Centralizing Recruiting and Student-Athlete Information Benefits Both the Compliance Staff and Coaches
When the University of Oklahoma decided to implement a department-wide technological solution for recruiting, compliance monitoring and student-athlete information, the intent was to integrate and automate much of the day-to-day compliance procedures. After extensive research, Jason Leonard, Oklahoma’s Executive Athletics Director for Compliance, recommended ACS Athletics to the Athletics Director and the General Counsel.
“Based on the benefits of the software, specifically, reduction in time to complete the numerous forms that are required throughout the year, centralization of all student-athlete information, improved tracking of recruiting information, and improved ability to monitor, the proposal was ultimately approved by the Board of Regents,” Leonard said. When asked what features of the ACS Athletics program were most attractive, Leonard noted the ability to centralize student-athlete information and forms, the capability to electronically route department forms for approval and/or signatures, and the ability to maintain the complimentary ticket database in a centralized location.
Once implemented, Leonard indicated that the ACS Athletics program enables the institution to monitor recruiting activity in a timelier manner and allows his staff to track recruiting telephone calls more accurately. Further, Leonard said the program provides coaches the ability to easily log comments about each recruiting call (e.g., prospect did not answer the call, no message left); and it provides an online central area for all recruiting activities (e.g., phone calls, contacts, evaluations, official visits), thus eliminating the need to physically go to the coaching staffs each month to collect this information.
In addition to providing coaches with powerful recruiting software that streamlines the recruiting process, Leonard also envisioned creating a central location for all student-athlete information. This information is collected from a variety of sources beginning with the student-athlete’s recruitment through graduation; otherwise known as the, “student-athlete life-cycle.” Leonard said the compliance staff now has the ability to “push” the requested information to the student-athletes via electronic forms, which has greatly improved the efficiency of the process. “The reporting function has vastly improved our ability to review and analyze the information gathered. For example, instead of reviewing each vehicle form individually, we can isolate certain information within the form and run reports based on that information for all student-athletes,” Leonard said.
Finally, Leonard indicated that coaches have generally reacted positively to the implementation of the ACS Athletics program, which can sometimes prove to be challenging if certain coaches are accustomed to operating within a different paradigm. In addition to the time saved from previously having to manually log all recruiting activities, coaches appreciate not having to maintain paper recruiting logs. “Coaches have to understand the importance of compliance in their day to day activities,” Leonard said. “If a coach understands how important compliance is and how the coach will be the one in front of the COI (NCAA Committee on Infractions) if something negative occurs, the sale (of implementing a comprehensive technological solution, including monitoring) should be easy. Further, centralization of student-athlete information for the coach’s team, which can be accessed by all pertinent individuals in the front office from any location at any time, is a positive. The text message and e-mail features are also beneficial.”