Survey: Recruits Take Note of TCU’s Facility Upgrades
Ask a casual college football fan who they think puts on the best show for recruits, and they’ll probably guess teams like Alabama, Texas or Oklahoma or other traditional blue bloods of the sport. At least for the Dallas-area recruits that 247Sports.com surveyed, a surprising school led the way in terms of putting on the best official visit. On the field, TCU these days matches or exceeds the production of Texas or Oklahoma. Now, the Horned Frogs are starting to overtake the Longhorns and Sooners in terms of perception among recruits. A quarter of the Dallas-area blue chip recruits surveyed by 247Sports said TCU puts on the best visit, followed by Texas at 19 percent, Alabama and Oklahoma at 13 percent. This should come as no surprise to anyone who has watched how TCU has approached upgrades in their facility in recent years. The Horned Frogs have worked to communicate messages of accountability, a cutting-edge style of play and a renewed place on a national stage on par with Texas or Oklahoma. Advent partnered with TCU on a number of projects including the John Justin Athletic Center, the John and Jane Justin Hall of Fame and the Horned Frogs’ players’ lounge. “It’s TCU and Texas. This one is hard,” one recruit told 247Sports. “They were both fun. Texas has the bigger campus. TCU has the game room, though.”
Indeed, the game room — in this case, the arcade games that are part of the players’ lounge opened earlier this year — is a key component. The new lounge featuring plush seating and a hydration station offers a space specifically tailored for players to rest and recharge. Through Advent’s research, coaches, players and parents tell us over and over again that player-centric facilities like players’ lounges and locker rooms communicate powerful messages that programs and coaches care about their emotional and academic well-being. We believe that young people — students and student-athletes — interpret facilities like locker rooms and players’ lounges as signals that the program values them. In turn, they tend to rate such programs in more glowing terms. Among the group 247Sports surveyed, TCU’s messages are being received in major ways. TCU’s new recruiting room also included a next-level gear display and transformative use of lighting.