Make Your Pitch
I think our coaches come off better than this guy
Okay, the heavy recruiting period and "closing time" in salesmen's terms is upon us when it comes to recruiting.
How would you pitch Columbia after this 1-9, 0-7 season?
How good a salesman, (without being a sleazy liar), are you?
I ask you to make your pitch in the comments section.
Pretend I'm a highly sought after recruit and his parents.
What would you have to offer?
Good luck!
posted by Jake @ 4:13:00 AM
24 comments
24 Comments:
NW already knows how to do this, but here's my 2 cents...On the home visit, check your ego at the door and inject your personality into the Columbia program and connect with the athlete and/or parents. Then, on an Official Visit, be honest, show the athlete a great time by letting them get to know the other players, coaching staff and school. Let the athlete see the benefits of being in NYC, and let them listen to the upperclassmen who are staying with the program and why the boys have such respect for NW. If he's a good fit and his personality fits with Columbias program, he will come.
I think the pitch has been the same for a long time..plain and simple, you can be part of the team that changes history and restores football prominence to Columbia by winning an Ivy title. You have a unique opportunity to go to one of the best academic schools in the world, in the best city in the world, with an administration committed to turning the football program around. Furthermore, by seeing our roster from this year, you can see significant playing time right out of the gate where you might not snif the field at a HYP until your sophomore or junior year at best. We also have an excellent networking system in place to land decent jobs on Wall Street while they are in school and afterwards.
This is not a tough sell all things considered. And if they achieve this goal, they will knock the Yankees and Giants off the front page of the sports section because it will be the biggest sports story in the last 30 years in NY.
I would emphasize that we started the season with 99 players and finished with 99. I would add that we are building a foundation and he can be a part of that. I would also add that we offer a unique educational experience with a core cirriculum.
One thing I would emphasize is that the loudmouth hippies on campus DO NOT REPRESENT the vast majority of students and alumni.
These professional rabble-rousers are not what Columbia stands for - especially the football program. Most Columbia alumni tend to be pro-business, and very successful, unlike the snots on hunger strike.
I think the one thing in common with the kids in the class of '11 is the fact they feel exactly what the poster at 5:46 said. While being recruited they felt the special feeling that they could be the class that established something great at CU---a winning tradition. I don't think this last year has extinguished that desire. The boys still feel they have something building at Columbia and have a confidence in their ability to get it done. They know it will take some time to mature and some more influx of talented recruit classes but will continue to fight. I think these coaches are good at the recruit game and identifying kids with heart that will become champions. We'll get a much better read into the future when they take the field next year and we see the improvement in the young kids of the last two recruit years and the number and skill of the new class in the fall. Can't wait. Go Lions, I still believe.
You are right, dabull. You cannot imagine how much creating a winning tradition figures into the equation. All of these kids want to be the ones who accomplish this AND they have absolute faith in their leader.
Agree with the football recruiting tips. But don't forget these boys are looking for something else, beyond football. All the Ivies will give a great education,so it will be hard to argue Columbia is academically superior. But what Columbia and NYC offers, in my opinion, is more career opportunites for the athletes. This is what sets Columbia apart from the other Ivies, and should be emphasized and sold by all connected with the program. What do these athletes do in the summer for internships? How easy is it to get job interviews? What kind of jobs are they getting out of school? How do the alumni help out with this? How does NW help out? If a recruit or his parents have it figured out that football is secondary (which it is), then this is what will truly matter to them. Hammer home the message "Go to Columbia and you have more career opportunities". Whether true or not, perception is everything. And I perceive it has a ring of truth to it.
I would guarantee every kid a quality summer internship. You are in college to prepare yourself for your adult life. Football is secondary to 100% of the parents and most of the kids. No city can offer what Columbia has .
Promising jobs is an NCAA no-no.
Kids have to earn work.
Location Location Location!
The experience these athletes,(who come from all over the country) can have in NYC is a selling point. Outside of the east coast, most of the country doesnt know where Princeton, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell are. They all know where Columbia is, or at least they know where NYC is.
