[shetuck]

New York Times: Athletes and Colleges Feel a Recruiting Pinch

Athletes and Colleges Feel a Recruiting Pinch

By MARK VIERA
Published: January 13, 2009

Morgan Moses is one of the top-rated high school offensive linemen in the country. He is 6 feet 7 inches, weighs nearly 350 pounds and has scholarship offers from colleges like Alabama, Tennessee, Ohio State, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

Morgan Moses and his family are weighing scholarship offers against the financial advantages of staying closer to home.

But the economy has begun to factor into his family's discussions about how far he will go from their home in Richmond, Va. While his mother, Marion, said she wanted her son to choose the right university for him, she said the family's ability to watch him play would "make a big impact on the decision."

"I can tell you already," Marion Moses said in a telephone interview, "I am not going to be able to make every game that he would have if he would go to California."

The economy has affected college sports programs across the nation, and recruiting is another area that is starting to be touched by tightening budgets of universities and the prospects they are seeking.

cont'd...