Why Princeton?

Among the nation’s top athletic programs, Princeton stands out for its reliance on institutional prestige, rather than money, to draw recruits. Every university ranked above Princeton by the NACDA offers athletic scholarships, which Princeton cannot do as a member of the Ivy League.

And though Harvard, Yale and other Ivy League schools are attractive to athletes mainly for their name brand, only Princeton has been able to attract students based on both athletics and academics.

By touting its alumni connections, its classes and its study abroad opportunities, Princeton’s athletic recruiting message focuses primarily on nonathletic life at the University. The athletics program’s proud history of league and national championships is important, but secondary.

“The Princeton name is tremendous,” said Courtney Banghart, head coach of the women’s basketball team. “Students learn on visits, through the recruiting process, that Princeton is different than other schools. You can take whatever classes you want, get summer internships and take traveling opportunities. We recruit as if we’re different.”

A different recruiting strategy is a necessity, as Princeton faces a disadvantage from the start.

Of the 346 Division I athletics programs around the country, only the Ivy League cannot offer scholarships in any sport. Ivy League schools also face limited practice time. For example, lacrosse and field hockey teams in the conference can hold only 12 out-of-season practices, whereas other schools can hold 48. And Princeton can target only a limited number of potential recruits because of the University’s admission standards and league rules regarding minimum and average Academic Index ratings for recruited athletes. The Academic Index calculates academic performance on a 240-point scale combining SAT score and high school ranking. Princeton also does not accept transfer students, while other Ivy League schools have recruited transfers from larger Division I schools in sports such as football and basketball.

Despite these hurdles, Princeton has managed to attract some of the country’s top recruits, who maintain the athletic program’s legacy of success.

Many Princeton teams consistently contend at the national level, and in sports such as squash, crew and men’s lacrosse, the teams are powerhouses and in contention for national titles every season. Perhaps most remarkably, Princeton has won at least one national championship in each of the last 39 years.

Within the Ivy League, where each school operates on the same proverbial playing field, Princeton’s hegemony is undeniable. At the end of each year, the Ivy League conference compiles unofficial “all-sports” standings, which award points to each school based on how well its teams perform in league play. Princeton has captured the top ranking for 24 years in a row.

At a national level, Princeton is competitive in enough sports to make occasional appearances near the top of national standings. The initial NACDA fall rankings, released Thursday, places Princeton’s athletics program behind only Florida State and Syracuse after strong finishes in cross country and field hockey.

Princeton’s athletic legacy is certainly a strong selling factor for recruitment. But several students and administrators said that the program’s record of achievement was not the primary motivation for student-athletes in choosing Princeton.

Tyler Fiorito ’12, regarded as the nation’s top lacrosse goalkeeper, said that factors beyond athletics were paramount to his decision to attend Princeton.

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“If you get hurt, would you be happy at the place where you go to school?” he said he asked himself when making a decision about where to attend college. “I have a friend who played football at [University of Connecticut] and got hurt, and he found out he really only went to school there for football. I realized that without lacrosse, I would be happy here at Princeton.”

Fiorito’s thought process is not unique. Nearly 50 years before, Bill Bradley ’65 — who led the men’s basketball team to its Final Four appearance in the NCAA tournament before going on to play for the New York Knicks — asked himself that same question. After breaking his foot the summer after his senior year of high school, Bradley wondered which college he would attend if basketball were no longer a factor. He backed out of an athletic scholarship at Duke to matriculate at Princeton.

As a group, student-athletes at the University cite the academic experience as the primary reason they choose to attend Princeton, according to a post-graduation survey of all student athletes. Following academics, Director of Athletics Gary Walters ’67 said, “the reputation of the institution and the athletic experience are second, very close to each other. Then [comes] everything else.”

Bill Tierney, the legendary former coach of the men’s lacrosse team who now heads the program at the University of Denver, said he remembers selling this message to prospective recruits.

“I could go into a living room to say, ‘I come from Princeton, the best undergraduate education in the world,’ ” he explained. “That is something you can’t say anywhere else.”

To offer every student-athlete a fuller undergraduate experience, Princeton capitalizes on its no-loan financial aid policy and its academic resources, among other factors.

Many athletes at larger Division I schools simply cannot consider study abroad, where athletic obligations take priority during both semesters and the summer. At some other schools, almost all players on some sports teams enroll in summer classes and train with their teammates on campus. But at Princeton, athletes do not have to pass on the opportunity to go abroad.

Lauren Edwards ’12, a first-team All-Ivy League guard on the basketball team, spent last summer in Italy completing an internship at the United Nations through the University’s International Internship Program. The previous summer, she lived in Cambodia for six weeks, helping a friend start a school in a small town.

“The Italy trip was an example of how unique Princeton is and how I can use my opportunities here,” Edwards said. “Our coaches know that we’re here to make the most of a Princeton education. They understand if we want to go abroad over the summer.”

“We tell [recruits] that those opportunities are available, knowing that’s something they’ll want to do,” Banghart explained. “At other schools, basketball players stay on campus in summer. Our kids are really curious intellectually and want to explore the world, and summer is great time to do it.”

Along with the academic opportunities, the financial resources that enable them are a factor in attracting recruits.

In interviews, athletes rarely mentioned financial aid as a primary reason for attending Princeton, but the aid package nonetheless counters the lure of athletic scholarships offered at other schools.

“[Princeton’s] financial aid policy makes the whole Tiger package that much sweeter. It’s hard to imagine a player saying, ‘No thanks, I’d rather take the $20,000 in student loans and go to Cornell,’ ” Chris Lincoln wrote in “Playing the Game,” his 2004 book on Ivy League recruiting.

Student athletes are given the same opportunities as the larger student body in terms of financial aid and academic opportunity, and they fall in line with other undergraduates in daily life as well.

At many larger schools, athletes live in separate houses and eat at separate dining halls. Because no such formal divisions exist at Princeton, and because nearly 20 percent of undergraduates play a varsity sport, athletes are much more a part of the Princeton community, several athletes said.

Kareem Maddox ’11, a forward and co-captain on the men’s basketball team, said that when he was deciding where to enroll, he appreciated that his teammates acted like other Princeton students, with the same dedication to academics.

“I wouldn’t want to come to a place where my teammates are going out and raging every night, not caring about their schoolwork,” he explained.

And for many athletes, the attraction is simply based on the Princeton brand.

“Let’s face it, if you chose to go to Princeton, why did you go there? It’s Princeton,” Tierney said.

“During recruiting, I would mention schools like Hopkins and Duke, and even with those great choices, people would still say, ‘I mean, it’s Princeton,’ ” Fiorito explained. “Literally no other words about it except, ‘It’s Princeton.’ Why choose not to go there?”

This is the last in a four-part series on the lives of student-athletes at Princeton.