I've never done it before, and was wondering how often it is that people get caught. Also, is there any strategy to not getting caught?

I'm no expert - used them once real early in my career and got busted - but I think the key (and this is serious, not being funny) is to find the right kid - if you use them on kids who want to accept them I think there's a much higher chance of success. I think a personality test would help, but they cost $1500...

I've never tried to use them- well I did once but I didn't have any seasons remaining  so it didn't go through and I just thought I didn't get caught for a while-  but I would assume the best kids for them are when you do a scouting report and it says the kid is a bit of a playa always has the best jerseys etc...I would figure those are your only chance to not get caught.

Problem with posts like these is that if people are using boosters successfully they aren't talking about it. I wouldn't at least.

Posted by mjp8 on 4/10/2011 11:50:00 AM (view original):
I've never tried to use them- well I did once but I didn't have any seasons remaining  so it didn't go through and I just thought I didn't get caught for a while-  but I would assume the best kids for them are when you do a scouting report and it says the kid is a bit of a playa always has the best jerseys etc...I would figure those are your only chance to not get caught.

Problem with posts like these is that if people are using boosters successfully they aren't talking about it. I wouldn't at least.

That last sentence is the most hilarious part of the whole boosters area.  Somehow people have the idea that if they talk about their booster gifts in the forums, WIS will be onto them and bring on a punishment.  If WIS wants to know what coaches did boosters and when, they can discover that with a single, simple SQL query against their database.  It would take less than two minutes.  You are not going to tip them off by talking about it in the forums.  They aren't interested in policing recruiting by hand; they wrote routines to do it.  Using boosters is part of the game, whether or not you are caught depends on the in-game mechanics.

Now that said, I have never used boosters.  As far as you know.

Posted by _hannibal_ on 4/10/2011 2:01:00 PM (view original):

Posted by mjp8 on 4/10/2011 11:50:00 AM (view original):
I've never tried to use them- well I did once but I didn't have any seasons remaining  so it didn't go through and I just thought I didn't get caught for a while-  but I would assume the best kids for them are when you do a scouting report and it says the kid is a bit of a playa always has the best jerseys etc...I would figure those are your only chance to not get caught.

Problem with posts like these is that if people are using boosters successfully they aren't talking about it. I wouldn't at least.

That last sentence is the most hilarious part of the whole boosters area.  Somehow people have the idea that if they talk about their booster gifts in the forums, WIS will be onto them and bring on a punishment.  If WIS wants to know what coaches did boosters and when, they can discover that with a single, simple SQL query against their database.  It would take less than two minutes.  You are not going to tip them off by talking about it in the forums.  They aren't interested in policing recruiting by hand; they wrote routines to do it.  Using boosters is part of the game, whether or not you are caught depends on the in-game mechanics.

Now that said, I have never used boosters.  As far as you know.

i doubt that is the reason he was referring to.

i used boosters about 3 times.   Twice I got investigated by the WCAA and the kids didn't sign, once I was successful.  The time I was successful, it was with a juco, and the AD said something like "well I hope he works out, that kid is a nut" after I signed him.  I don't know if that meant anything or not.  But I am guessing there is something in the personality that tells you whether a kid will be the right kind to use boosters with.  I haven't used it in about 8 seasons, though, because 1) my experience was that it is rarely successful, 2) you don't seem to really need it to get good recruits, 3) the reputation hit can be pretty hard to shake

Posted by coach_billyg on 4/10/2011 2:12:00 PM (view original):

Posted by _hannibal_ on 4/10/2011 2:01:00 PM (view original):

Posted by mjp8 on 4/10/2011 11:50:00 AM (view original):
I've never tried to use them- well I did once but I didn't have any seasons remaining  so it didn't go through and I just thought I didn't get caught for a while-  but I would assume the best kids for them are when you do a scouting report and it says the kid is a bit of a playa always has the best jerseys etc...I would figure those are your only chance to not get caught.

Problem with posts like these is that if people are using boosters successfully they aren't talking about it. I wouldn't at least.

That last sentence is the most hilarious part of the whole boosters area.  Somehow people have the idea that if they talk about their booster gifts in the forums, WIS will be onto them and bring on a punishment.  If WIS wants to know what coaches did boosters and when, they can discover that with a single, simple SQL query against their database.  It would take less than two minutes.  You are not going to tip them off by talking about it in the forums.  They aren't interested in policing recruiting by hand; they wrote routines to do it.  Using boosters is part of the game, whether or not you are caught depends on the in-game mechanics.

Now that said, I have never used boosters.  As far as you know.

i doubt that is the reason he was referring to.

If you use them and are successful, what's the point in hiding it?  It would be an advantage to be know as the guy who uses boosters and gets away with it.  People would think twice before battling you - sure I can beat this guy based on $$/distance/prestige but what if he starts throwing boosters around?

Hypothetically, you have a top recruit who is open to boosters. You are in the middle of a recruiting battle with a top program (you are a medium- high level program, too) and have spent approximately the same amount on him, and he is smack in the middle of the two schools. You throw out a booster, the other does not. How much does the booster help in this situation? What about if the other school has spent more than you?

I think in that situation, you risk losing the recruit if he is not open to boosters, and then go on probation.  If he is open to it, I think it obviously helps your chances.

i think what he's asking about is the relative value of the booster gift.  is it worth 5 campus visits?  1 campus visit?  etc.  I think nobody could really know since I doubt anyone has used them enough times to really get a feel for it, especially since common sense would seem to dictate that the values of the booster gifts are relative to each player

I used boosters when a guy specifically asked for them, and I got caught.  It is now the end of the 5th season since I got caught and after this season's rollover I will finally get back to A+.

The guy did sign (he was suspended for 4 games as a freshman), and he was pretty good (5th leading scorer in school history), but I don't think it was worth it:

Richard Calloway

honestly, whats the point of having them if there is basically a 95% chance of getting caught? "Boosters" and stuff happen all the time in real life *cough* pearl, calipari and i have not heard any success stories with them in HD. 

It should either be gotten rid of, or tweaked heavily to favor certain situations more than others.

If WIS wasn't so expensive...it would be worth it to try a career as a Calipari/Pearl and try to cheat your way to the top.  I'd be interested in the data...

Someone try what hoosierkyle is asking for would love to see the data!

I went ahead and started a new world coach......we'll see what I come up with. :)