When my oldest daughter was going through the college recruiting process, we visited ten different schools.
Those trips became an essential part of her decision-making process.
A college can look impressive on a website. A coach can sound wonderful on the phone. A campus can appear perfect in photographs.
But there is something different about actually walking across campus, sitting in a classroom, seeing the dorms, attending a practice, meeting the coaches, and imagining yourself living there for the next four years.
Every athlete will have different priorities.
Some will care deeply about academics.
Others will place more emphasis on the basketball program.
Location may matter tremendously to one family and very little to another.
The purpose of this article is not to tell your child which college to choose.
Instead, I hope these five categories can serve as a conversation starter between parents and athletes as they begin evaluating their options.
1. Location
Location may seem like an obvious consideration, but there is more to it than simply measuring the number of miles from home.
Proximity to Home
Some athletes want to stay relatively close to their families.
Others are perfectly comfortable traveling across the country.
Neither approach is right or wrong.
But parents and athletes should have an honest conversation about what distance really means.
Will the family be able to attend games regularly?
Can the athlete reasonably travel home for holidays?
How expensive will flights be?
Is the drive manageable during the winter?
Even two schools that are roughly the same distance away can feel completely different once you actually make the trip.
I remember our family driving to Bemidji State in Minnesota and comparing that experience with the drive to Saint Louis University in Missouri.
The mileage might not tell the whole story.
Sometimes the only way to understand the travel commitment is to get in the car and make the trip.
Size of the Community
Does your child picture herself living in a major city?
Or would she feel more comfortable in a smaller college town?
A larger city may provide more restaurants, entertainment, internships, volunteer opportunities, and professional connections.
A smaller community may provide a quieter environment and a stronger sense that the university is at the center of town.
Some students thrive in the energy of a city.
Others find it overwhelming.
Ask your child where she can realistically imagine living—not merely visiting—for four years.
Climate
This may seem like a minor consideration until your child experiences her first winter several states away from home.
For my oldest daughter, climate became a meaningful factor when she decided to attend Presbyterian College in South Carolina.
The idea of warmer winters appealed to her, as did being closer to the ocean.
For another athlete, weather might be near the bottom of the priority list.
But if your child strongly dislikes heat, cold, snow, or humidity, it is worth considering.
Four years is a long time to live somewhere you don’t enjoy.
2. Academics
Basketball may be what creates the scholarship opportunity.
Education should still be one of the biggest reasons your child chooses the school.
Basketball careers end.
The degree remains.
Majors and Academic Programs
The university should offer academic programs that align with your child’s interests and potential career goals.
If your child wants to study biology, engineering, nursing, education, business, or another specialized field, learn as much as possible about that department.
Don’t simply ask whether the major exists.
Ask deeper questions.
What is the reputation of the program?
What percentage of students graduate?
What internship or research opportunities are available?
Where do graduates typically find employment?
Can athletes realistically complete the program while meeting the demands of their sport?
When my oldest daughter visited Trinity Christian College in Illinois, a biology professor took us through the school’s cadaver lab.
I will admit that the experience was considerably more exciting for my daughter than it was for me.
I became a little sick.
She wanted to put on the gloves and start examining everything.
That told me something.
She was excited about what she was seeing.
That is exactly the kind of reaction you want your child to have during an academic visit.
Class Size
Class size was another important consideration for my daughter.
At a large university, introductory courses may contain hundreds of students.
Some kids are comfortable in that environment.
Others learn much better in smaller classrooms where professors know their names and interaction is easier.
My daughter eventually chose a smaller college where many classes had approximately 14 to 17 students.
That environment fit the way she learned.
The question isn’t whether large or small classes are better.
The question is:
Which environment gives your child the best opportunity to succeed?
3. Campus Life
Your child isn’t simply choosing a basketball team.
She is choosing where she will live.
College athletes spend enormous amounts of time practicing, lifting weights, traveling, studying, and competing.
But they are still college students.
Life outside the gym matters.
Dorms and Housing
Visit the residence halls.
Don’t simply look at the model room shown during the admissions tour if you can avoid it.
Try to understand what your child will actually experience.
Will she share a bedroom?
Is there a private bathroom or a community bathroom?
Are the dorms apartment-style?
Where do upperclassmen live?
Can athletes eventually move off campus?
Where are the dorms located relative to the athletic facilities and classrooms?
These details may sound minor during recruiting.
They can become very important when your child actually lives there every day.
Social Atmosphere
College represents independence for many young people.
Your child will naturally be interested in what students do outside the classroom and away from athletics.
What is the social atmosphere?
Is the campus active on weekends?
Do most students remain on campus or go home?
Are there concerts, activities, clubs, restaurants, or other entertainment nearby?
Does the school have a strong party culture?
Is it a dry campus?
Parents may not always love discussing these topics, but I can assure you that our children are thinking about them.
It is much better to have an honest conversation than to pretend social life doesn’t matter.
Religion
For schools with a religious affiliation, parents and athletes should understand exactly what that means in everyday campus life.
Are chapel services required?
Are religious courses part of the curriculum?
Does the school’s faith tradition influence residential life or student expectations?
For some families, a strong religious environment may be one of the school’s greatest attractions.
For others, it may not be the right fit.
Neither answer is wrong.
The important thing is understanding the environment before making the decision.
Clubs, Organizations, Greek Life, and Campus Athletics
My oldest daughter loves attending football games.
One of the things she often mentioned during the college search was wanting to attend a school with a football program.
Other students may care more about clubs, student government, music, volunteer organizations, or Greek life.
College should provide opportunities beyond your child’s sport.
Basketball will occupy a huge portion of her time, but it should not necessarily become her entire identity.
