David Sprinkle's Big Decision

For most Harvard athletes, recruiting ended with a tough choice between Ivy League schools--none of them exactly a national athletic powerhouse.

But for some players, including David M. Sprinkle '96, recruiting meant taking a hard look at big-time athletics--and still choosing to play for the Crimson.

In high school, Sprinkle played football at Lake Brantley, a suburban high school near Orlando, Florida. At the start of his senior year, he was an all-state running back with ambitions of succeeding in big-time college football.

Perennial top-ten football schools such as the University of Florida and Florida State were among the universities courting Sprinkle, and he was positive he was headed for Division I-A.

"At that point, I wasn't really considering going to a Division I-AA school," Sprinkle says. "I definitely wasn't considering Harvard."

But the picture changed early during Sprinkle's senior year when coach Richard C. Corbin, the offensive coordinator under former football coach Joseph Restic, spoke with Sprinkle's guidance counselor. The counselor referred him to Sprinkle and two other players.

After a week or two, Corbin began recruiting them over the phone. The competition for Sprinkle was particularly stiff. Five or six schools called Sprinkle's home each week, and other colleges phoned more sporadically.

"All the attention was exciting," recalls Sprinkle. "I was a little nervous talking to coaches. You don't want to say the wrong thing because you don't know where you want to go and you want to keep all you options open."

But recruiting demands choices--especially when you will cost the school money.

Soon after the beginning of the school year. Sprinkle decided he didn't want to attend a Florida school, and he wanted to leave the state for college.

He ultimately whittled his list down to four schools: Tulane, the Air Force and Navy and, after a lot of thought, Harvard.

"I had some offers to go to other schools, but Coach Corbin was a very convincing recruiter. My mom loved him. He really buddy-buddied with her," Sprinkle says. "She couldn't believe that Harvard was searching out her son, you know."

After he had announced his intention to visit Harvard, a number of Division I-AA schools began calling to Sprinkle's chagrin.

"When I decided to take a trip to Harvard, then all of a sudden all these other Ivies called. The guy from Yale said I was their number one recruit," Sprinkle says. "But the only reason I'm even interested in Ivies is because Harvard is calling me, and I told them that."

Four schools eventually flew Sprinkle in to visit.

"I went to the two academics, and it seemed like a great deal," he says. "It's a really good education, you have a guaranteed job coming out and they were really nice, but I didn't know what to do."

His next trip was to Tulane, which Sprinkle describes as "a lot most laid-back."

"That was definitely the most fun recruiting trip. We went to Bourbes Street, hung out, went to the bars," he recalls. "There the drinking age in 18, and I remember sitting next to some cop, drinking."

By the time his scheduled visit to Harvard rolled around. Sprinkle says he was "sick of traveling."

But Sprinkle went through with it. Corbin picked him up at the airport. After a quick sightseeing tour of Boston and Harvard's campus and athletic facilities, he was brought to Restic's office.

"I was kind of nervous going into that because you have everyone bracing you, warning you that you gotta watch out for handshake, the handshake is really important to him," Sprinkle says. "But I did okay."

To his surprise, Sprinkle was then directed over to admissions for an interview.

"I didn't realize I had to meet with an admissions officer. At other schools, giving you school admission is just a formality," he says. "At Tulane, they just give you a signing contract for the team and coaches take care of admissions. I didn't even have to fill out an application there."

At Harvard, "I didn't even bring a coat and tie," he says. "The guy I stayed with let me borrow one of his."

But the trip to Harvard was far from all business. He was taken to a dinner at the Kennedy School penthouse, and later to a party at an underground fraternity.

"There was more than one keg," he says. "I remember being so amazed."

But what sticks out most in his memory, he says, is his conversation with Restic.

"He said 'if you don't come here then for the rest of your life, you'll think what if, if I had gone to Harvard, how would my life be different now!'" Sprinkle remembers. "That really stuck with me. If I had chosen to go somewhere else I'd always be thinking back, wondering."

Returning home, Sprinkle says he was more confused than he had been when he left. "I just didn't know what I wanted," he says. "There was a lot of pressure both ways.

