Interview with Athletic Scholarship Corporation CEO A.J. Hodel

The Cleveland Plain Dealer recently published an article about the role that the World Wide Web has played in high school student athlete recruitment. The Reggie Bushes of the world tend to be outliers rather than the norm, and traditionally student athletes have had to rely on word of mouth, the marketing skills of their coaches and resourceful parents to find suitable college sports programs outside their home states.

One of the sites mentioned in the Plain Dealer article, Athletic Scholarship Corporation (ASC, http://athleticscholarshipcorp.com/), has a number of universities on its registered colleges roster, ranging from large programs like USC and the University of Texas to smaller ones like Biola University and Hardin-Simmons University. The article cited the example of Nick DiPalma, whose profile and video on the ASC site “resulted in about 40 calls from coaches within the first two weeks.” The Ohioan now plays Div. II football on scholarship at Saginaw State University in Michigan.

DiPalma is just one of more than 500 students that have been successfully recruited through the ASC site, which offers three different options for students (a free profile page, a $199 program that includes video hosting, or $499 for the works, including a highlight film that is professionally edited for the athlete). ASC founder and CEO, A.J. Hodel, spoke with Sportsbiztech in an e-mail interview about his site.

Sportsbiztech: Why did you start your site?
Hodel: I was on a flight back from Chicago five years ago and sat next to a high school athlete who expressed his frustration with his high school coach. He felt that he wasn’t getting recruited at all. He had all the size and speed to play college football. I advised him, I took his phone number, and made a Web site for him [with] highlight videos. I called all the coaches and found this young man a home.

How do you track when a recruiter makes a successful recruit via your site?
We stay in touch via phone and e-mail to find out where the athlete signed. We also can see which schools are watching the video based on login and email address info.

Who do you consider to be your closest competitor(s), if any?
www.NCSASports.org (National Collegiate Scouting Association). They have a great technical side like we do but they cost a great deal more.

What are some of the features of your site that makes you unique over similar recruitment sites?
Our information is verified by many sources. Also when you charge a fair price for service, you draw a nice spread of athletes. Typically the high-cost firms get the borderline athlete, and they have to hard sell and add fluff to the athlete’s ability. Also, we are the first firm to host full game footage on a platform that allows online viewing without the load time.

What are some of the biggest technological challenges that you have in meeting the demands of your clients: recruiters, parents and students?
Some computers are bogged down and video doesn’t play as well or their connection is slow in certain demographics.

Do you provide alternatives for accessing videos other than through the Web site?
We use Google Video for those needs and Mobilecast.

Do you have any future plans for the site, particularly when it comes to multimedia?
We are doing a complete overhaul. We are increasing server space and speed to host films that play faster and at a higher quality rate.

For a sample student athlete profile page on the ASC site, go to http://www.athleticscholarshipcorp.com/index.php?p=sample.