Ski team colleges

[harddock]

My son, a 36 / 15 off skier is looking at colleges with ski teams he could be a part of next year. Mostly looking @ Florida, and Carolinas. Can anyone reccomend one with the pluses and minuses of the academics and the ski team? He would like to compete and ski with the team.

[MattP]

Florida

- Florida Southern. Lake on Campus top 5 ski team

- Rollins College. Lake on Campus top 5 ski team

- Florida Gulf Coast is working on starting a team. Lake on campus

 

Carolina's

- Clemson University. Lake on Campus top 7 ski team.

- Lander University. Newer team few ski lakes near campus

- UNC has had a team in the past they are somewhat active. Ski at Cobles mostly

- USC has had a team in the past they are somewhat active. Have a 200 and a place to ski

 

 

There are a number of others that are not currently active that I can pull a list of. If he goes someplace that does not have a team PLEASE reach out to me and I can help him get one started! I am the membership chair for the Southern & Atlantic Coastal Region of NCWSA. Feel free to reach out with any questions.

 

Check out NCWSA.com and National Ranking List HERE

[Chef23]

There is a list of schools here: http://www.ncwsa.com/teams/. Surprisingly not a ton of schools in FL. One of our skiers from New England is a freshman at Rollins right now. If you reach out to me through messaging I can connect you with her dad at least. There is also someone from our region who skis for Clemson and a few kids at Alabama. They might be your best bet to get information about why they selected the schools.

[skihound]

Most of the schools in Florida and in the south have very high skiing standards to make the team (35 off and beyond). I would look into Clemson, great academics and they have a lake that is basically on campus. I would also suggest looking into the west and midwest, may be more his speed.

[jjackkrash]

If he's not close to a pro skier, get him jumping and tricking now and look for a good non-top-5 ski college. Look for a school that has a shot at going to nationals in one of the divisions, but that is not already populated with pro or near pro skiers.

[DuncanMorgan]

University of Texas at Austin is another good option. Several 36 /15 off skiers, we make nationals every year, and depending on the major the education is hard to beat. Long ski season too with the Texas heat.

[RazorRoss3]

Don't forget to mention the 2 lake site and current hull Master Craft

[UWSkier]

Tons of programs in WI at some excellent schools and you have a lot of time to think about skiing when the lakes are solid ice. :)

[jgills88]

Others have mentioned awesome teams, but one important thing to remember that unless a skier is being recruited by the scholarship schools (ULL, ULM, Alabama, Rollins, and Florida Southern), they probably should not decide where to go based on skiing.

 

On that note, I am not too familiar with the southern schools, but the Midwest is filled with schools that have awesome academics and ski opportunities. And if you walk into any midwest school at full speed, they will love you. And if your kid decides not to go to a school with an established team, that does not limit them from skiing collegiately. Tons of schools have startup programs, or even one-off skiers who have a ton of fun at tournaments!

 

What major is your son interested in? I'm sure that would be useful in recommending schools

[Luzz]

@harddock if I may suggest, make sure your son goes for sound academics. As he search, just as a second step, see if the school has a ski team.

[jimbrake]

@Luzz - agree. That is what my two sons have done - to the detriment of their skiing unfortunately, but at great benefit to their education. My oldest is at UC Santa Barbara where, when he arrived, the water ski team was on a forced "hiatus" because of a previous incident (which I know zero about). My son arrived hoping to rekindle the team with some help, but that's a tall order - no boat, no site, no help, and an engineering curriculum to deal with. Didn't happen, but UCSB is a great school and he's coming out with a BS in ME and already has employment lined up. My youngest chose CalPoly San Luis Obispo, which does have a ski team and some support, but the ski site is an hour+ away and there is no jump. They have a great time though and have been able to go to Collegiate Nats in Div 2. CalPoly SLO is an awesome school, too, and he will come out with a civil engineering BS and plenty of options. Another ski friend's son just got into UC Berkeley, which has no team, but there is a nearby site (Aquatic Park). "Cal" is world-renowned and he will end up with a valuable experience and degree, but getting a team going there would also be very difficult when you're bombed with school work and have little suppport. It's for sure a bummer to not have the college ski experience or not have it to the level that the top schools have it, but the opportunity to get a great education is top priority.

[6balls]

Just a small counterpoint. At a quality academic institution even not ranked "the best" at a particular program...I believe a student gets out what they put into it academically. Put differently, the educational opportunity may be somewhat equivoval across institutions of reasonable academic quality...and at that time a ski team may make the difference in sociality and fun.

For example...anyone who knows me knows that I'm a die hard Iowa Hawkeye fan. I went to undergrad, med school, and skied there. My best friends are from that team. My social life revolved around that team. We were not very good.

My education was great, but I busted my ass for it. I could have done that elsewhere, too, and been on a ski team where my buoys into 35 off at the time would have mattered.

For tuition, however, I was "in-state", and that mattered A LOT! So I wouldn't go back and change things...but it would have been fun to be on a more competitive team if I could have had somewhat equivalent tuition at another high-quality academic institution.

[BCM]

@jimbrake - back in '07 Cal Poly skied D1

 

@6balls - I would tend to agree. However, not all majors are offered at all universities. In my field there are only about 10 programs west of Colorado. Trying to become a nuclear physicist might be hard a liberal arts college, no matter how hard you try.

 

[ALPJr]

@jimbrake a Berkeley team may be possible. They had an active program at Aquatic Park in the 90’s.

[Than_Bogan]

If I can just go full-on Humble Brag for a second here, I think my experience is relevant:

 

My choice of college came down to Princeton and MIT. One of the biggest factors in my choice to attend MIT was athletics -- specifically that MIT's track team was just bad enough that I could be on it!

 

Looking back, this was a GREAT reason to make the choice. And one thing I'd say for sure is that you'll get a lot more out of college if you have balance and actually enjoy the experience (at least sometimes...)

 

Now, obviously, having a mediocre-but-serious track team wasn't the FIRST thing I looked for. But it wasn't unimportant either.

[liquid d]

UCF needs a fresh start! They were once one of the best ski teams in the nation. A lot of lakes; a lot of former skiers to help make introductions, and of course, a GREAT education.... 2017 National Championship football program as well!

[WaterSkier12]

Alabama should be included in this discussion as well

[Rpc29]

@liquid d lol at the “National Championship”

 

But there are several schools with great academics where someone can get a ski team experience. My time at the University of Georgia and on the ski team was wonderful and created many lifelong friendships.

[liquid d]

Don't be a hater ...just cause Alabama was afraid to play us!

[Chef23]

For some kids the athletics are an important balance. My son plays lacrosse in college and for him it is as important as the academics. Being part of the team helps keep him focused on the academics. If he went somewhere else strictly for the academics he would be miserable and likely do worse in school. Not every kid is a motivated student when they get to college and having something they love to do can help keep them focused on the academics.

[PUoldmaid]

Please check out the Midwest. They have amazing schools and the most fun ski teams in the country. Like, real “non-scholarship” fun. College!