One of the biggest days of the college football season – at least of those that don’t take place on the gridiron – is national signing day.
This is when schools give recruits deadlines to sign their letters of intent. At the end of the day, most college football fans know who their favorite schools have signed and they begin to feverishly anticipate bright futures with their young prospects. This year’s signing day took place last week and many football supporters are now holding out hope that their respective school’s recruits will live up to their potential.
In the past, coaches and recruiting staffs have used traditional methods to reach out to high school athletes. Phone calls, letters and the in-person visit were staples of every recruiting strategy. While some of these actions are still relevant, many coaches are ditching traditional tools and implementing modern technology. Sending promotional text messages to sell prospects on the value of a particular school is a practice that is growing in popularity.
Recruiting reform gives coaches more texting opportunities
Last summer, this blog reported that texting as a recruiting tool had been deregulated in a number of sports, including basketball. Now, more programs are following suit. Starting this fall, football coaches will be able to send unlimited text messages to recruits, something that had been previously outlawed by the NCAA. When this policy goes into effect, coaches will have the opportunity build efficiency into their recruiting efforts.
In January, NCAA President Mark Emmert told USA Today that this ruling shows the flexibility of the recruiting process and exemplifies the value of adapting to societal changes.
“The reality is that people understand that the rules aren’t chiseled in stone, that we can make changes, we can make adjustments, that we don’t have to be tied up in knots by our own traditions and our own processes,” Emmert said. “We can actually make decisions.”
The value of text messaging is clearly evident here. Those who capitalize on this policy will likely see greater success each year. Swift SMS Gateway offers the tools needed to implement an effective SMS strategy.
