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A Sporting Chance
Some Students Pin Their College Hopes on Scholarships Tied to Sports, but the Reality Doesn’t Always Match the Hype.

by Steven Standridge + photos by Jason Turner

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With his football team down and little time left on the clock, St. James School senior Mike Russ knew he had just one chance to turn it around. In epic fashion, the 17-year-old quarterback led his team to the goal line and punched it in for a dramatic last-second win. While it was a team effort, Mike put up astounding numbers in the game, wowing fans and coaches alike.

When the cleats and shoulder pads come off and Mike leaves the locker room, it’s back to the life of a student. As one of thousands of high school student-athletes across the country hoping to earn a college athletic scholarship, Mike knows that it involves equal parts athletics, academics and character. “I always looked at a scholarship as a way out,” Mike recalls. “Ever since I was young, my family told me I was going to college. Getting scholarship money will relieve the stress on my parents financially.”

Mike is one of the lucky few. He has several colleges looking at him in both football and basketball. Despite the popularity of college sports on a national level, athletic scholarship money is much harder to earn than most people realize. According to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) numbers, only about three percent of high school boys and girls basketball players will play in college, while about six percent each will play football or baseball.

Still, the perception persists that athletic scholarships are the best way into college. “You don’t turn on the television and see game-day academics,” University of Maryland associate athletic director Dan Trump says. “Even in local newspapers there aren’t as many stories about valedictorians as athletes. Athletes are so much in the public eye. You don’t always see those opportunities academically. The numbers don’t lie. There just aren’t a lot of athletic scholarships.”

Promoting the Players
Before a student can even think about receiving money, a long and sometimes bumpy road must be traveled. Another misconception about scholarships is that college coaches will automatically find all of the talented athletes out there. Sheer numbers of American high schools and limited recruiting budgets make this an impossible task. “This area is not historically a breeding ground for Division I athletes,” Mike’s father, Mike Russ Sr. says. “To really help your kid succeed, you have to look at this as a marketing process. You have to make sure your kid is visible with exposure at camps, sending videos to coaches and just blitzing colleges with information.”

That advertising campaign is where coaches become so important in the process. At St. James, Mike has been fortunate enough to have a pair of coaches working hard for him — basketball coach Mike Brooks and football coach Chris Milmoe. “We send letters to the schools and put together game film,” Mike Brooks explains. “We want to initiate the process and get the ball rolling. That’s an important first step. If we didn’t do that, we’d be failing the students. It’s so important that coaches and parents make sacrifices for the kids. Without wedging the door open for them, it would be difficult. If we get our foot in the door first, we can blow it open.”

Williamsport High School senior Cayla Broadwater is another student athlete who is counting on athletics to pay for higher education. The multi-talented athlete has won state titles in several track and field events and excels in volleyball. Her hard work has already produced a scholarship offer, leading to her commitment to the University of Connecticut. As a 6-foot 1-inch tall middle hitter, Cayla was in a position to be noticed. To get to that point, however, she needed to increase her visibility. Not only has Cayla impressed in scholastic volleyball, she also plays for the Revolution, a club team. The combination of the two gave her the edge she needed. After that, it was up to her to get better. “Coaches love leadership on the court,” Cayla says. “I had to step up into that role and work on the little things and the right techniques.”

Her father, Terry Broadwater, has been right there with her every step of the way. “We realized that we needed to be proactive,” Terry says. “Things were not just going to fall into our laps. You have to allow yourself to see beyond the smaller possibilities. You have to get over that feeling of being an obnoxious parent. There’s money out there, but you have to promote your kid. To keep things balanced is to keep in perspective what’s possible.”

Scoring Success
The right combination of hard work, persistence and luck can pay off. Emily Burger, a Smithsburg High School graduate, is now at Shippensburg University where she receives scholarship money to play soccer. Like Mike and Cayla, Emily put hours of work into the college search process. As she found out, getting the scholarship is only part of the equation. “I was nervous my first year here,” Emily admits. “Having that scholarship money made me feel better, like I wasn’t going to get booted off the team during tryouts. I know I have to keep my grades up and make positive choices when I go out. Each and every practice you have to work hard and have a good attitude because it’s a competition for spots on the field.”

Shippensburg’s women’s soccer coach Rob Fulton looks for well-rounded students who have their priorities straight. Because coaches are the ones who decide whom scholarships are awarded to, most of it depends on athletic attributes, decision-making, demeanor and where a player may fit on the team or in the system.

A Numbers Game
The truth is, even if a student is able to earn an athletic scholarship, it may not be a full-ride. Basketball and football commonly see full scholarships. Most other sports, however, use an equivalency system. For example, the NCAA lists women’s soccer at 14 scholarships per year for each team. It’s up to the coaches how much of each scholarship is given to a particular athlete. “It’s not a certain number,” Rob says. “It’s on an individual case-by-case basis. I look at the student’s situation, need and how much potential they have. We can bring someone in with no money or some money and give them more later.”

Female athletes take notice. Title IX has increased the number of women’s sports, therefore adding more scholarship opportunities. The catch is, there are more girls competing for those spots. “On the women’s side there has been a tremendous — and long overdue — increase in opportunities,” Loyola College athletic director Joe Boylan says. “Parents sometimes just see the numbers, but that’s not reality. When you start dividing the money, there’s not much left for each student.”

Scholarships are awarded on a yearly basis as students resign papers annually. Most sports will not revoke scholarships based on performance, rather academic or conduct issues are more likely to hurt an athlete’s scholarship award at any stage. In addition to athletic facilities, most schools offer extensive academic resources for their athletes. “We want to win games,” Joe says. “But what are our students doing five years after playing? Are they a better person, and do they appreciate what they have?”