Could someone explain the difference between a college showcase and a college camp. Are colleges in the showcase business or is this just a marketing scheme to capture some of the money that’s being spent on “real” showcases? Bait and Switch marketing????
Fungo

It probably depends on the individual program. I know TCU and Oklahoma State have specifically stated that they have recruited directly from their showcases/camps.

Unless these colleges are bringing in other college coaches and pro scouts then I think this is a misnomer and misleads some uninformed players to think they are showcasing when in fact they are going to a college camp. I do understand that some D-1 camps are attended by JUCO coaches but I hardly think this would qualify as a showcase. I also know high school coaches hire out to work the big D-1 camps and players think these are college coaches when in fact they are high school coaches. Somehow I get the feeling the college camps of five years ago are doing the same thing --- except now they are calling their camps a “showcase”. Maybe PG Staff, BBScout and TRHit can comment on this????

Interesting...
Agree with Infield08...TCU & OSU have had college showcase that brings in Area Code folks, many other colleges & lots of scouts as well as media folks.
Baylor hosts the PG Top Prospects Showcase in July...lots of college recruiters & pro scouts attend...

Auburn hosted a huge tournament a couple years ago, that was similar...not called a "college showcase" as such, but lots of recruiters there...
Same with LSU...
These may be different than you are referring to...but son got lots of exposure with both these venues, and, the PG WWBA tournaments...
May be different in other parts of the country...

I believe things can vary greatly between schools. Some refer to their event as a camp, but will have other coaches there... including DI coaches. Some call it a showcase and may or may not have coaches there. Typically in our experience a "camp" would have a broader age range as has been mentioned before as well as instruction. Whereas a "showcase" at a college would only have evaluations/scrimmages.

Morehead State here in KY has a showcase every fall where the kids do prostyle workout but also get in games... very reasonable and attended by a small variety of schools. UK typically has a camp during the Christmas holidays and it was always attended by a handful of outside coaches (I assume they're there being paid since it's quiet period?) but did not offer games. A good reminder Fungo for parents and players to clarify exactly what is being offered for their dollars.

Fungo,
I think you have hit on something there. The answer is both. From a consumer’s point of view, it is hard to tell the difference unless you can find players who attended earlier “showcase” camps. Young Harris College in Georgia has a true showcase that typically has 30 or more college coaches. There are many other “showcase camps” that have coaches as instructors from a few schools. In those, there is typically little or no evaluation going on except maybe when pitchers throw. Then if the gun registers high enough, they will make note of the player. It is hard work on the consumer, but WE must research anything we put our hard earned dollars on. If paying for a showcase, make sure your son will get maximum exposure for the dollars spent. It is not surprising that there are schools and organizations that will take your money with little or no return. My son is a senior so I am not going to be a return customer whether I get a good service or a poor service. In other words, a school providing a poor "showcase camp" has nothing to lose by providing senior players with a poor service. They would get my money this year and sucker someone else next year.

Good question. A college camp, I believe, is designed to instruct, with maybe a bit of recruitment for people interested in that particular school, and vice-versa. A showcase is a format designed simply to show your skills to an audience of coaches and scouts. So, to answer your question, what is a college showcase camp, I don't know. Lot of grey in this.

Now that coaches cannot run drills on campus we may see the title of these camps change

Before attending TCU's most recent showcase, we asked for a list of colleges that would be represented. Following is the list we received: TCU, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Dallas Baptist University, UT-Arlington, Texas A&M-Kingsville, Northwood College, Paris JC, Cisco JC, Eastfield JC, Cedar Valley JC, along with scouts from the Cubs and Angels. Following is a direct quote from one of the Oklahoma State coaches in an email he sent to us: "I think camps are a good way for players to become familiar with our university and campus, and for us to get another look at a player that we are going to follow. We do sign players out of our camps, our current freshman all-american was a former camper."

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
Now that coaches cannot run drills on campus we may see the title of these camps change

TRHit; Can you expand on the above statement? My son just attended a local ACC D1 showcase where they ran a pro style workout (60yd, outfield, infield, BP) and then scrimmages, all on their field, and I couldn't tell any difference from past years. I know there is a new NCAA regulation regarding showcases on college grounds but it was my understanding that applied only to non-university affiliated showcases such as a PG or Area Code and in that case the workouts would have to be held off campus at a non affiliated site but the games could still be played on campus.

Am I mistaken?