Call to play: The importance of the phone in recruiting college student athletes

Co-authored with Dr. Linda Hoopes

If you work in college or university admissions, you understand the importance of building relationships with prospective students and their parents. These days, social media, phone apps, texting—anything electronic—has overshadowed the traditional phone call as the preferred way to connect. Or has it?

Every year for the last five years Ruffalo Noel Levitz has surveyed high school students—more than 80,000 of them—and their parents to learn their preferences in how colleges communicate with them through the recruitment process (here’s our most recent report). One area we explore is students’ perceptions of the mix of channels institutions are employing to engage them relative to how they would prefer to hear from those institutions.

In examining the responses of students aspiring to participate in intercollegiate athletics compared to non-athletes, we found no significant difference in their preferences—other than when it came to use of the phone.

Student athletes who expressed that participating in a sport was “very important” or “important” in their college selection process demonstrated a stronger preference for hearing from an institution via the phone than did students for whom college athletics was not important. While fewer than one in ten students overall reported hearing from campuses via a phone call, nearly one in five prefer it as a communication channel. For student athletes, 28 percent prefer it (relative to 13 percent for non-athletes.)

Why? Far from being a relic of a bygone recruitment era, a well-executed phone conversation is in many ways more “digital” than today’s e-communications in the sense that it is both intensely interactive and highly engaging. A call provides instantaneous answers and prompt feedback. For a generation that isn’t necessarily willing to see how long it takes you to respond to email—only 2 percent of students who become interested in a school will reach out that way—a good old-fashioned phone call is arguably the most personal and most influential way to reach your audience.

While increasing and optimizing your phone outreach provides tremendous benefit to all of your prospective students, how does it impact your recruitment of athletes in particular? Coaching staffs often work diligently to connect with prospective students; in fact, admissions offices can learn from some of these approaches. Let’s consider some of our findings relative to athletes and how a well-timed call from an admissions staff member can make an impact.

Students who indicated playing sports in college was “very important” were more likely to initiate contact with a school.

Students now learn about institutions on their own terms, in their own way, on their own timeline: this is indeed true for athletes. For students who self-initiate (as opposed to being influenced via a search campaign, for example), you have little basis to know what they know about your campus and what they still need to know.

Among surveyed seniors, 43 percent indicated they did not complete all applications they started. Of those, three-quarters indicated it was because they changed their mind—presumably after learning more about the institution. The take-away: while students can be more informed about you (without even talking to you!) than ever before, their ability to assess fit may be lacking.

A call shortly after the student inquires is the best and most efficient way to ensure that student is well-informed.

Students who reported college athletics were “important” or ”very important” in their college selection were more likely to have applied to one to five schools; those for whom athletics were not very important were more likely to have applied to six to ten schools.

This could be an indication of a higher level of interest and a more discerning selection process. At the point of application, a call to these students serves to strengthen the relationship-building process and build toward yield.

Students who responded that athletics was “important” in their college choice were more likely to report their parents as “very involved” in their college search process.

Selecting a college has become more of a family pursuit, and student athletes seem more likely to express a high level of parental involvement. This is a family discussion, and phone calls with students or their parents are the most effective way to advance the conversation. Beyond training admissions staff in the art of the recruitment call, consider training financial aid staff as well. To note: our recent Rising Seniors’ Perceptions of Financial Aid report demonstrates that prospective student athletes may have unrealistic expectations when it comes to athletic scholarships. A phone dialogue can be a great way to manage expectations while maintaining a positive interaction.

Aside from having a professional staff member calling prospective student athletes, calls from your current students can make a major impact. This is a topic we will explore in further detail at our 2015 Telecounseling Supervisor’s Workshop in Boston, July 7-8. At this one-and-a-half day workshop, managers of student calling programs will learn how to make the most of a calling program to build relationships and connect with the right students.

We also welcome your questions and feedback. Feel free to leave a comment below, or please email Dr. Linda Hoopes of Ruffalo Noel Levitz.