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Message: [QUOTE="DeepThrowIt, post: 205556, member: 1428"] Overblown? Possibly, however Junior Days are extremely important for schools like Syracuse. Because Cuse is a little bit off the beaten track (as compared with other regional recruiting rivals such as UConn, BC, RU, and MD) it is harder to secure more intimate personal "junior days" that these schools have more access to. This makes an official, big Junior Day more of a necessity. Just for some background, Junior Day is a chance to showcase the program for the first time (in theory) to potential recruits. They have evolved as recruiting has evolved (earlier dates, multiple junior days, etc...) but the opportunity is the same. They consist of facility/campus tours, academic presentations, weight room presentations, lunch, etc...There is little to no "real college" experience like nightlife and parties during these trips. Those are more common on official visits. Junior Days are also very important (in some cases more so) for the parents of the recruits. These days are heavy on academics which usually impacts the parents more. You must recruit the parents just as hard as the kid, sometimes even harder. While your weather concerns are valid, they can't be the deciding factor on when to host such events. Date is vitally important when scheduling Junior Days. The earlier the better. Why? Because you want to set the bar. You want the kid (and his parents) to use Syracuse as a measuring stick. In some cases this isn't good (facilities, weather) however if done correctly, this can be a big time positive (academics, academic facilities, the Dome, south campus apartments, etc...). Now these recruits are all going to see Syracuse last. While it will be their most recent Junior Day, they will be comparing everything they see at SU to what they've seen at five, six, maybe ten other schools. This does not play to SU's favor. I also worry about the decision to do the Junior Day the same day as the Spring Game. One of the benefits of doing a Junior Day early on (say Jan, Feb, or March) is that typically its the only thing going on. You are able to maximize your time with the recruits and their families. Throw a Spring Game in the middle of this and I worry that the recruits will have limited interaction with the staff. As I've mentioned in earlier threads, most schools use their spring game as a supplemental Junior Day for b-list kids (or A list kids who couldn't make the earlier Junior Day) or for another opportunity for top kids to come visit. MD, VT, UConn, OSU, and PSU spring games are all on the same day as Cuse. We are now going to be competing with these schools just to get kids on campus for a Junior Day. Not well thought out, imho. [/QUOTE]

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