In February, Harvard sent Sprinkle a letter saying he was a "likely" admit. He then signed a letter of intent for Harvard -- which is non-binding because it is not an athletic scholarship -- even though his mind was not made up.

Financial aid was one source of concern. Tulane offered Sprinkle a free ride, and though Harvard provided what it thought he needed, there was a large financial gap.

"Harvard basically said that this is all we can do for you. My parents make just enough to make tuition possible, and as it is, it's a big chunk of what my parents make," he says. "We have to make adjustments. It was different, feeling as though I was treated like any other student."

With signing deadlines quickly approaching. Sprinkle finally came to a decision.

"I had signed the letter of intent to go to Tulane, and I went all the way down to post office to mail it. But once I got down to the post office, I thought, 'I can't do this.'"

Sprinkle called his parents, who met him halfway home from the post office to discuss it with him.

"I just decided that I wanted to come here," Sprinkle says.

Sprinkle says that recruiting was an eye-opening process.

"It's a business. Even though coaches recruiting you may act like their you're their best friend, it's a business," Sprinkle says. "Even though that coach could be the nicest guy in the world, he could be gone the next year, and where will you be then?"

"You have to focus on the school. If you can find a situation where you want to go to that school and you want to play football for that school, you've got the best of both worlds," he says. "But if you can't, remember that something could always happen where you couldn't or didn't want to play anymore, and make sure you want to go that school.

But Sprinkle went through with it. Corbin picked him up at the airport. After a quick sightseeing tour of Boston and Harvard's campus and athletic facilities, he was brought to Restic's office.

"I was kind of nervous going into that because you have everyone bracing you, warning you that you gotta watch out for handshake, the handshake is really important to him," Sprinkle says. "But I did okay."

To his surprise, Sprinkle was then directed over to admissions for an interview.

"I didn't realize I had to meet with an admissions officer. At other schools, giving you school admission is just a formality," he says. "At Tulane, they just give you a signing contract for the team and coaches take care of admissions. I didn't even have to fill out an application there."

At Harvard, "I didn't even bring a coat and tie," he says. "The guy I stayed with let me borrow one of his."

But the trip to Harvard was far from all business. He was taken to a dinner at the Kennedy School penthouse, and later to a party at an underground fraternity.

"There was more than one keg," he says. "I remember being so amazed."

But what sticks out most in his memory, he says, is his conversation with Restic.

"He said 'if you don't come here then for the rest of your life, you'll think what if, if I had gone to Harvard, how would my life be different now!'" Sprinkle remembers. "That really stuck with me. If I had chosen to go somewhere else I'd always be thinking back, wondering."

Returning home, Sprinkle says he was more confused than he had been when he left. "I just didn't know what I wanted," he says. "There was a lot of pressure both ways.

In February, Harvard sent Sprinkle a letter saying he was a "likely" admit. He then signed a letter of intent for Harvard -- which is non-binding because it is not an athletic scholarship -- even though his mind was not made up.

Financial aid was one source of concern. Tulane offered Sprinkle a free ride, and though Harvard provided what it thought he needed, there was a large financial gap.

"Harvard basically said that this is all we can do for you. My parents make just enough to make tuition possible, and as it is, it's a big chunk of what my parents make," he says. "We have to make adjustments. It was different, feeling as though I was treated like any other student."

With signing deadlines quickly approaching. Sprinkle finally came to a decision.

"I had signed the letter of intent to go to Tulane, and I went all the way down to post office to mail it. But once I got down to the post office, I thought, 'I can't do this.'"

Sprinkle called his parents, who met him halfway home from the post office to discuss it with him.

"I just decided that I wanted to come here," Sprinkle says.

Sprinkle says that recruiting was an eye-opening process.

"It's a business. Even though coaches recruiting you may act like their you're their best friend, it's a business," Sprinkle says. "Even though that coach could be the nicest guy in the world, he could be gone the next year, and where will you be then?"

"You have to focus on the school. If you can find a situation where you want to go to that school and you want to play football for that school, you've got the best of both worlds," he says. "But if you can't, remember that something could always happen where you couldn't or didn't want to play anymore, and make sure you want to go that school.