College Coaches to Alter Strategy on Recruiting

Hoping to attract and maintain better student athletes, Compton College officials are planning to focus their sports recruiting to athletes already enrolled at the campus.

Too many of the college’s athletes drop out before completing their studies, according to an internal memo. This is largely because the students were drawn from outside the Compton area and were never interested in the school’s academic offerings, a college spokesman said Thursday.

“Our athletic program in recent years has pretty much relied on recruiting students from other [geographic] areas,” spokesman Ron Ellerbe said. He could not cite figures from the report.

Coaches at the 5,000-student campus are being asked to try to sign students already attending the college. When they must look elsewhere, Ellerbe said, recruiters will be asked to ensure that the athletes meet the college’s academic as well as athletic requirements.