Female Student-Athlete Golfers’ Use of Online Recruiting Platforms to Seek Scholarships: A Global Perspective

• Main Author: Dobele, Linda
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University 2021
• Subjects: NCAA Athletics; Online Recruiting Platforms; Prospective Student-Athletes; International Students; Diffusion of Innovations; Third Person Effect; Elaboration Likelihood Model Theory
• Online Access: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3910; https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5392&context=etd

The prospective student-athletes’ use of an online recruiting platform to seek college scholarships has become a norm. College coaches recruit prospective-student athletes often using tools like global personal contacts, on-site recruiting, and online recruiting platforms. Online recruiting platforms offer several services and vary in price. This study examines female student-athlete golfers’ use of the online recruiting platform to seek scholarships from a global perspective. Previous research suggests that prospective student-athletes prefer online recruiting platforms while college coaches often use other outlets which can lead to miscommunication and lost opportunities. The services, price, and usability of 20 sports online recruiting platforms in the United States were examined to find out what is offered to prospective-student athletes. Interviews of NCAA Division I collegiate coaches were conducted to examine the most common recruiting tools used by the coaches and their opinions of the use of online recruiting platforms.