Reading 124 2/3/09
OrlandoSentinel.com
UCF, state schools using Bluechip Athletic Solutions
Web site to recruit
By ILIANA LIMÓN
SENTINEL STAFF WRITER
February 3, 2009
UCF Coach George O'Leary and rapper Young Jeezy are a peculiar match.
This odd couple somehow strikes the right chord on the Knights' recruiting Web site, www.olearypsiphi.com.
Young Jeezy's "I Put On" plays as UCF highlights roll on a small screen. The sleek Web site features a wide array of promotional videos
designed to reach out to recruits.
It's all produced by Bluechip Athletic Solutions, a company that offers high-end marketing and promotional services known as techno
recruiting to 35 colleges to give them a major leg up in recruiting battles.
UCF, Florida State, Florida and USF all rely on the company to help catch recruits' attention.
The Knights have been clients since 2006.
"I always tell football coaches they have the hardest job in America because they're expected to be a phenomenal coach, savvy marketer
to get the community behind their program and a great recruiter, which we all know is really being a great salesman," said Steve Kennedy,
the Atlanta-based company's founder and CEO.
"It's really rare that you meet a coaching staff that's at the expert level at all three areas. You're hiring for X's and O's, not because
he can create a nice brochure."
High school seniors who select schools on National Signing Day on Wednesday will make their decisions based on more than just glitzy
marketing material, but the professionally designed brochures, Web sites and football camp registration forms all help get recruits'
attention.
Edgewater senior safety Henry Wright, who committed to the Knights, said he received a lot of recruiting material from the UCF about
upcoming games, highlights from previous matchups, academic information and regular updates featuring quotes from famous coaches such
as Vince Lombardi.
"I got some of the same stuff from South Carolina, but it seemed like UCF's stuff was a little nicer," Wright said.
Schools are stepping up and paying for that intangible good feeling. Recruits may not always notice the best-looking recruiting material,
but it's a big problem when they can pick out the worst.
Kennedy said schools pay a monthly subscription fee ranging from $500 to $4,500 for Bluechip's services.
"We help them develop the best ways to reach their target market," Kennedy said.
Bluechip can constantly update its Web sites, creating new pages honoring the Gators after Florida won the BCS national title game.
The company also has a service called Recruiting Radar that helps coaches manage all of its recruiting tools, including e-mail, instant
messenger, postal mail and NCAA compliance reporting.
Kennedy said the database is designed so that it can be accessed anywhere using a mobile device such as a BlackBerry but is still
accessible to anyone without strong computer skills.
While players get excited about the video highlights, Wright said nothing can replace a good conversation talking with the coaches.
"They promised I would get my degree and that was more important to me than anything else," Wright said.
A.J. Bouye, a cornerback from Tucker High in Georgia, said the UCF recruiting materials were impressive. Bouye also said he was more
interested in talking with the coaching staff about his academic future than anything else.
"When they promise you that you'll graduate, it shows that they really care about you," Bouye said. "The other letters and stuff are nice,
but it's special when a coaches show they really care about you."
Iliana Limón's Knights Notepad blog on UCF sports can be read at OrlandoSentinel.com/knightsnotepad and she can be reached at
ilimoni@orlandosentinel.com.