What Is the Difference Between a Free and Paid University Athlete Profile?
How Coaches Actually Track and Evaluate Volleyball Recruits
Featuring insights from Allison Roberts, Susan Forbes, and Cori Murphy
One of the most common questions athletes and parents ask is whether they need more than a free profile in University Athlete, and what actually changes if they upgrade.
The panel’s short answer is that both matter, but each plays a different role in the recruiting process.
Q: What is the difference between a free and a paid profile?
Cori Murphy:
Cori explains that the platform was originally built as a tool for college coaches, not just athletes.
“University Athlete started as a college product,” she says. “It is the system coaches use to manage rosters, schedules, and evaluations at tournaments.”
Because of that, the platform follows athletes throughout their entire recruiting journey.
“Coaches can track you from one event to the next,” she explains. “They might see you at nationals, then at another tournament, then get video, then follow up through their staff. It all lives in one place for them.”
At the paid level, athletes gain access to more visibility into that activity.
“You are able to see how coaches are engaging with you across events,” she says. “That includes evaluations, notes, and patterns that help you understand recruiting interest over time.”
Cori also clarifies a common misconception about privacy.
“College staffs can see what they personally write,” she explains. “But they cannot see what other college coaches are writing about you.”
The system is designed to support individual evaluation, not open comparison between programs.
Q: How do coaches actually use this information?
Cori Murphy:
“Coaches are constantly moving between tournaments, emails, and video,” she says. “University Athlete is where they connect all of that together.”
She describes it as the central hub for recruiting activity.
“They might see you at one event, make a note, then come back later at another tournament and update that evaluation,” she says. “It helps them follow your progression over time.”
One of the most valuable parts for athletes is seeing patterns in coach interest.
“If you are emailing schools and none of them are showing up to watch you, that tells you something,” she says. “If you are getting consistent evaluations, that tells you something else.”
Q: What do coaches and recruiters actually use most?
Susan Forbes:
Susan emphasizes that regardless of free or paid access, the most important piece is having an active, complete profile.
“At the minimum, you need your free profile set up,” she says. “That is non-negotiable.”
From a coach’s perspective, University Athlete is often the first place they go when evaluating a player.
“I have literally stood next to coaches at tournaments who open University Athlete before anything else,” she says. “They are not checking Instagram first. They are going straight to the profile.”
That is where they look for contact information, evaluation notes, and prior interactions.
“It is their reference point,” she explains. “It is how they organize who they are watching and what they have seen.”
For Susan, the value of a paid profile is not just additional data, it’s the context it provides.
“It helps athletes understand what is actually happening in their recruiting process,” she says. “Not just guesswork, but real signals from coaches.”
The Bottom Line
A free University Athlete profile ensures visibility. A paid profile adds deeper insight into how coaches are interacting with that visibility over time.
But both experts agree on one core point: if you are playing at the college recruiting level, being in the system at all is essential.
Or as Allison summarized earlier in the panel:
“University Athlete is not optional. It is where college coaches recruit.”