Ask what she might want to experience when she isn’t in the gym.
4. Campus Safety
Every parent wants to know that his or her child will be living in a reasonably safe environment.
This became more important to me as my daughters got closer to leaving home.
During a campus visit, ask about security.
Does the university have its own police or public-safety department?
Are residence halls secured?
Are there emergency call stations around campus?
Does the school provide transportation or escort services at night?
How are students notified during emergencies?
What areas surrounding the campus should students avoid?
Parents can also review publicly available campus crime and safety reports.
No university can guarantee that nothing bad will ever happen.
The objective isn’t to find a campus with zero risk.
The objective is to understand the environment and determine whether your child feels comfortable navigating it.
I would also encourage parents to ask their athlete a simple question while walking around campus:
“Do you feel comfortable here?”
Sometimes that feeling matters more than a statistic on a brochure.
5. The Athletic Program
For a scholarship athlete, this is obviously a major part of the decision.
But I would encourage families to look beyond the uniform, locker room, and scholarship offer.
The basketball experience will influence a significant portion of your child’s college life.
The Coaching Staff
Your son or daughter needs to feel comfortable with the coaching staff.
These coaches will spend hundreds—perhaps thousands—of hours with your child during her college career.
They will coach her.
Challenge her.
Correct her.
Praise her.
Bench her.
Push her.
And hopefully help her grow.
Character matters.
I want coaches who will demand excellence from my child without forgetting that she is a person before she is a basketball player.
Pay attention to how coaches interact with everyone during the visit.
How do they treat current players?
How do they speak to assistants?
How do they interact with parents?
How do they treat people who can’t do anything for them?
Sometimes the small interactions tell you the most.
I remember one official visit my wife and I attended with our daughter.
We arrived at the gym around 6:30 in the morning and were standing with another recruit and her parents.
We had never met the coach before.
He walked out, shook our hands without really making eye contact, immediately focused on the recruits, and essentially waved the parents toward the gym if we wanted to watch practice.
It left my wife and me with an uneasy feeling.
Our daughter eventually decided not to attend that school.
When she called the coach to tell him she would not accept the scholarship offer, his reaction reinforced the impression we had formed during the visit.
College coaches spend enormous amounts of time evaluating the character of recruits.
Families should also evaluate the character of coaches.
Remember That Coaches Can Leave
This was one of my biggest fears during recruiting.
What happens if your daughter chooses a university largely because of the head coach—and that coach leaves after her freshman year?
College athletics is a business.
Coaches receive other opportunities.
They get fired.
They retire.
They move.
Your child cannot control any of that.
That is why I believe an athlete should ask herself:
“Would I still want to attend this university if the coaching staff changed tomorrow?”
If the answer is no, I would think very carefully before committing.
Love the coach.
But also love the school.
Winning Tradition
I played college athletics in a program that had produced 26 consecutive winning seasons.
There was an expectation that we would win and compete for championships.
I enjoyed that environment.
Let’s admit something:
Winning is more fun than losing.
For some athletes, joining a program with a history of championships and postseason appearances will be extremely important.
For others, playing time, academics, or relationships may matter more.
Look at the program’s recent history.
Is it improving?
Is it rebuilding?
Does the coaching staff have a clear plan?
What are your child’s expectations?
Again, there isn’t one correct answer.
There is only the right fit for your child.
Attendance and Game-Day Atmosphere
One of the schools we visited was located in a smaller Midwestern community where the college was an important part of the town.
We attended a game, and the gym was packed.
The atmosphere was electric.
I could immediately see my daughter’s excitement.
Playing in front of a full gym isn’t necessary to have a great college experience.
But it is fun.
Ask about attendance.
Go to a game if possible.
Don’t rely solely on recruiting photographs showing the arena filled during the biggest game of the year.
See what an ordinary home game feels like.
Can your child picture herself playing there?
Athletic Facilities and Amenities
College programs compete for recruits.
They know that impressive facilities matter.
Locker rooms.
Weight rooms.
Practice gyms.
Training rooms.
Player lounges.
Uniforms.
Shoes.
Nutrition programs.
Academic-support centers.
Some programs provide meals specifically designed for athletes.
One school we visited had a private dining area where athletes could eat meals prepared for them.
Those things are exciting.
And they can legitimately make an athlete’s daily life better.
But I would caution families not to let the bells and whistles become the primary reason for choosing a university.
Locker rooms get renovated.
Uniforms change.
Shoes wear out.
The people, education, relationships, and overall experience matter much more.
Finding the Right Fit
The word I kept returning to during my daughters’ recruiting journeys was:
Fit.
Not the biggest school.
Not necessarily the highest-level basketball program.
Not the most impressive locker room.
Not the warmest climate.
Not the school with the loudest crowd.
The right school is the place where the different pieces fit together.
Academics.
Basketball.
Coaching.
Location.
Campus life.
Safety.
Relationships.
Opportunity.
And something that is much harder to put on a spreadsheet:
How your child feels when she walks around campus.
I hope parents use these five areas as a starting point for conversations with their athletes.
Before visiting schools, sit down together and create a list.
What matters most?
What would be nice to have?
What are the deal breakers?
Then revisit the list after every campus visit.
Your priorities may change as you learn more.
And that is perfectly fine.
The recruiting process isn’t simply about convincing a college to want your child.
Once scholarship offers begin arriving, something changes.
Your child gets to decide which college she wants.
That is an exciting opportunity.
Help her ask the right questions.
Help her look beyond basketball.
Help her think about where she can become the best version of herself—not only as an athlete, but as a student and a young adult.
Because ultimately, the goal isn’t simply to find a place to play basketball for four years.
The goal is to find a place your child can call home.