Episode 13—Athletic Recruiting: The Balancing Act

Enrollment Edge by enrollmentFUEL

For colleges and universities Athletic Recruiting is often viewed as the solution to various challenges - gender balance, increasing revenue, brand development, increasing enrollment to name just a few. However, balancing those solutions with the issues that often come with athletics can be daunting and persistent. Out of control discounting through athletic scholarships, over-recruiting to limited rosters, poor retention, and the ethics of recruiting athletes with little or no chance of graduating seem to be overlooked by too many college administrators when making athletic related decisions. We'll talk about the pros and cons of college athletics with one of the country's leading voices on the subject.
About Our Guest:
Jim Abbott is in his 19th year as Athletic Director at Oklahoma City University. During Abbott’s tenure the university has added 11 sports teams, won the Learfield Sports Director’s Cup on 3 occasions, maintained a 3.0 cumulative gpa or higher each year, and won an astonishing 48 Team National Championships.

Abbott is the founder of the Business of Small College Athletics, an annual professional development workshop designed for athletic administrators at non Division I institutions. Abbott also provides campus consulting in a variety of areas including leadership development, departmental reviews, strategic planning, external revenue generation, and other areas.

Abbott has been recognized as the National NAIA Athletic Director of the Year on two occasions, as the Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year on three occasions, and as the Sooner Athletic Conference Athletic Director of the Year on six occasions.