re: SBN Article: "Culture Change at Texas"

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It's somewhat counterintuitive, but...

Many studies have shown that people tend to appreciate these sorts of restrictions. People recognize the limits of their own self-discipline and often embrace opportunities to bind themselves to good behavior, even though it means limiting their own freedom. I think most recruits will recognize that these rules—particularly the on-campus housing, are going ensure that they stay out of trouble, train harder, eat better, perform better in school, and maintain better relationships with their teammates and coaches.

If anything, these rules and standards are probably helpful in recruiting, not just because they’ll be attractive to recruits who recognize that this structure will help them be successful, but also as a screening mechanism. If being able to live off-campus away from the watchful eyes of coaches and teammates is a deal-breaker for certain recruits, that’s probably a red flag anyway.

On a related note, we may be able to take some bigger behavioral risks because the structure Strong is putting in place will help keep them in line. Instead of limiting ourselves to “good kids who graduate”, we can cast a wider net and help the guys who would otherwise be behavioral or academic risks to be disciplined and successful.

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