In an age when college coaches utilize text messaging and other high-tech and borderline-stalker avenues to dazzle athletes and lure them to their schools, there is still one "throwback" league when it comes to recruiting.
Call it antiquated, call it outdated, but the NESCAC has steadfastly held to its original mission statement created in 1971, one committed first and foremost to the academic achievement of its students. In fact, for Tufts, this concept had been in the making since the turn of the century when administrators decided that athletes should not receive an unfair advantage over other students.
The original mission of the league has had clear implications for recruiting, mandating that players contact coaches first and designating clear times when coaches can and cannot see a recruit play. For many NESCAC coaches, finding athletes who meet both the academic and athletic standards of the league can be tricky.
"In the NESCAC, the academic piece is a challenge," Tufts field hockey coach Tina McDavitt said. "Coaches have more of a say at other levels; [but] they won't compromise [for] athletics in the NESCAC. The academic standards are so high at Tufts. [Here] we look at the student first and then the athlete."
The Div. III recruiting standards, reflected in the league regulations, add a certain level of unpredictability to a coach looking to fill a lineup. A prohibition on athletic scholarships and the fact that recruits are not required to sign a letter of intent give athletes more mobility when choosing which school to attend, and do not guarantee that they play once they arrive, or that they continue playing throughout their career.
In other respects, the NESCAC goes above and beyond Div. III rules, and these stricter regulations can pose obstacles for coaches trying to field competitive teams.
The conference sets restrictions on when and where coaches can meet with or communicate with prospective players. Many coaches spend the summer months attending tournaments in search of athletes, but they are not allowed to talk to these students or their parents, as league rules prohibit off-campus recruiting. In order to maintain contacts, coaches spend a lot of time writing letters and e-mailing possible recruits in order to mitigate their disadvantage to other Div. III schools.
In addition, the league prohibits teams from being coached or playing in the off-season in order to protect class time and academic focus, a rule which has often flustered coaches attempting to improve their teams from year to year.
Rocky Carzo was the football coach at Tufts from 1966 to 1973 and Athletic Director from 1973 to 1999, and questions the implications of the restrictions on one-on-one coaching sessions during the offseason.
"I can't believe we're at an academic institution that says 'you can't work on self-improvement,'" Carzo said. "I just don't see how if a kid wants to get better, you shouldn't be able to tutor them. Teachers can do it [with a student] - why can't I do that with an athlete? We take all these kids and we bring them here and practice them less than any other Div. III team in the country."
Aside from potentially placing NESCAC teams at a disadvantage to their Div. III counterparts who play in tournaments all year round, such a rule can also discourage some of the more serious athletes who wish to stay with their team year-round.
"It definitely does turn people away," McDavitt said. "I had a girl last year who was also looking at Harvard and Duke, and she decided she wanted to [play] year round. But it can also be a selling point because students can do other things. Athletes here are more focused on school and on what they want to do after college."
However, for the serious student, the academic reputation and rigor of NESCAC schools can be a selling point.
"I chose a NESCAC school because I felt that I worked so hard in high school and deserved to challenge myself academically [in college]," said Kimberly Moynihan, a freshman on the women's basketball team. "That's what I love about this team. It's both academically and athletically minded; we value the same things."
For Moynihan, an on-campus visit and dinner with the team was enough to overcome the stringent NESCAC restrictions and convince her to come to Tufts.
"[Tufts] was the only team [I was looking at] that called me over the summer," Moynihan said.
"It sent me an email or two, which was a big thing that made me decide [to go here]," she said. "I knew I loved the team; I felt a connection with the people."