Things to see and do, and the advantages the location offers for career opportunities, are because of NYC. And what parents wouldn't rather visit their sons in NYC than most of the other Ivy locations? This is a chance for a lifetime experience for both parents and athlete-Ivy league and NYC...priceless!
All good points. However I think we need to concentrate on kids looking at the non HYP Ivies and also the Holy Cross',Fordham and Lehigh's of the world. We may get the random kid to turn down those schools(HYP)but it's a very small percentage for a variety of reasons. Penn has made a science out of getting alot of players from the strong Philly and Jersey Catholic football hs' the last 20 years and that single handedly turned their program around. There is no reason we shouldn't be getting our share of those kids as well more from the LI and Queen's powerhouses. Jake touched on that last year on the blog and I agree with him.
After all the usual persiflage about NYC and an Ivy education and yada, yada, yada, I'd take a real chance and ask the kid, "Are you good enough to make a commitment to help us get better?"
rs
Persiflage? The IVY experience and NYC were the MAIN reasons my son chose Columbia over other football programs that offerred $ and a richer tradition in football. Like it or not it is the way it is.
Columbia has a very rich football tradition and that is what we are trying to restore. The recent tradition-as in last 30 years or so-hasn't been so rich. Not too many ivies can say they are undefeated against Stanford, ended Army's incredible winning streak, won the Rose Bowl etc etc. Unfortunately that probably doesn't carry a ton of weight in any current player's decision to play here.
Not that we represent all recruits, but we did go through an intense recruiting period involving D1A, D1AA, D2 and D3 schools, so we saw alot of different spins, emphasis and selling points. Unfortunately, the tradition of Columbia football did not register at all as a reason our son accepted Columbias Likely Letter. In fact, the infamous losing streak '83-'88 and the abolishment of football in 1905 by Columbia were historical facts that we noted and were also seen as unimportant. To be honest, tradition ranked very low on the priority list of any of the dozens of schools that came calling. Maybe that can change? Whatever.
Columbia has nothing extra to offer in terms of summer finance internships.
The interview process works the same for everyone.
Ivy is Ivy is Ivy.
Guys earn their summer jobs at every school.
Find another point of emphasis
...came across the following Columbia Spectator "opinion" by chance when reading a different article, noted in an earlier post on this site, and would be interested in anyone's take on paragraph #4. The piece is mostly inflammatory; but if there is even a shred of truth to this person's comments regarding football players, then there is some very serious work to be done. Otherwise, we are all wasting our time here.
http://www.columbiaspectator.com/?q=node/28017
Columbia's location does offer kids the ability to easily access firms and companies for interviews which I think does give them some advantage.
Could you give a quote or paraphrase on paragraph four?
1) upgrade the coaches selling ability, have the business school set up a DVD, marketing brochure to arm the coaches with facts and figures about the school, location and graduates
2)upgrade the areas you take the recruits, the locker room coaches offices, and the meeting room they take the parents for breakfast(at the stadium) should all have better representation(pictures ect) of columbia football or sports
"Columbia has nothing extra to offer in terms of summer finance internships."
That's ludicrous. What Columbia has to offer in location, location, location. A short subway ride brings Columbia students right to the doors of all the investment houses, (and that ride is now a lot shorter since the houses now are all in Midtown, not Wall St.).
The other Ivy ball players don't have that kind of internship convenience during the spring semester and it's also a lot easier for Columbia players to set themselves up for summer internships in the city.
3)Sell the future, bring in alums who played football and are now successful(sell the parents)
4)sell the city but also sell columbia as a family( all students live on campus for 4 yrs as an example) you have to sell what others don't have
5)change the game - schedule Grambling great tradition of football,the band will fill seats, should help in recruiting
I think Columbia needs to work on a better non-conference schedule. Maybe get out of the northeast at least for one game to get some exposure across the country. I know the Pioneer Football League plays at a very similar level and has teams from San Diego, Jacksonville, Florida, and several midwest states. I know Yale has played the University of San Diego a few times the past couple of years. Would be a great opportunity also for the Alumni to set up gatherings before these games.
Agree with poster Nov 26th(5:18, 5:26)-are you an alum or parent? Some of these things could be accomplished by a parent organization, which is being thoughtfully considered. I am interested in pursuing this, as a parent...
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