Willie Shaw

IS 401: Integrative studies Capstone

May 2016

Assisting in the Business of Sports

This is an integrative approach in guiding Middle, and High School student in navigating
the business process of recruiting and obtaining college level athletic scholarships.

Fulfilling a Competitive Need

Having been a high school athlete working hard to pursue a college level scholarship I
understand the competitive nature and business of the process of seeking, obtaining and retaining
a college athletic scholarship. The process is of a complete business nature and can be hard for
an athlete to navigate through if they do not have support in the process. The financial burden of
completing a higher level degree such as a bachelors degree prevents many student athletes
from achieving an education after high school. The website Debt.org reported that the price of a
college education in America has soared over the past several years, the ability to pay for it has
diminished: As a result of the Great Recession, income has declined every year between 2007
and 2011 for 80 percent of U.S. families. Thus, scholarships and grants have become an
increasingly important way to pay for college. College scholarships such as athletic
scholarships give many students the opportunity to pursue their college dreams without that
financial burden.
The process of being recruited and obtaining a college scholarship is not a simple
process. Not only do the students have to focus on having high athletic achievement, but also
having high academic achievement. The process of being recruited is not a simple process or a

Willie Shaw
IS 401: Integrative studies Capstone
May 2016
one step process, it is a business process. NCAA.org reports that there are over 7,400,000 High
School athletes and of them only nearly 6% of those athletes have the privilege of transitioning
to the NCAA and only 2% will receive an athletic scholarship. That low percentage makes the
process very competitive, but can be a financial means for many student athletes to achieve their
academic career goals. A lot of high school athletes do not have the support or the guidance to
properly navigate the business aspects of this process. This is because of the lack of experience
in the process and lack of knowledge of the process in many cases. If more students are able to
be given the knowledge and are lead through the business aspects of being recruited for a
scholarship, it would give more great athletes opportunities to seek a college education and
college sports with financial support.
Seeking Fulfillment of a Burden
My educational experiences and especially my professional and non-professional
experience has given me insight to lead me onto a path of seeking out to create a program for
athletes that will assist them through the process of seeking, obtaining, and retaining a college
scholarship. This program would be one that navigates the business concepts of the recruitment
process and gives student athletes the best opportunity to achieve a scholarship to relieve the
financial burden of pursuing a college degree. This program would begin by evaluating the
student athletes abilities and current status of their skills as well as their academic progress.
From there the program will assist the student in increasing their value, and perceived value as
well as selling that value to the programs that they wish to pursue. This program will help give
the athletes access to knowledge on the business of sports, but will also give them a sense of
control in determing the fate of their academic endeavors.

Willie Shaw
IS 401: Integrative studies Capstone
May 2016
The goal of the program is to help as many athlete receive a college scholarship as
possible. Giving the athletes access to support, and knowledge will help present opportunities
that may not come otherwise. Recognizing that only 6% of High School athletes will go to
college to play sports, and only 2% will receive athletic scholarship funds to pay for school, the
program cannot promise that all the athletes that it assist will receive a scholarship. But what the
program will do is fulfil the need of providing the knowledge and guidance and with that an
athlete can have their best chance at pursuing such an opportunity.
For this program to be a success at helping students receive scholarships to reduce the
financial burdens of college I will need to integrate not only my vast knowledge I have gained
through my business courses, but also the knowledge I have gained in sports through physical
education. Fulfilling this need cannot be accomplished solely through just one track of studies.
The combined knowledge of the two minors are complimenting to make the fulfillment of the
need possible.

