From the NCAA Coordinator

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The NCAA works hard at clearly defining recruiting rules. This newsletter will focus on terminology, and hopefully, it helps you navigate the various recruiting periods with ease. Keep in mind, each NCAA sanctioned sport has its own recruiting periods, so it is always best to check out the NCAA’s website to determine the specifics of your sport.

From the NCAA A contact happens any time a college coach says more than hello during a face-to-face meeting with a college-bound student-athlete or his or her parents off the college’s campus. An evaluation happens when a college coach observes a student-athlete practicing or competing. A verbal commitment happens when a college-bound student-athlete verbally agrees to play sports for a college before he or she signs or is eligible to sign a National Letter of Intent. The commitment is not binding on the student-athlete or the school and can be made at any time. When a student-athlete officially commits to attend a Division I or II college, he or she signs a National Letter of Intent, agreeing to attend that school for one academic year. Any visit to a college campus by a college-bound student-athlete or his or her parents paid for by the college is an official visit. Visits paid for by student-athletes or their parents are considered unofficial visits.

Recruiting Calendars

NCAA member schools limit recruiting to certain periods during the year. Recruiting calendars promote the well-being of college-bound student-athletes and ensure fairness among schools by defining certain periods during the year in which recruiting may or may not occur in a particular sport. During a contact period, a college coach may have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents, watch student-athletes compete or visit their high schools and write or telephone student-athletes or their parents. During an evaluation period, a college coach may watch college-bound student-athletes compete, visit their high schools and write or telephone student-athletes or their parents. However, a college coach may not have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents off the college’s campus during an evaluation period. During a quiet period, a college coach may not have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents and may not watch student-athletes compete or visit their high schools. Coaches may write or telephone college-bound student-athletes or their parents during this time. During a dead period, a college coach may not have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents and may not watch student-athletes compete or visit their high schools. Coaches may write and telephone student-athletes or their parents during a dead period.

The timing of a verbal commitment is an art not a science; many factors should be considered. These charts from the NCAA’s own internal survey of student athletes sheds light on the significance of walking the “commitment tightrope.”

NCAA National Champion, Jazmine Fray '15 Congratulations to Jazmine Fray '15, 2019 National Champion in the 800 meter race and the 4x400! Currently a senior at Texas A&M, Jazmine demonstrates how hard work, patience and dedication pay off!

Mrs. Strauss is a former NCAA Head Coach and Division I collegiate athlete. mrsstrauss@kellenberg.org. Sports provide us with opportunities for personal development. Whether it’s on the field, on the court or in the pool, athletes learn self-discipline, perseverance, and resilience. These characteristics in turn yield fruit in the classroom and in the boardroom. The NCAA provides an avenue for student-athletes to foster relationships that will last forever. In a world where Social Media dominates much of the information that is promulgated, we can begin to believe everyone else is making verbal commitments or signing Letters of Intent. Hopefully, the statistics provided in today’s newsletter shed some light on the reality of recruiting and debunks a few myths! Stay tuned for next month’s newsletter! Until then, always feel free to contact me.

For past newsletters, click here.

"One man or woman practicing sportsmanship is better than a hundred preaching it." — Knute Rockne

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