Originally Posted by Anonymous
What would you say the percentage of times a verbal commit is broken? Is it more likely broken by a student or the school and what would some reasons for a school backing out be?
College coaches will almost NEVER break a verbal commitment and there are several reasons for this. First, the college coach is setting his/her team for an upcoming season(s) and will typically have a particular player slotted for a role. Second, the college coach does not want a reputation of breaking his/her word as that will affect future recruiting efforts.

When a verbal agreement is broken, it is significantly more likely that the student-athlete will make the change in favor of another collegiate setting. Remember that a student-athlete does not need to go through the recruiting cycle for a second time and as a result does not have to worry (as much) about burned bridges with a particular coach. Also note that with earlier commitments taking place, a junior/senior year High School student is more likely to change his/her mind regarding a potential major which might also foster a change in college selection.

The college coach would back out of a verbal agreement under a few select scenarios:
  • The student-athlete's academic performance signficantly deteriorates.
  • Questionable moral fiber emerges. (Examples would include excessive drinking, drug use, legal problems.)
  • The student-athlete stops playing the sport during their senior year for unexplained reasons preventing further analysis of the playing ability.
Regarding the personal issues, this is one reason why we remind students to be very aware of their Facebook profiles. Pictures showing under-age drinking or other questionable practices can lead to the withdrawal of an offer.

As an overall percentage, the number is well below 5% (conservative limit) and is likely much further below the 1% range.