How much do academics really matter in a final college decision for athletics?

In speaking with thousands of athletes over the last decade, one question that I like to ask frequently is about what they are looking for when making a final college decision.  Although I am always interested, the reason why I ask this is to just see if what they say and how it really factors into their final decision.

One answer that always seems to come up is academics.  There is no doubt that academics should play an important factor in the final college decision of anyone.  And while many athletes do say athletics, it is always strange to see where the athlete ends up and what schools he eventually turned down.

In my opinion overall, academics are an important thing to a family when one of their children makes a college decision (regardless if it involves sports).  But I believe that when athletics are involved, the athletes are looking for a solid school.  They don’t need a top tier program.  They just want to go to a school that is respected and can help them get a job afterwards.

The reason why I bring this up is because if all the athletes told me that academics really was the #1 decision that they factored in, why wouldn’t more students go to Harvard, Stanford, and other powerhouse schools like that?  A recent athlete that I covered proved to be a major Division I football player and when asked that question, here is what he said: “Probably location, the prestige of the school, and academics of the schools will be the biggest things.”

I didn’t ask if these were in any particular order so I don’t know if the three things he said were ranked one through three or they were all equal.  What I did see is this athlete turn down Stanford to go to State University.  And again, while State University is a solid academic institution, I can promise you that it is not Stanford (for the record, I have no connection to Stanford.  I just know it is a good school).

I think in the end, the biggest things that an athlete eventually looks for when making a final football recruiting decision is a strong football program, close to home, the chance to play, and decent academics.  In my opinion, most college searches that I have viewed from afar usually boil down to those three things.

In the long run though, academics really should be the most important thing.  Yes, all Division I football players probably think one time or another about hopefully getting a chance to play at the professional level.  The problem is that very few actually get that chance when all is said and done.  What that means is you will likely be working for forty years after college graduation.

Think about that for a second; if you are spending five years at a school because the football team is good versus getting a fantastic education, is that really a good decision?  Especially because you will be using that degree in Communications at State University for the rest of your life (unless of course you want to spend the time and your own money going back to school down the road).  So anyways, I hate to blast the athletes that do say academics but practice what you preach.  If the academics at the school are really most important, than you should pick the best academic institution you get offered by.

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