by P.H. Sampson

Created on: March 10, 2009

You can see them pacing the sidelines on a fall Saturday or glaring at a referee out on the hardwood as they lead their school to victory. They strategize and motivate and inspire, turning young kids into champions along the way. Some of them like Joe Paterno, Mike Krzyzewski, and Pat Summitt have even become the face of their respective universities. They are the best of the best among college coaches.

And I bet you never thought you could hang out with them, did you?

Turns out, meeting a college coach is a much easier task than most people think. The only question you have to ask yourself is: How much time do I want to spend with my favorite college coach?

Do you want the coach to remember your name whenever the two of you run into each other? Do you want inside information on how practices, recruiting, and game preparation are going? If so, it is probably going to cost you a little dough.

Most big time coaches put on several speaking engagements every year when their sport is not in season. These events are a great way for a school to reward loyal fans and for regular folks to get access to legendary coaches. They can range from informal chats to swanky dinners. The website for your favorite school's athletic department will most likely have a schedule of these events posted. If not, just give them a call and they would be happy to let you know where you can meet your favorite coach (and just how much it is going to cost).

While there are no hard and fast rules, essentially the more money you are willing to spend, the more access to coach so-and-so you will get. For a small fee (anywhere from $10 to $50), you can probably hear your favorite coach give a talk in some hotel conference room. There's a good chance you'll even get to say hello as you pass through a handshake line at the end of the event. For a few bucks more, the school will throw in a rubbery chicken dinner and you won't have to wait behind quite so many people in the handshake line.

Not enough face-time with the coach for you? Then you're going to have to hit the ATM. Donate a couple million bucks toward the construction of a new stadium or practice facility, and now you just might have a private line to the coach's office. Former Texas A&M coach Dennis Francione even got into hot water for giving too much access to high paying donors (they all received a private newsletter with inside information about the football program).

However, if you just want to say hello or maybe give your favorite coach a high five, this can be done easily and with no cost to you. College coaches are very easy to find, especially when their sport is in season. All you have to do is hang out on campus and you can meet any coach you want to in no time. Go to a practice. Eat lunch in the dining hall where all the athletes eat. I've personally met Lloyd Carr, Pete Carroll, Tim Floyd, and countless other coaches and prominent players (Reggie Bush is tiny in person) just by hanging around campus as a student. I'm not friends with any of these people and I'm sure I didn't say anything more than, "Hey, Coach," when we met, but I also didn't have to donate a private jet to the university to do it.

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