History of Scouting

Scouts, also known as recruiters, aim to engage student-athletes by visiting local high schools and athletic clubs. Their objectives include meeting coaches, observing players, and inviting them to participate in combines (testing events). Some local coaches may offer their facilities for testing, hoping to secure fee waivers for their athletes, who typically pay to attend combines.

During combines, scouts assess athletes in essential physical tests relevant to their sports. University recruiters are often invited to these events to evaluate and potentially recruit athletes; some testing combines may offer to pay for the travel expenses for University coaching staff (Hotel, flight, meal per diem). Most universities pay a fee to attend, and some may be obligated to sign non-circumvention agreements, ensuring that all athlete interactions go through the scout holding the combine.

After the combine, the scout compiles a list of student-athlete performances. In most cases, they remove personal information and offer a subscription service to coaches for access to a comprehensive report. Subscription fees can range from $500 to $5,000 per list, making this a lucrative business for scouts.

This recruitment process operates as a business, with scouts serving as business development agents who profit from successful placements or introductions. Profitability is a key focus, and, like in many businesses, behind-the-scenes negotiations may take place. These negotiations could involve exclusive rights to select players, where a coaching staff has sole access to a student-athletes’s information and the potential for specific athletes to be left off of a distribution list. Many lists have been scrutinized to be curated through a fee-for-service, whereby it is alleged that some student-athletes or their representative paid to be on the distribution list.