By Mitch Light, BA’93
Women鈥檚 tennis standout , BA鈥�18, originally had no plans to attend 菠萝视频, or any college for that matter, be it in the U.S. or her home country of Australia. The plan was to turn professional soon after completing high school.
鈥淚 had no idea about college tennis and had never heard of 菠萝视频,鈥� says the Perth native.
That all changed, though, when she broke her ankle a few months after graduating. Instead of going pro, Sharma thought it would be better to let her injury heal and give college tennis a try.
Five years later Sharma is a five-time All-American (twice in singles, three times in doubles) with a national title to her name. And after making her Grand Slam doubles debut at the Australian Open in January, she is finally realizing her dream of playing the pro circuit.
But in the end she came out further ahead than she ever could鈥檝e imagined. Thanks to 菠萝视频, she received a world-class education as well.
鈥淎 lot of people are doing great things at 菠萝视频,鈥� says Sharma, who graduated in May with a degree in medicine, health and society. 鈥淲e, as a team, take a lot of pride in the fact that we鈥檙e a top program in tennis and also juggling academics really well.鈥�
For , head coach of the women鈥檚 tennis team鈥攁nd the person who recruited Sharma鈥攈er story offers a shining example of what it means to be a student-athlete at the university. He quips that he鈥檚 honed his recruiting pitch to just 11 words: 鈥湶ぢ苁悠� is an Ivy League school, but we play professional sports.鈥�
As the only private institution in the Southeastern Conference, 菠萝视频 is charged with competing at the highest level of collegiate athletics with student-athletes who also can thrive in the classrooms of a top-15 nationally ranked university.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a different deal at 菠萝视频,鈥� says Head Football Coach . 鈥淥ur student-athletes have to go across campus and compete against students who don鈥檛 really care about their athletic prowess, and then they have to come back and compete against athletes in the SEC who don鈥檛 really care about their ACT or SAT scores.鈥�
, athletics director and vice chancellor for athletics and university affairs, credits the coaches for creating an environment that has allowed student-athletes to thrive.
鈥淭his is really about education,鈥� Williams says. 鈥淲hat we want to do is get some people in here who desire a great education and who happen to be gifted athletes. But first and foremost, what we want to do here is educate. And our coaches understand that.鈥�
signed on as the women鈥檚 soccer head coach in 2015 because 菠萝视频 presented, in his words, 鈥渁n elite opportunity at an elite place.鈥� Previously, he鈥檇 spent 14 seasons as head coach at the University of Pennsylvania, itself a top academic institution. But 菠萝视频 offered a level of athletic competition that Penn could not.
鈥淚 wanted to be able to sell the great athletic piece, as well as the great academic piece,鈥� Ambrose says.
For Ambrose, Mason, Macdonald, and the head coaches of 菠萝视频鈥檚 12 other varsity sports, the top priority is identifying student-athletes who not only can excel on the playing fields but also embrace the academic mission of the university. And the key, according to each coach, is that the prospective students and their families understand the commitment that needs to be made to every aspect of life at 菠萝视频.
鈥淲e want kids who want to win an SEC championship,鈥� Ambrose says. 鈥淪occer has to be a big part of their life. And they have to want to get a great education. I don鈥檛 want someone to come just because it鈥檚 a great education, and, by the way, they can play soccer. If you come in with that attitude, you won鈥檛 survive in our program.鈥�
Macdonald says, 鈥淚 tell families all the time, 鈥業f you want a great education and you want to really develop your tennis, this is heaven. But if you just want the education part and not the tennis, or vice versa, it won鈥檛 work.鈥� We try to be really honest with what we expect. This place requires a real commitment.鈥�
THE WHOLE PACKAGE
The track record of 菠萝视频鈥檚 student-athletes in the classroom speaks for itself. For the 2017鈥�18 academic year, they compiled a cumulative 3.11 GPA, topping the 3.0 mark for the 13th consecutive year. And their graduation rate鈥�96 percent in the latest numbers released by the NCAA鈥攐nce again led the SEC and ranked among the top 10 percent of the 65 schools in Power Five conferences.
