Recruiting 101

 

PROSPECTIVE STUDENT-ATHLETES
A student becomes a prospective student-athlete when they start ninth-grade classes. If a college gives a student or the students relatives or friends any financial aid or other benefits that the college does not provide to students in general, the student becomes a perspective student athlete.

- A student becomes a recruited prospective student-athlete when a coach or booster does one of the following activities.
- Provides the student with an official visit
- Places more than one telephone call to the student or any other member of the student's family
- Visits the student or any other member of the student's family anywhere other than the college campus

- No alumni, booster, or representative of a college's athletic department can be involved in the students recruiting. This includes phone calls, letters, cash, clothing, etc.
- Letters from coaches, faculty members and students (but not boosters) are not permitted until September 1 at the beginning of the student's junior year.

[top]

TELEPHONE CALLS
One telephone call is permitted from the institution's coaches during the month of May of the recruit's junior year in high school and then not again until September 1 of the recruit's senior year in high school.

On National Letter of Intent (LOI) day (Feb 5 for high school recruits | Dec. 18 for JC transfers) the coaches are allowed to phone the recruit as often as they want during the 48 hours before and 48 hours after 7 a.m. on LOI. The same rules apply during a contact period. Outside of a contact period a coach may phone the recruit only once a week.

A recruit's parents, at their expense, may telephone a recruit as often as the parents or recruit wish. Coaches may also accept collect calls from the recruit on or after July 1 after the completion of the recruit's junior year.

Enrolled student athletes may not make recruiting calls although they can receive telephone calls at the recruit's expense on or after July 1 after the completion of the recruit's junior year.

[top]

CONTACTS
A coach may contact the recruit off the campus only on or after July 1 after the completion of the recruits junior year. A face to face meeting between the recruit and/or the recruit's parents, during which any of the parties say more than "hello" is considered contact. Any face to face meeting that is prearranged or occurs at the high school or at the completion of practice is deemed contact.

Coaches may contact the recruit off campus six times with no more than one contact per week during the contact period. A coach may visit the recruit's high school (with the principal's approval) only once a week during a contact period.

[top]

EVALUATIONS
According to NCAA.org, an evaluation is "any off-campus activity used to assess a recruit's academic qualifications or athletics ability." This includes a visit to the recruit's high school (during which no contact occurs) or watching the recruit practice or compete at any site.

See the recruiting calendar for specific evaluation periods.

[top]

OFFICIAL VISITS
A recruit is allowed one expense paid visit to a college campus beginning on the opening day of classes of the recruit's senior year.

An official visit cannot exceed 48 hours. Round trip transportation, meals (on or off campus), lodging and complimentary admissions to campus athletic events are permitted to the recruit and the recruit's parents. A coach can only accompany the recruit on the official visit if it is by automobile. All transportation must occur during the 48 hour period. The complimentary tickets must be in the general seating area.

A student host may help the recruit become familiar with campus life. The host may spend $30 per day to cover costs of entertaining the recruit. The money cannot be used to purchase souvenirs.

[top]

PRINTED MATERIALS
A college may provide a recruit with only the following printed materials on or after September 1 of the recruit's junior year:

- Official academic, admissions and student services publications and videotapes published by the college;

- General correspondence, including letters and college note cards (attachments to correspondence may include materials printed on plain white paper with black ink);

- Game programs (a college may only give you a program on an official or unofficial visit; colleges may not mail you a program);

- A media guide or recruiting brochure (but not both) in each sport;

- Any necessary preenrollment information about orientation, conditioning, academics, practice activities, as long as the recruit has signed a LOI or has been accepted for enrollment;

- One student-athlete handbook. (A college may only give the recruit a handbook on an official or unofficial visit. A college may mail the recruit a handbook once he has signed a LOI or been accepted for enrollment.)

- One wallet-size playing schedule card in each sport.

A coach may show a recruit a highlight film/videotape, but may not send it to or leave it with the recruit or coach. A coach may also provide the recruit with a questionnaire, camp brochure and/or educational information published by the NCAA at any time.

[top]