The New York Times last month published an outstanding series by writer Bill Pennington about the realities of playing a Division I scholarship sport other than football or basketball.

Among the conclusions in the story: Parents expect their children will receive much more in scholarship support than the $8,707 annually awarded on average in partial-scholarship sports, and student-athletes often are surprised – and frequently discouraged to the point of quitting – by the demands of Division I competition.

One mom’s comment strikes home. “The hardest part is that nobody educates the parents on what’s really going on or what’s going to happen,” said Margaret Berry, whose daughter is a swimmer at Delaware.

That should cause all of us within the NCAA to pause and ask: What more can we do to prepare prospective student-athletes and their parents not only for the academic and competitive demands of intercollegiate athletics but for what is, in fact, a challenging path into adulthood?

More resources are becoming available for that purpose. In particular, the NCAA’s online Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete, among other useful features, lists questions that student-athletes and their parents should ask to determine how well an athletics program suits a prospect’s athletic and academic aspirations.

While Pennington’s articles raise concerns about the preparation of prospective student-athletes for life at Division I institutions, they are encouraging on another front. During interviews discussing the series, Pennington said that he talked to many institutional representatives at a variety of institutions but ultimately featured only a few whom he believed were representative of the norm in Division I.

It’s clear from the series that coaches not only remain the most important resource of information for prospective student-athletes and their families, but they typically are straight-shooters, too.

Consider this advice offered in one of the articles by Villanova field hockey coach Joanie Milhous: “What (parents) should be doing is attending the games of a college they are considering. Go sit with the parents of the current players. That will tell you everything. By the end of the game, they’ll know everything – good or bad. And that’s what really matters.”

It’s a good suggestion, mixing wisdom and experience. Here’s hoping we’ll all constantly continue striving to provide such insight for the benefit of student-athletes and their families as we welcome each new class into the intercollegiate athletics experience.