Solving the Need through Interdisciplinary Integration

Through this essay I will reflect on my college work and experiences and their
relationship through the integration of my minors in Business and Physical Education. Through
academic experience, as well as the direct knowledge and experience gained over implementing
myself into professional and non-professional experiences, a few important integrative themes
have emerged. These themes are 1) Direct Selling and 2) Value Creation. These two themes are
important in the process of the need that I am wanting to solve because it involves using the ideal
of selling something of value in exchange for receiving the scholarship. That something of value

Willie Shaw
IS 401: Integrative studies Capstone
May 2016
is the student and their athletic abilities that will contribute to the success of the college program.
It also involves finding a way of creating value of the students talent and creating perceived
value that may not have easily been seen otherwise. From this the students value creation, and
perceived value will be a main component of direct selling the student to the college in obtaining
a college scholarship. Both of these themes help to explain why the integration of my two minors
in Business and Physical Education is needed in order to assist in solving the problem of
navigating the college athletic recruitment process.

The Business of Direct Selling in Sports

Direct selling is a major aspect in the business world that contributes to the success of
corporations and small businesses alike. This theme is integrative with sports particularly in the
aspect of the problem that I have been focusing on reaching through my academic studies. This
theme of direct selling involves matching customer requirements to the goods or services
offered (Using Communications, P.1). In integrating that theme across boundaries of sports it is
recognizing that athletic programs have requirements for the needs that they want to fulfill for
their programs in order to make them successful. In matching their needs to what an athlete has
in athletic abilities and capacities it will assist in selling the athlete to the program for
recruitment.
Face to face direct selling is a business model thats transcends the boundaries of the field of
business and is integrated into sports especially in regards to the recruitment process support
need that I want to address. Face to face direct selling can be a very beneficial component in
getting the value of the athlete portrayed to the college programs that the student is interested in.

Willie Shaw
IS 401: Integrative studies Capstone
May 2016
This method The direct sales model, with its face-to-face approach, offers a means to help
develop stronger relationships with customers (Dontigney, N.d., P.1) and in this case the
customers are the programs that the students would be promoted to. The face to face direct
selling model is important in my process of fulfilling this need in a professional environment
because incorporating this aspect into the process of assisting the athlete in their recruitment will
help the coaches and recruiters of the college programs get to know the athlete, and build an
understanding of the athlete, and know more personal aspects about the athlete rather than just
their name and statistics. This face to face direct selling is a business strategy, but also helps
build relationships that can be beneficial to the athlete. Not only can the athlete benefit from that
creation of a relationship, but the program that I hope to create can benefit by creating
relationships with coaches that can be of benefit in assisting other athletes in the future.
Face to face direct selling is a method of seeking out the sell rather than waiting for the
college programs to come to the athlete. Many athletes are not scouted, and therefore will not be
recruited. My integrative studies have given arise to the theme of direct selling being a major
component in solving the issue of recruitment and scouting by the ideal of taking the athlete
straight to the sources rather than just waiting for them to find the athletes. My professional
experiences as a college recruit, as well as a professional recruit has given me insight into this
process being most effective in reaching recruitment goals.

Creating value is Business and Sports

In business perceived value and receiving value through the transactions in business is an
important component. Creating value is an important component in sports as well, especially

Willie Shaw
IS 401: Integrative studies Capstone
May 2016
when it comes to scholarships and careers in the realm of sports. In business, value creation is
the primary aim of any business entity. Creating value for customers helps sell products and
services, while creating value for shareholders, in the form of increases in stock price, insures the
future availability of investment capital to fund operations (Hillstrom, N.d., P.1). This ideal of
value creation in business expresses that value creation can be not only for just the customer
but for the shareholders as well. This is a business concept that can be applied directly into
sports in regards to the need that I am wanting to fulfil. Value creation in sports is a concept that
if applied can be beneficial for both the customers which would be the athletes in regards to
sports, and the shareholders which would be the college programs. Value creation in sports is
building value of the athlete which in turn as college programs choose athletes for their teams
they are bringing that value to their program which can increase the value of their program. That
is where creating value in an athlete can be a major selling point in negotiating for a college
scholarship. Value in the athlete translates to the value in the business stock of the sports
corporation. Improving an athletes skills to increase their perceived value is an important first
step in assisting athletes in the recruiting process of working to obtain an athletic scholarship to
college.

