Courtesy of ACC Recruiting
The number of swimmers who want to swim in college far exceeds the number of openings on college swim teams much less the number of scholarships available. So college coaches are very picky about who they invite to walk-on to their team.
If you have been invited to walk-on to a team, consider yourself very lucky. You are one of the chosen ones. At most schools, walk-ons are treated the same way scholarship swimmers are treated. Conference teams are not necessarily selected based on scholarship. They are selected based on who can score the most points for the team at the conference championship meet.
Walk-ons have a chance to earn scholarship money after their freshman year based mainly on how many points they can score and most coaches like to reward swimmers who improve and perform well.
In order to officially “sign” with a D-I and D-II college, you must be provided with some sort of athletic scholarship. National Letters of Intent are only issued if there is a swimming scholarship offered……even a book scholarship.
American College Connection has been encouraging college coaches for the past several years to provide walk-ons with a letter to sign so that they can have a press conference like the scholarship athletes have. Although a letter like this is not binding for either party, it does give the recruit and their parents some sense of commitment from the college coach.
We recently surveyed every college coach in the U.S. and Canada asking them if they provide non-scholarship (athletic) recruits with a Letter of Commitment once they agree to attend the school.
We received great responses from a large number of coaches and here are the results based on the responses we received.
D-I and D-II
- Nearly 70% of the D-I and D-II coaches do provide a Letter of Commitment.
- 12% do not offer any type of letter.
- 18% may offer one upon request.
D-III
- 73% of the D-III coaches provide a Celebratory Letter
Do you offer a recruit a chance to sign a Letter of Commitment even though they are not receiving any athletic aid?
If you are walking on to a college team, be sure to ask the coach about a “Letter of Commitment”.
There already is one, it’s a requirement of the NCAA. It’s called an AAA and it is sign by non-scholarship athletes! So……
Coaches do not want to give walk ons scholarships if they can help it. Trust me it is why I left one particular school. DON’T EVER TELL THEM YOUR FAMILY IS WELL OFF IF YOU WANT A SCHOLARSHIP!
You’re soft
Where “stolen valor” and “everyone gets a trophy”meet. No, your child did not earn the right to sign a NLI. This exercise delegitimizes the kids that actually earned this honor, and reinforces the false perception that swimming scholarships are plentiful.
I’m not sure that this is a good example of “everyone gets a trophy” mentality. At many D1 schools there are no swimming scholarships at all, so why is it less commendable to be recruited to be on that team than one that has scholarship money? Choosing a school where you are a scholarship athlete on that particular team does not necessarily mean that your swimming ability is superior to a walk on athlete at a top swim program. IMHO, let the kids get recognition for getting onto a college swim team.
Thomas Hang South Carolina #GOAT
Wasn’t Kurt Grote a walk on?
I can’t be sure of this, but I believe that Matt Buck may have been a walk on at UGA. In 1996 he won the 200 Breast at NCAAs.
Shaun Jordan is a good one that comes to mind for me.
Who is the best ever walk on in D1? Love to hear stories of people coming out of nowhere!
Connor Dwyer
Forgot about him walking on at Iowa. I think you ended the conversation before it became a debate with that one!
Eddie Reese is one of the best at getting walk-ons so check the Texas website.
Wasn’t Licon I walk on
I remember reading that both Kurt Grote and Tom Wilkins werte walk-one at Stanford around the same time. They both went on to win NCAA Championships and Olympic medals (I remember reading a really good book about their rivalry a number of years back.)
Gold in the Water was the book! https://www.amazon.com/Gold-Water-Ordinary-Extraordinary-Olympic-ebook/dp/B0176VEB78