[DC 86]

It may be seen that way, but another possibility, which I think is actually what is true, is that even if you see it coming, there is really nothing Stanford can do about it without admitting athletes using a different process than regular students, which we will not (and possibly under NCAA rules cannot) do.

Early Action applicants are notified of Stanford's admissions decision on December 8 of their senior year, which is approximately two weeks prior to the early signing period, so a process does exist for rendering an admission offer compatible with the new recruiting calendar.

I think it's likely that the pool happened to be narrower this year and that Stanford missed on some targets, but the main problem IMO was that coaches and the recruiting staff underestimated the impact of the early signing period (approx. 75% of the ESPN 300 signed early) and were not aggressive enough in evaluating prospects and extending early offers, which is something that can be rectified in the future.

[DC 86]

It may be seen that way, but another possibility, which I think is actually what is true, is that even if you see it coming, there is really nothing Stanford can do about it without admitting athletes using a different process than regular students, which we will not (and possibly under NCAA rules cannot) do.

Early Action applicants are notified of Stanford's admissions decision on December 8 of their senior year, which is approximately two weeks prior to the early signing period, so a process does exist for rendering an admission offer compatible with the new recruiting calendar.

I think it's likely that the pool happened to be narrower this year and that Stanford missed on some targets, but the main problem IMO was that coaches and the recruiting staff underestimated the impact of the early signing period (approx. 75% of the ESPN 300 signed early) and were not aggressive enough in evaluating prospects and extending early offers, which is something that can be rectified in the future.