Need Help Understanding D2 Offer As Soon as Possible

IMO, it is very unusual that this type of misunderstanding would occur without coming up prior to written offer.  Offers are usually pretty clear when being discussed in regards to academic vs athletic.  Can you provide more detail as to how the discussions took place and what was said prior to written offer being sent?  This may help others give better answers to your questions.

Sure.  The coach told Noah that they wanted him on the team and sent out an email and letter outlining how much scholarship money he would get versus Loans & other financial aid.  The line item that said scholarship money did not specify as to academic versus athletic.  They asked Noah if would commit to the team and he did over the winter.  They arranged a visit for him to come to the school and get a tour and and brief talk with the head coach.  

The confusion is probably my fault as I never imagined that he could qualify for that much academic money with his ACT score which is average at best.

It is not uncommon for D2 baseball coaches to work with the admissions and financial aid offices to put together a total package. 

The lack of athletic money may not be an indicator of the coach's opinion of your son's potential. The coach probably has a pretty good idea what you can afford. If he can get a deal without spending any athletic money, he will. He's all about putting together all the pieces of the team and using his scarce scholarships to get players he couldn't otherwise get. Other recruits may get athletic money, not because they're better at baseball, but because they don't have your son's grades and can't get the academic money. 

The fact that the money is all academic could be a good thing in two ways. Your son's financial ability to remain at school through graduation is not contingent on what happens with baseball. And his cost to the team is free, so there will never be a financial reason for the coach to give his roster spot to someone else.

Swampboy - thanks for the feedback.  This is what I thought as I know they are working on limited scholarships and I know they likely got him academic money he would not have received if it were not for baseball.  Does this mean that he will not sign a NLI?

Everyone wants a signing ceremony, but there's nothing in the NLI for the student. 

The NLI is strictly an instrument for binding a student to a school. The scholarship agreement is executed with a separate grant in aid form, which schools won't ratify without a signed NLI.

Schools can ask a recruited non-scholarship athlete to sign an NLI, but there's no benefit for the student in doing so.

Your financial aid package should tell you how to accept the various pieces of the offer they made. That should be all you need. Don't ask for an NLI if it's not already in the package. 

 P.S. The academic money he's getting was awarded on the same basis it would be awarded to non-athletes. Anything he gets on account of being an athlete is by definition chargeable athletic money. Coaches may know what rocks to look under for that money, but it has to be straight academic money.

lefty17 posted:

Swampboy - thanks for the feedback.  This is what I thought as I know they are working on limited scholarships and I know they likely got him academic money he would not have received if it were not for baseball.  Does this mean that he will not sign a NLI?

Good advice from swampboy.

Most D2 programs are private and expensive, the few scholarships they have, 9, doesn't allow for much and FYI D2 coaches save that for the JUCO guys because they play the experienced guys over freshman.  

IMO your son is much better off than with any athletic money, these private can run up to 40k a year.

Word of caution, no NLI means technically he isn't bound to any agreement. This opens up for a possibility at a D1 late spring or summer after the draft. Proceed cautiously, making any kind of commitment and changing ones mind isn't always a best choice. 

JMO

Lefty, 

I think I know which D2 you're talking about. I have a very high opinion of the coach.

Thanks for the feedback from everyone.  You all have confirmed what we thought but it helps to have more information before signing day.  Noah is really excited about the offer.  I should add he had a heck of a week last week.  He had three home runs and two doubles, 11 rbis, and a district game winner.

Thanks for posting Lefty.  This was a very helpful thread, and congrats to your son's success!

Coastal Carolina had 4 guys starting in Omaha last year that were 'academic money guys' NCAA baseball coaches would not be able to field teams without that type of financial component.

As far as Lefty17's situation, if your son was under the impression that he was receiving baseball money and he didn't , he needs to phone the HC and clarify his commitment . No baseball money means no NLI and most importantly NO guaranteed roster spot thru the spring. THAT needs to be addressed. If the HC is committed to a guaranteed roster spot thru the spring, then it's fine. Once again, all NCAA teams have 'academic money guys' . But, that guaranteed roster spot THRU THE SPRING needs to be addressed ASAP.

