On the field, Bowling Green competes with larger schools such as Ohio State University and The University of Michigan. However, the battle with these schools does not begin on the field, it begins with the recruiting process.

“Recruiting is an ongoing process,” said John Bowers, recruiting coordinator and linebacker coach for the football team. “You research so you can make an educated decision and bring in the right player.”

Some perspective students will turn down offers from Bowling Green to play at bigger universities.

“Really that’s what we’re fighting off there,” said Jay Harris, head coach of the men’s tennis team. “As a coach, as a recruiter, you have to be a salesman,” Harris said. “I usually tell the kids you can come here and be nationally ranked or go to a Big 10 school and go 2-8. We’re playing at the top of our conference and we?re fighting for a conference title.”

Other coaches use similar methods to win the recruitment battle over the larger area schools.

“We try to sell the fact that at Bowling Green you’ll be a name more than a number,” said Buddy Powers, head coach of the men’s hockey team. “You won’t be in a class with four hundred to five hundred students.”

While the basic recruiting process includes talking to perspective students through letters and personal visits, many coaches have their own methods of persuasion.

Harris said he is one of the few coaches that writes hand-written letters to his recruits.

“If a kid gets a form letter from another coach and a hand written letter from me, they’re going to appreciate school level.

“We look for kids that are athletic and haven’t fully developed yet,” he said. “One of our keys is our ability to develop guys.”

One reason that the tennis team uses this method Harris said is because he realizes that the University is necessarily as attractive to students as a larger university.

“You just have to look hard to find that kid who has that edge, ability and right game that will develop in college,” he said.

Recruiting at the University does not begin and end in Ohio. According to Bowers, the football team has nine coaches that recruit at about 1,500 high schools nationwide.

“Each coach has a list of fifty players that they recruit,” he said. “By the end of the recruitment process we bring in 20-25 players a year.”

Last years tennis team included players from Seattle, New York, Canada and Europe.

“The population of kids we recruit is so huge,” Harris said. “We’re just recruiting kids all over the world now that we’ve gotten into the national rankings.”

Although finding athletes who can perform well on the field is important to coaches during the recruitment process, performance in the classroom is just as important to them.

“We realize that Bowling Green is a competitive school and we want to bring in guys who can compete in the classroom,” Bowers said.

Denise Van De Walle, head volleyball coach, said she recruits students out of high school who had at least a 3.0 GPA and performed well on the SAT and ACT.

“I think academics are very important. It’s a key component in my recruiting process,” she said. “I like to have kids that have already proven they can be successful in the classroom and on the court.”

According to Harris, the tennis team is helped out more if the students they recruit are able to perform well in the classroom.

“We only have four and a half scholarships,”he said. “If we get students in who already have academic scholarships its a huge advantage for us.”

The ability to think in the classroom usually carries over to the court, Harris said.

“Tennis is definitely a thinking mans game. If a kid is smart in the classroom they will usually be smart on the court,” he said.school level.

“We look for kids that are athletic and haven’t fully developed yet,”he said. ?One of our keys is our ability to develop guys.”

One reason that the tennis team uses this method Harris said is because he realizes that the University is necessarily as attractive to students as a larger university.

“You just have to look hard to find that kid who has that edge, ability and right game that will develop in college,” he said.

Recruiting at the University does not begin and end in Ohio. According to Bowers, the football team has nine coaches that recruit at about 1,500 high schools nationwide.

“Each coach has a list of fifty players that they recruit,” he said. “By the end of the recruitment process we bring in 20-25 players a year.”

Last years tennis team included players from Seattle, New York, Canada and Europe.

“The population of kids we recruit is so huge,” Harris said. “We’re just recruiting kids all over the world now that we’ve gotten into the national rankings.”

Although finding athletes who can perform well on the field is important to coaches during the recruitment process, performance in the classroom is just as important to them.

“We realize that Bowling Green is a competitive school and we want to bring in guys who can compete in the classroom,” Bowers said.

Denise Van De Walle, head volleyball coach, said she recruits students out of high school who had at least a 3.0 GPA and performed well on the SAT and ACT.

?I think academics are very important. It’s a key component in my recruiting process,” she said. “I like to have kids that have already proven they can be successful in the classroom and on the court.”

According to Harris, the tennis team is helped out more if the students they recruit are able to perform well in the classroom.

“We only have four and a half scholarships,” he said. “If we get students in who already have academic scholarships its a huge advantage for us.”

The ability to think in the classroom usually carries over to the court, Harris said.

“Tennis is definitely a thinking mans game. If a kid is smart in the classroom they will usually be smart on the court,” he said.