This interview features Claire from Study and Play USA, representing a full-service college recruitment company with 21 years of experience, discussing the significant benefits her company and their athletes experienced after implementing the College Pipe software.
Outdated Contact Information: Maintaining accurate coach contact details was a constant struggle due to frequent coaching changes, relying on time-consuming, manual spreadsheet updates.
Limited Athlete Involvement: The company used proprietary profile software where athletes could not make direct edits, creating a bottleneck where staff had to manage every change or update for them.
✅ Time-Saving (The Biggest Impact): Claire emphasizes that the single greatest benefit, "by far," is the time saved. This is largely due to College Pipe automatically ensuring up-to-date and double-checked coach contact information (0:34 - 0:52).
✅ Empowered Athletes: Athletes can now log in and edit their own profiles (adding videos, accomplishments, etc.), which they "really love," freeing up staff time while still allowing for oversight (1:14 - 1:22).
✅ Enhanced Decision-Making (The "Snapshot"): Claire loves the "snapshot" feature that appears when clicking a university. It instantly displays crucial information (Google Map, program details, etc.), saving athletes from searching the "whole internet" and encouraging them to be more open-minded about available options (1:32 - 2:14).
✅ Improved Open-Mindedness (Non-Measurable Result): The "Find a University" function visually demonstrates the vast number of available options beyond "UCLA and Stanford," leading to a company-wide shift where athletes and parents are more open-minded about their choices (3:34 - 4:05).
✅ Trust and Alignment: Claire highly recommends College Pipe, noting that the developers are people "doing the same things that we are doing day in and day out," ensuring the software is built with the best experience and outcome for the athletes as the guiding principle (4:20 - 4:41).
The highlights above offer a compelling glimpse into how College Pipe has transformed SPUSA's college recruitment process.
To gain even deeper insights into their experience, we invite you to watch the full interview recording with Claire Mulligan and Yannick Weihs:
🔗 Watch the Full Interview Recording Here
In the complete video, you will also hear about:
The Onboarding Journey: How Claire, a teacher by trade, successfully championed the adoption of College Pipe despite some initial hesitation from older colleagues
Impact on Staff Onboarding: How the software is used as an immediate training tool for new staff, helping them quickly familiarize themselves with the college landscape across different sports.
New Business Models: How College Pipe's flexibility is enabling the company to explore and implement new service packages beyond their traditional full-service model.
The Power of Trust: Claire’s immediate trust in College Pipe, knowing its creators have shared experience in the college recruiting industry.