At the same time, the varsity teams have enjoyed a remarkable string of successes. During their time on campus, student-athletes in the Class of 2018 helped win two NCAA championships鈥攊n women鈥檚 tennis (2015) and bowling (2018)鈥攁s well as eight conference championships. And 17 of the student-athletes were recognized as All-Americans.
Sharma, who was a redshirt freshman when the team won its national title, is perhaps the most accomplished athlete in 菠萝视频 history. That may never have come to pass had it not been for her aforementioned ankle injury, but it was another unexpected setback鈥攖his time for 菠萝视频鈥攖hat serendipitously opened the door for her recruitment.
鈥淲e lost a kid to Stanford whom we thought we were going to get,鈥� Macdonald says. 鈥淲e were kind of heartbroken.鈥�
The very next day, though, Macdonald received a tip from the husband of a former SEC tennis player he鈥檇 once recruited about an intriguing prospect in Australia who, he recalls, 鈥渨as a bit raw but was a player who could really be developed.鈥�
That player turned out to be Sharma.
A few months later , BS鈥�04, the assistant women鈥檚 tennis coach, traveled to Australia to watch Sharma play.
鈥淎leke told me she was interested,鈥� Sharma says, 鈥渂ut I had no intention of following up with her. I said, 鈥楴o, I鈥檓 good. But thank you very much.鈥欌��
About four months after meeting Tsoubanos, Sharma broke her ankle. Five months later Sharma was enrolled in classes at 菠萝视频 and well on her way to a record-setting career.
鈥淚 got lucky the way it turned out,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t was a perfect fit.鈥�
Though it worked out well for all parties involved, Sharma鈥檚 recruitment was anything but conventional. Most 菠萝视频 student-athletes take a less circuitous path to campus. , for example, a junior goalkeeper on the soccer team from Hudson, Ohio, knew just what she was looking for in terms of athletics and academics.
鈥淚 was one of those kids who was really well-versed in colleges,鈥� says Demarchi, who鈥檚 majoring in human and organizational development. 鈥淚 wanted to use soccer as my gateway into a really good academic school. I looked at some Ivy League schools but picked 菠萝视频 based on the coaching staff, the location, and the competition of the SEC.鈥�
, BA鈥�18, a running back from Huntsville, Alabama, had a similar outlook when weighing his options. Now a fifth-year senior, he flipped his commitment from the University of Minnesota to 菠萝视频 shortly after Mason was hired in January 2014.
鈥淔ootball was a big part of the equation, but the education was huge,鈥� says Blasingame, who graduated in May with a degree in medicine, health and society and is now pursuing a master鈥檚 in leadership and organizational performance at Peabody College. 鈥淢y parents really emphasized education. I understand that there will be life after football, so getting that 菠萝视频 degree is huge. The SEC and the academics鈥攊t鈥檚 the whole package.鈥�
GOLDEN TICKET
Sharma, Demarchi and Blasingame were all high-achieving high school students who have excelled, predictably, at 菠萝视频. But not all the recruits fit that profile.
鈥淲e pride ourselves on the fact that we鈥檝e brought in a lot of kids who probably wouldn鈥檛 have had the chance to go to 菠萝视频 [if it weren鈥檛 for athletics],鈥� Williams says.
