Ivy League Athletic Recruiting Policies

The Ivy League is a network of prestigious schools, including Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University and Yale University. These schools are distinguished by their reputation for rigorous academics. However, the Ivy League takes its name from the intercollegiate athletic conference in which the schools compete. Ivy League schools compete in Division I, but they follow their own athletic recruitment process.

  1. Funding

    • One of the factors that distinguishes the Ivy League recruiting process from other college athletic recruiting processes is the absence of athletic scholarships. The Ivy League schools are not permitted to award athletic scholarships. However, these schools do offer financial aid to admitted students, and the application for financial aid is blind, which means that awards are determined on a need basis, rather than on the student's performance or eligibility for scholarship. This practice benefits athletes that have been recruited by a coach of an Ivy League school team, who may not be able to compete academically with other Ivy League students.

    Likely Letters

    • Since the Ivy League does not offer athletic scholarships, schools do not use a National Letter of Indent. In place of this letter, the Ivy League schools use what is known as a "likely" letter. A likely letter is a formal letter of admission. However, the letter is conditional; the student must upkeep satisfactory performance at his secondary school. Problematically, likely letters are not always guarantees of admission. They are simply written letters to indicate an athlete will "likely" be admitted to the school, once the admissions office officially reviews all applications.

    Scouting

    • Ivy League coaches, like the coaches at other colleges and universities, recruit high school athletes to the play on athletic teams. Often, coaches hire scouts to travel nationally to recruit prospective players for a team. These prospective players may be invited to visit the school, where they are given a tour of campus and the athletic facilities and where they meet assistant coaches and potential teammates. Upon the coach's request, the student athlete may apply for admission to the school. To clarify, the student may apply on his own, but there is no guarantee that the coach will support his admission by appealing to the admissions office.

    Coach's Request for Likely Letter

    • If an Ivy League athletic coach wants to recruit a certain athlete to his team, he must first request that the admissions office issue a "likely" letter to the student athlete, along with the coach's invitation to the athlete to join the program. A coach is not authorized to issue a likely letter, it must come directly from representatives of the admissions office. Further, the coach is obligated to advise the student, in his letter inviting him to the program, that the letter is not an official placeholder and that while admission is likely, the student must wait for an official letter of acceptance, which may not be issued for another few months. In some cases, a coach may be unable to obtain a likely letter for a potential athlete.

    Offers of Admission

    • When a coach has compiled a full list of athletes that he desires for his program, the coach submits the entire list to the admissions office. Admissions officers seriously consider a coach's preferences when reviewing applications. However, the admissions office ultimately makes decisions based upon the applicant's qualifications as a student and an athlete. Compared to other Division I schools, Ivy League coaches tend to have less influence with admissions offices.