Living in the Problem

Besides having been a High School athlete myself and pursing a college scholarship, as a
college student I emerged myself into practices and experiences that have provided me with
different views and experiences on the recruitment process. After receiving a college scholarship
and realizing that I was fortunate to have coaches come to me to recruit me I realized that is the

Willie Shaw
IS 401: Integrative studies Capstone
May 2016
first initial step that many times is not achieved for many athletes. Speaking and engaging with
many other local athletes in my area of Washington DC gave me the impression that many of
those athletes who did not receive college scholarships where not scouted and recruited. It can be
easy to be overlooked, especially if the athlete is not one that is constantly in the spotlight.
Unfortunately there are many great athletes who may not receive the spotlight they deserved due
to different factors.
In my pre-professional career I started off by contacting a few local athletes who had not
been recruited, I worked to get them into contact with colleges that had a need that those athletes
could fill. As a local star athlete I had begun to make some relationships with several college
coaches which were beneficial in me assisting the athletes in recruitment. Those were just
relationships to me during that time, but through my college curriculum I have grown to realize
those were also the beginning of business relationships. From that point I begin working in local
skill building camps within the Greater DC area that I grew up in. In those camps I was directly
assisting those student athletes in building up their athletic skills, and teaching them to highlight
their abilities. That was the beginning of me integrating the theme of value creation into the
extracurricular work that I was performing.

Professional Application
Serving the youth population is always a need, especially in underserved communities. In
working through my academic curriculum I was fortunate enough to get to engage in a
professional experience in a Program called the Youth Caf as a Coordinator and Lead in
Recreational Activities. I quickly learned through that experience that many of the youth in

Willie Shaw
IS 401: Integrative studies Capstone
May 2016
underserved populations are weary about educational opportunities outside of high school
because of the financial obligation. It makes the conversation of college one rarely spoken of
within many of their homes. The ideal of receiving a scholarship appears so foreign and many do
not realize the opportunity that sports permits in reducing or eliminating that financial burden.
In my experience recently I spoke to a young women pursuing track. She was unaware
that track offered college scholarship opportunities, and she became excited about the ideal of
college itself upon being educated on the topic. Although she is merely a 7th grader she was
presented with an option that could potentially forever impact her life. That experience
enlightened me on changing the ideal of value creating in sports to overall value creation of the
athlete as a person. This means to increase the value of the whole athlete through educating
them so that they are knowledgeable about their options, they are increasing their athletic skills
as well as their academic skills, and improving themselves overall as people. That concept of
overall value creation is what sparked me to want to fulfil the need of guiding the athletes but as
student athletes.
Working as a professional athlete give me direct insight into the components of directly
selling yourself as an athlete through highlighting the value of yourself as an athlete. As a
professional athlete overseas I had to sell my abilities to teams in order for them to want me to
play on their team on a professional basis. In that experience I had to sell my abilities to teams
from all over the world from Russia, to Dominican Republic, and even to Mexico. That allowed
me to realize that each team had different components to their recruitment process and that it is
beneficial to get an understanding of their individual process as well as their staff. That
professional experience gave me a more in depth understanding of direct selling. It was a crucial
educational component that now is beneficial towards the work in my capstone project because it

Willie Shaw
IS 401: Integrative studies Capstone
May 2016
let me know that research of each college program pursued is necessary in order to be successful
in assisting the athletes in having a positive recruitment experience.