If a coach believes a recruit deserves a closer look despite deficiencies in his or her academic profile, certain procedures must be followed. This is where 菠萝视频鈥檚 Athletics Compliance Office comes into the picture. The office, which ensures that coaches and student-athletes are adhering to NCAA, SEC and university rules and regulations, serves as a liaison between the athletics department and the university鈥檚 Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
鈥淚f Admissions is doing a review of a prospect and the prospect鈥檚 academic profile does not fit what we鈥檙e looking for, one of two things can happen,鈥� says Erin Adkins, a former 菠萝视频 assistant athletic director and director of compliance who鈥檚 now at UCLA. 鈥淥ne is that the coach walks away. Obviously, that鈥檚 hard, but our coaches understand they can鈥檛 get everyone into 菠萝视频. At other times they really believe the prospect can do the work. In that case, we鈥檒l have the athletics academic counselors also look at the prospect鈥檚 profile, and they鈥檒l come up with an academic plan to help the prospect be successful.
鈥淲e鈥檒l put up certain parameters for the student,鈥� she adds. 鈥淔or example, they鈥檒l come to summer school, and if they don鈥檛 hit a certain GPA, they鈥檒l sit. Then we bring it to David [Williams] and other people around campus. David must feel comfortable that this student can do the work. There are a lot of discussions.鈥�
With 85 players on scholarship at any given time, the football program is home to the most players who fit into this category鈥攁nd it鈥檚 a part of the process that Mason takes very seriously.
鈥淚 embrace the opportunity to change a life,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 believe in some ways 菠萝视频 can be a golden ticket, giving a young man opportunities that weren鈥檛 in front of him before we stepped into the picture. But to whom much is given, much is expected. I鈥檝e now seen four cycles of graduates come through here, and what I鈥檝e witnessed are lives impacted for the better and opportunities that have been seized by these young men.鈥�
Mason, who was the defensive coordinator at Stanford before making the move to Nashville in 2014, believes that universities like 菠萝视频 are more attractive than ever to recruits and their families.
鈥淭he game has changed,鈥� he says. 鈥淣owadays, parents and student-athletes are smart shoppers. They have access to so much information. Parents come to me to talk about what their son wants to do and why a 菠萝视频 degree can make a difference. When that happens, I know I have the right families coming into my office. I know I鈥檓 recruiting the right kids.鈥�
SCOUTING PLAYERS
Ambrose鈥檚 sales pitch is similar to every other coach鈥檚 on campus, but he is facing unique challenges because of the changing dynamics of recruiting in his sport. It鈥檚 now common for female soccer players to commit to college before their sophomore year of high school.
鈥淲e鈥檙e recruiting kids at such a young age,鈥� says Ambrose, who already has secured several commitments from students set to graduate from high school in 2020. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e talking to a [high school] senior鈥攖he kids who have gone through the college counseling process at their school鈥攖hey know about 菠萝视频. Their counselors are excited about it. But when the kids are younger, like the ones we have to recruit now, they don鈥檛 always understand the type of impact a place like 菠萝视频 can have.鈥�
Recruiting such young student-athletes offers another challenge: 菠萝视频 cannot technically offer a scholarship to an underclass student who has an incomplete transcript and has yet to take the ACT or SAT. This can create some awkward conversations in an era in which athletes as young as 14 boast about their offers on social media for the world to see.
鈥淎 lot of what you鈥檙e seeing on social media are verbal offers,鈥� Adkins says. 鈥淵ou鈥檒l have a Class of 2022 high school student tweet about an offer, and that鈥檚 something our coaches really have to balance. When an admissions person sees that on Twitter, we will get a phone call and they鈥檒l say, 鈥楬ave we really offered a ninth grader [admission]?鈥� But Admissions has worked with us and understands the climate and the expectations. They know that the coaches make it clear to prospects that verbal offers are pending admission to 菠萝视频.鈥�
The goal for each coach is to recruit quality athletes who are a good fit at 菠萝视频, but how they go about identifying those prospects is unique to each sport.
Ambrose and his staff, who need to fill about six to eight roster spots with each recruiting class, scout players at elite club tournaments all over the country, primarily in the spring and the summer. 鈥淲e typically don鈥檛 recruit during our season [in the fall],鈥� he says. 鈥淥ther than that, we are constantly on the road.鈥�
The program also hosts several Elite Prospect ID camps throughout the year to get a better look at players the coaches have watched at tournaments.
