Been thinking a lot about these PWO football offers lately. Preferred Walk-On. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Like you’re wanted, but, you know, not quite enough for the big money scholarship.
We went through this whole thing with my own kid a couple years back. Man, that was a ride. He was a decent player, worked his tail off in high school. Solid grades too, which I always told him was the real ticket.
The Call
So, one evening, the phone rings. Big state university coach on the line. Not the head coach, mind you, but one of the assistants. Starts talking about how they liked his film, his hustle. Then drops the PWO offer. Guaranteed spot on the 105-man roster for camp. No scholarship, but hey, you’re on the team.
My son was over the moon. I mean, beaming. This was a big-time program, games on TV, the whole deal. He was already picturing himself running out of the tunnel. My wife and I, we were proud, sure. Hard work paying off, you see that, you feel good.
Reality Bites
Then we started digging into it. Okay, no athletic money. Fine. But tuition at this place? Whoa. Out-of-state tuition, plus room, board, books… it added up fast. Faster than we were comfortable with. We sat down, ran the numbers.
- Tuition and Fees: $$$$
- Room and Board: $$$
- Books and Supplies: $$
- Travel, etc.: $
It was a mountain of cash. We could maybe swing it, with loans, lots of loans. But then we talked to the kid. I asked him straight up, “Son, forget the football for a second. Is this the school you’d choose if football wasn’t part of the deal? Academically? Socially?”
He hesitated. That told me a lot. He loved the football dream, but the school itself? Wasn’t his top choice academically. Plus, a PWO… it’s tough. You gotta fight tooth and nail every single day just to keep that spot, let alone see any playing time. The coaches are focused on the scholarship guys. That’s just the reality.
The Decision
We talked for days. Back and forth. Excitement versus practicality. Dream versus debt. In the end, he made the call himself. Turned down the PWO. Decided to go to a smaller, Division III school that actually offered him some academic money. A school he really liked for its program in his major.
He still played football there, had a great time, actually got on the field a lot. More importantly, he got a fantastic education without us drowning in debt. Looking back, that PWO offer… it felt huge at the time, like the only path. But it wasn’t. Just one path. Sometimes the less glamorous road is the right one. Took us a bit to figure that out.
