@PTWood posted:Just one reminder. There are lots of non-athletes (or NARPs as, I think, I am affectionately called in my family) who transfer after freshman year or even during freshman year. Classes are too hard or too easy, they hate the party scene or lack thereof... too far from home, too close to home, changed majors and the school doesn't have it, roommate sucks, the food is bad, just a bad fit altogether... National college retention rate from freshman to sophomore year is 75-78% (according to the google machine). When you layer on playing a sport you're adding the additional variables of the culture of the team, how you fit in the lineup, coaches, injury, how you developed in the time between your commitment and showing up on campus, how your teammates developed in the time between their commitment and showing up on campus and just how damn hard being a student-athlete is. And since March, COVID.
When making the college decision, you can do all the research in the world, you can even be totally loved coming in. But that doesn't mean it's going to all work out the way you think it is. You can minimize risk but you can't eliminate it.
I agree that a high level of attrition could be a red flag. I think publishing the stat could also be misleading without background information. JMHO
I agree with your points,Key performance indicators provide an opening to ask the coach additional questions. Such information can be valuable when comparing schools within a conference.