Baseball money at times is overrated. It's not a big deal if the HC is committed to a guaranteed roster spot thru spring. It's an economic thing for the coach that allows him to recruit enough guys. Baseball money means guaranteed roster spot thru the spring for 1 season. So, if you get the same commitment from HC on academic money , who cares?

But once again your son needs to call the HC.....Your son not YOU

lefty17 posted:

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We are very happy with the baseball program, his offer, coaching, but were not expecting that all his money was academic and were not sure if this matters at all. Thanks for any insight you can provide.

Lefty17,

I think you've received some excellent advice from the Board..  You seem happy with the overall situation (noted above) which is a very good thing but have questions.....now is the time to ask the coach.   In your son's case, the academic scholarship may be better overall...it just depends.

It sounds like some expectations were not met, and that needs to be clarified and explained.  Normally, I don't like parents jumping into the fray unless it is medically related or financially related.  In this case it is financial, and I think a phone call to the HC is appropriate to discuss and clarify exactly what is going on so everybody is on the same page and everybody knows what is expected on day one.   After day one, it is too late.  

Good luck!

fenwaysouth posted:

lefty17 posted:

............................

We are very happy with the baseball program, his offer, coaching, but were not expecting that all his money was academic and were not sure if this matters at all. Thanks for any insight you can provide.

Lefty17,

I think you've received some excellent advice from the Board..  You seem happy with the overall situation (noted above) which is a very good thing but have questions.....now is the time to ask the coach.   In your son's case, the academic scholarship may be better overall...it just depends.

It sounds like some expectations were not met, and that needs to be clarified and explained.  Normally, I don't like parents jumping into the fray unless it is medically related or financially related.  In this case it is financial, and I think a phone call to the HC is appropriate to discuss and clarify exactly what is going on so everybody is on the same page and everybody knows what is expected on day one.   After day one, it is too late.  

Good luck!

Fenwaysouth is right. This is a financial thing. It's appropriate for the parents to phone the HC.

In my earlier post I emphasized only having your son call. That is incorrect. If you're paying the bills, this effects  all that....In my experience this is one of the few times a parent actually needs to speak to the HC or whoever made the commitment on behalf of the program

The team sent Noah a letter of commitment for Baseball for the 2017-2018 school year.  It lists the total cost of tuition and how much the school will be offering broken out by scholarship, loans, etc.  It also asks to be able to give a public release of a verbal commitment.  They told us Noah will definitely be on the team in the spring.

The only surprise for me was that they gave him a really good offer and I didn't think he could qualify for all of that in academic.  Somehow he did.

Great information in this post.  Noah is contacting the coach today to inform him that I will be contacting the coach to confirm all of the financial information before next week.

lefty17 posted:

The team sent Noah a letter of commitment for Baseball for the 2017-2018 school year.  It lists the total cost of tuition and how much the school will be offering broken out by scholarship, loans, etc.  It also asks to be able to give a public release of a verbal commitment.  They told us Noah will definitely be on the team in the spring.

The only surprise for me was that they gave him a really good offer and I didn't think he could qualify for all of that in academic.  Somehow he did.

Great information in this post.  Noah is contacting the coach today to inform him that I will be contacting the coach to confirm all of the financial information before next week.

Sounds like a great situation, congratulations!  

Still, he will be best suited if he goes in prepared as if he didn't have a Spring spot and needing to scratch and claw and work for every opportunity.  In spite of his success to date, he is likely to be challenged beyond what he may imagine.  That seems to be the case for a good 90+ % of college baseball players, including the very good ones.

lefty17 posted:

The only surprise for me was that they gave him a really good offer and I didn't think he could qualify for all of that in academic.  Somehow he did.

Every now and then, kids can surprise you!

lefty17 posted:

The team sent Noah a letter of commitment for Baseball for the 2017-2018 school year.  It lists the total cost of tuition and how much the school will be offering broken out by scholarship, loans, etc.  It also asks to be able to give a public release of a verbal commitment.  They told us Noah will definitely be on the team in the spring.

The only surprise for me was that they gave him a really good offer and I didn't think he could qualify for all of that in academic.  Somehow he did.

Great information in this post.  Noah is contacting the coach today to inform him that I will be contacting the coach to confirm all of the financial information before next week.

Congratulations!

Because of high tuition costs, private D2 and D3 coaches work real hard at getting you on campus via lots of academic money.

Congratulations!