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Crimson Club Athletic Fund Continues <i>U Be Counted</i> Campaign
Crimson Club Athletic Fund Continues U Be Counted Campaign
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WApril 18, 2016
Click HERE to Donate
Click HERE to Donate
SALT LAKE CITY - The Crimson Club Athletic Fund (CCAF) is in its third month of its annual `U Be Counted' membership drive. The purpose of this initiative is to raise awareness and necessary funds to enhance Utah's student-athlete experience.
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Recruiting prospective student-athletes is a vital part to sustaining the success of the athletic department. In all, 364 student-athletes arrived on campus this academic year to compete for the Utes.
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"When I came here on my visit from California, I was immediately fascinated by the facilities," Utah football player Marcus Williams said. "The Eccles Football Center immediately grabbed my attention with the trophy room, player lounge, and workout areas."
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Finding and attracting the best student-athletes requires a wide-ranging amount of travel for coaches, specialized software, staff to analyze prospects as well as facilitating visits for the prospective recruits. Each recruit that comes to Utah on an official visit incudes expenses like lodging, meals and other team-related activities.
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"Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program," head baseball coach Bill Kinneberg said. "It is essential for our staff to travel and observe potential players. The more work you put into recruiting, the more success your program will have, but that also means more funding is necessary. The official visit can be a strain on every sports budget especially those larger teams that have more potential student-athletes on campus, simply housing, feeding and entertainment can add up. It is very important to give off a great impression to a recruit when they visit as we want them to be excited about the potential of coming to Utah for their education and playing during their college career."
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"We want to make a great impression with every recruit and that is why we customize each official visit," Utah Football Director of Player Personnel Pablo Cano said. "From the glimpses of the student-athlete we have seen during the recruiting process, we tailor our campus tours. We also provide each recruit with a look around Salt Lake City, as well as meetings with counselors, athletic directors, academic advisors and other important personnel around campus."
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Recruiting operations on a daily basis include research, document gathering, video analyzation, mailings, marketing and social media plans and many other items aimed to garner the best student-athletes to attend the University of Utah. Recruiting expenses are paid for by the generous donation of CCAF donors.
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"Resources needed to run a top-notch recruiting system include software, staffing, and gathering pertinent information," Cano added. "We gain information on prospects from systems like Jump Forward and Hudl.com. Then, once this information is collected, it is then given to our scouts. We try to get as much info to them in the shortest amount of time. Without financial backing from our donors, the recruiting plan doesn't work."
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"Everything we do is predicated on donated funds, which includes expenses for recruiting," Kinneberg stated. "A donation to our program enhances our ability to recruit the best student-athletes. Donors are so important to recruiting, but they are also a crucial piece to our entire program. Without their financial support, our program cannot function to its best potential."
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"The donors who support my teammates and I are vital to my success and helped create the family environment I love so much," Williams added. "I thank them for giving me the opportunity to come to this great school in this beautiful city."
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