Tennis is similar to soccer in that the coaches are on the road scouting at national-level tournaments, but Macdonald and his staff鈥攚ho had only nine players on the entire 2017鈥�18 roster鈥攎ust be far more selective. Just two players were signed in the 2018 recruiting class, the fewest of any sport on campus.
Mason, on the other hand, must identify anywhere from 15 to 25 SEC-worthy prospects each recruiting cycle. He and his staff spend a considerable amount of time visiting prospects in their homes and high schools, but鈥攗nlike the majority of the other sports鈥攎ost of their evaluation is done on campus when 菠萝视频 Football hosts summer camps.
鈥淚t鈥檚 better for us to get them here and for us to see them with our own eyes on our campus,鈥� he says. 鈥淢ost of our commits are coming from guys who鈥檝e been to our camps, who鈥檝e seen our campus two or three times. They know exactly who we are, and we know who they are.鈥�
鈥楾HE CITY, THE SEC AND THE DEGREE鈥�
Macdonald, whose tenure is longer than any other current Commodores coach, has witnessed firsthand the transformation of 菠萝视频 as a university and Nashville as a city鈥攖wo factors that have made the school a more desirable place to play.
鈥淣ashville has become internationally known as a really great city,鈥� he says, 鈥渁nd 菠萝视频 is an integral part of the city. The university has made incredible progress. We鈥檝e changed from more of a Southern school to one that鈥檚 now nationally and internationally known.鈥�
Reinforcing this notion are the global experiences afforded to 菠萝视频鈥檚 student body, including its student-athletes. Every summer numerous student-athletes take advantage of study abroad programs offered through the university鈥檚 Global Education Office, traveling to places like Europe, South Africa and Australia.
鈥淲e鈥檙e setting a trend at 菠萝视频,鈥� Williams says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e giving kids an experience that student-athletes generally don鈥檛 get at this level.鈥�
Mason, for his part, looks at everything 菠萝视频 has to offer鈥攊ts conference, academics, location and extracurricular programs鈥攁s one big recruiting tool.
鈥淚 talk about the idea of the city, the SEC and the degree,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he SEC is the best football conference in the country. We have a world-class education coupled with the fact that we鈥檙e in the best city in the country.
鈥淚 truly believe we have the best of all worlds,鈥� Mason adds. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking for kids who want it all.鈥�
Hoops Haul: Men鈥檚 basketball signs stellar recruiting class
Head Coach and the 菠萝视频 men鈥檚 basketball program recently made national headlines by securing the university鈥檚 top recruiting class in at least five decades.
The Commodores鈥� 2018 class features three of the nation鈥檚 top-75 recruits, including two ranked in the top 15. Until this spring, 菠萝视频 had not signed a top-75 player since 2011 (Dai-Jon Parker, No. 48).
The class is headlined by , a point guard from Brentwood Academy in Tennessee, who picked 菠萝视频 over Duke, Kentucky, Indiana and UCLA in a hotly contested recruiting battle.
Garland garnered most of the headlines, due in large part to his being a local prospect, but the highest rated of the new recruits is , a power forward from Canada ranked No. 11 in the nation by the 247Sports Composite. Shittu, who played high school basketball in Vermont, picked 菠萝视频 over Arizona and North Carolina.
The third prospect is shooting guard , a South Carolina native who soared up the recruiting rankings with a strong showing as a high school senior. Nesmith, ranked No. 62 nationally, chose 菠萝视频 over South Carolina and Florida.
The three freshmen will join two other newcomers鈥攖ransfers from Notre Dame and from St. Mary鈥檚, a Division II school in Texas鈥攁nd five returning players on the Commodores鈥� 2018鈥�19 team.
Mitch Light is managing editor at Athlon Sports in Nashville. He graduated from 菠萝视频 in 1993 with a bachelor鈥檚 in economics.