Alamo City Colts: Recruitment and Retention Explained through Athlete Enrollment Management and the Athletic Triangle

Abstract

This project was a quality improvement project for a new (two-year-old) non-profit competitive youth sports program with a mission of providing competitive youth travel tackle football to financially disadvantaged children. The project applied the theoretical lens of strategic enrollment management and the athletic triangle with a mixed methods approach to assist the Alamo City Colts Youth Football and Cheer Association (ACC) with recruitment and retention of youth athletes. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected, analyzed, and validated to understand how ACC’s problems with the recruitment and retention of youth athletes could be addressed to allow the organization to continue its community outreach and provision of participation scholarships and financial assistance. The project provided insights into the development of solidified recruitment and retention strategies using the theoretical concepts of strategic enrollment management and the athletic triangle.