Community Affection
My capstone project is a program that I plan on implementing and establishing a stable
business out of. The program focuses on sports, and navigating the business aspects of the
recruitment world, but the goal is more than just receiving a college scholarship. In the current
Multnomah County that I live in The number of people in poverty in Multnomah County has
increased over the past two decades at a rate much higher than the growth of the countys
population as a whole. While the overall population of the county grew by 26% between 1990
and 2010, the population in poverty grew at more than twice that rate (Smock, 2014, P.12).
Poverty can be as a result of several different factors, and with the increasing rate of poverty
having some financial relief for a student to pursue a higher education is even more important.
Not only that, but it is important to me that I help reduce the impact of the poverty rate on
students by helping them get to college so that they can pursue careers which will allow the
students to work to break the boundaries of poverty.
That is why focusing on the student athlete is where I will focus on integrating my
integrative studies education. Combining all the knowledge, professional and non-professional
experiences I have gathered to educate athletes on becoming better students, educate them on
their higher education options, and on navigating through the recruitment process to achieve their
goals. By doing so I can make an impact not only on the students, but also on the community as
well.

Willie Shaw
IS 401: Integrative studies Capstone
May 2016
Possible Implications
With any task of fulfilling a big need is the chance of receiving push back and resistance
from the individuals you are trying to serve and the community. Making a decision on going to
college is a major decision and one that should not be taken lightly. The resistance I believe may
come from the students having their eye set on a college that may not be realistic for them to be
recruited to because they may not fit the need of the program. That may cause some strain in
trying to assist the students in the best manner that this potential program could. There could also
be resistance from the community, more so directly from the students family. The familys may
have different intentions for the students, or even may make the recruiting difficult by offering
potentially bad advice. It is important to remember that there may be athletes and parents that
may possess beneficial advice, and although there could be potential resistance, that there could
also be much support as well.
Additional Knowledge
In working to solve the need that I had addressed as part of my capstone I realize that
there is and will be more knowledge that I can gain in order to assist in fully solving the need
that I had addressed. I think that the two themes that I addressed in the paper are a great start in
solving the problem but in the field of sports business process are constantly changing. In order
to have the fulfillment of this need be successful I will need to constantly update myself and my
staff on needs of different college programs. The process by which schools recruit constantly
change, especially with the changing of staff so constantly building relationships will be
necessary and may require additional knowledge in order to make the task possible.

Willie Shaw
IS 401: Integrative studies Capstone
May 2016
Conclusion
This paper has been a reflection and expression of my coursework, and my professional
and non-professional experience which has given me knowledge and insight in integrating my
minors of Business and Physical Education in integrative studies into my capstone project. I have
also addressed key discipline themes which are major components in my integration. I have
described what I hope to achieve in assisting the athletes and have addressed possible
implications in pursuing the fulfillment of the need I have addressed. I have also described how I
will constantly have to continue seeking knowledge within this discipline in order to successfully
assist the athletes within this field.
I do not think that without the experiences and knowledge that I have gained that I could
implement this program as successfully as I could with what I have gained. The experiences and
knowledge that I have gained throughout the last years of pursuing these studies will be a
guiding factor in helping me to take all the aspects that where mentioned and navigate through
them to create and maintain a successful program.

Willie Shaw
IS 401: Integrative studies Capstone
May 2016
Reference
Using communications to develop business opportunities An Amway case study. (n.d.).
Retrieved May 12, 2016, from http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/amway/usingcommunications-to-develop-business-opportunities/direct-selling.html#axzz48nKmn9JH.
Scholarship & Grant Opportunities for College Students. (n.d.). Retrieved May 19, 2016,
from https://www.debt.org/students/scholarships-and-grants/.
Recruiting Fact Sheet [Brochure]. (n.d.). Retrieved May 19, 2016, from
https://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/Recruiting Fact Sheet WEB.pdf.
Dontigney, E. (n.d.). Direct Sales Model Advantages. Retrieved May 21, 2016, from
http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/direct-sales-model-advantages-21495.html.
Hillstrom, L. C. (n.d.). VALUE CREATION. Retrieved May 21, 2016, from
http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Tr-Z/Value-Creation.html.
Smock, K. (2014, April). POVERTY IN MULTNOMAH COUNTY. Retrieved May 28, 2016,
from https://multco.us/file/34343/download.