Alumni Parents

Question: In recruiting,does it help when the parents are alumni of the college?

Answer: Unfortunately, this is a bit of an apples and oranges situation. At some colleges, having siblings, parents or grandparents as alumni---creating a "legacy" admission scenario---may well help with admission. However, when it comes to recruiting, it would only help if the school had a clear policy that urged its coaches to give serious recruiting consideration to those athletes whose relatives had attended the school.

From a coach's perspective, having alumni parents could be viewed in one of a couple of ways. For example, a coach who knows a player's parents graduated from the college might feel this could help increase the player's interest in the college, perhaps to the extent of turning down another program in favor of the "alma mater." Or, a coach who knows a player might not be an easy admit because of grades and test scores might choose to play the alumni parents card to help with admissions. In other words, it is possible that a coach would appreciate the fact that a player's parents had attended the college if the coach felt it would strengthen his/her position with the recruit or could help the recruit be admitted.

However, I'm not sure about the opposite side of the coin. I've never heard of a coach putting a player on a team simply because her parents were alumni (unless perhaps those alumni could donate a new stadium or something like that!) If the coach truly believes a recruit could contribute---even if just as a role player---being a legacy student may help. But I don't think it would be enough by itself to get a coach to notice you. I hope this information is helpful!