is about making appearances. Being seen by recruits can be as important as seeing them. It's all part of the mating dance between team and prospect.
"Once I think a guy is good enough, how many times do I need to see him?" he said.
It depends on the recruit, and who else is interested. Several summers ago, the Monarchs staff followed Chris Warren, a point guard from Orlando, from event to event. On the final day of the recruiting period, Taylor and assistants Jim Corrigan and Rob Wilkes were watching Warren when a coach from Mississippi walked in.
"All of a sudden, they jump in and the kid decides he wants to play in the SEC," Taylor said.
The flip side is that July can also be a month to find hidden gems. Taylor was watching another player one summer when former Monarch Jonathan Adams caught his eye.
"July is a fickle kind of time," Taylor said. "But you've got to get out there."
Baucom said spending most of his limited recruiting dollars in July is a risk he has to take. Though larger schools have occasionally swooped in and taken prospects he's followed all month, on other occasions, his investment in July has paid off later in the year, when the smoke and hype clear and decisions are made.
"In the summer time, everybody thinks they are going to an ACC or a Big East school," he said. "Then they fall back to where they are supposed to go."
At that point, they remember who showed the most interest. Last summer, Baucom or an assistant traveled to every game that prospects D.J. Covington of Norfolk Academy and Rodney Glasgow of Olney, Md., played, wherever it might have been.
Both players signed with the Keydets.
"You've got to do the little things to make these kids feel important and build that relationship with them," Baucom said. "It worked for those guys."
On a tight budget, it was money well-spent.
Ed Miller, (757) 446-2372, ed.miller@pilotonline.com