NCAA DI men’s basketball recruits now have more opportunities to make official visits to NCAA Division I campuses.
In response to recommendations from the NCAA’s Commission on College Basketball, basketball prospects being recruited by Division I programs are now allowed to take up to five official visits during their junior year of high school, and then can take another five official visits starting once their junior year of high school has concluded.
This is the only NCAA sport that permits more than five official visits to Division I campuses.
Furthermore, a basketball prospect can make a repeat official visit to a campus during their senior year even if they already visited that same campus as a high school junior.
No other NCAA sport allows more than one official visit to a particular university.
In those situations where a basketball prospect chooses to delay their college enrollment, OR chooses to start at a junior college with the goal of then being recruited to a Division I program, an additional five official visits is permissible beginning on October 15 following a prospect’s high school graduation.
For questions about the NCAA rules for official or unofficial visits, sign up for an email-consult or schedule a confidential recruiting rules consult online, call us at 913-766-1235 or send an email to rick@informedathlete.com.
A “Dead Period” is when coaches from NCAA schools are prohibited from having face-to-face interaction with recruits or their families – even if the recruit and/or parents make an unannounced visit to a coach’s office while they are touring college campuses.
Every NCAA Division I and II sport other than football has at least one “Dead Period” from November 12 to 14 or 15, around the initial date for recruits to sign an NCAA National Letter of Intent, depending upon whether the sport is a Division I or II program.
For more information on the rules in general, visit our Recruiting Rules page on our website. If you have specific questions about the NCAA recruiting rules, schedule a confidential email or phone consult online, call us at 913-766-1235 or send an email to rick@informedathlete.com.
The NCAA Division I Council recently proposed changes to the Division I recruiting timeline that will adjust key recruiting dates in all sports other than football and basketball. The proposed changes are expected to be voted on in April 2019.
One proposal addressed the sport of men’s ice hockey, while the other proposal addressed all Division I sports except hockey, football and basketball.
Proposal One: Prospects being recruited for men’s ice hockey would be allowed to make unofficial visits to campus to meet with coaches and tour athletic facilities as early as January 1 of the sophomore year of high school if this proposal is approved.
Currently, unofficial visits involving athletic staff are not permissible until September 1st of a prospect’s junior year of high school. The hockey proposal would also permit official visits to Division I campuses beginning August 1 before the start of a prospect’s junior year.
Proposal Two: For all sports other than football, basketball, and men’s ice hockey, the proposed changes would permit prospects to have communication with Division I coaches – whether initiated by the coach or the prospect – starting on June 15 after the sophomore year of high school. Also, the permissible date for official and unofficial visits would be moved one month earlier to August 1 from September 1.
NCAA universities and conferences will be providing feedback to the Division I Council prior to their vote in April, so these proposals could be revised before the final vote. Look for updates in the Spring regarding these proposals as we get closer to April.
For more information about NCAA recruiting rules, visit our website. If you’d like a confidential consult as to how these rules or other rules could impact you or your athlete, schedule a phone or email consult online, call us at 913-766-1235 or send an email to rick@informedathlete.com.
Official visits can now be offered by most NCAA Division I sports programs to high school juniors graduating in 2020.
The only Division I sports that can’t yet offer official visits to 2020 high school graduates include:
- Men’s basketball (not until January 1 of the recruit’s junior year),
- Women’s basketball (not until the Thursday after the Women’s Final Four), and
- Football (not until April 1 of the junior year).
For unofficial visits, high school athletes in all Division I sports (other than basketball and football) are not allowed to participate in a campus visit that includes involvement by the athletic department until after September 1 of their junior year.
Previously, there were no restrictions on when an athlete could make an unofficial visit (even as early as 7th or 8th grade) to meet with the coaches or tour athletic facilities.
- Women’s basketball and football still have no restrictions on the first opportunity for an unofficial visit to a Division I campus.
- Men’s basketball recruits can’t take an unofficial visit before August 1 at the start of the sophomore year of high school.
If you’d like more information about the changes to NCAA Division I recruiting rules and how they could affect your athlete, contact us at rick@informedathlete.com or 913-766-1235.
If you’re the parent of a high school athlete who is focused on being recruited and admitted to their dream school, it may seem a bit odd to already be thinking ahead about the possibility of a transfer to another school at some point in the future.
However, thinking ahead to the possibility of a transfer can be very helpful just in case that time comes.
Here are a couple of examples of how thinking ahead can be to your high school athlete’s benefit:
-It’s common for student-athletes to start at a college that is quite a distance from home, but then they become “homesick” and want to transfer to be closer. If their original school, and the school the athlete wants to transfer to are in the same conference, there may be conference rules regarding an intra-conference transfer which restrict the athlete’s future eligibility.
-If a student-athlete transfers from their original four-year college to a Division I program in baseball, basketball, football, or men’s ice hockey, they are often required to serve a “year in residence” attending the new college before they can compete for that team. However, if a student-athlete was not on scholarship and was a “non-recruited” athlete at their original school, they will have the opportunity to be immediately eligible at the second university.
For more general information about transfers, visit the Transfers section on our website.
To learn more about recruiting, visit the Recruiting Rules area of our website.
If you are interested in learning how the transfer rules could impact your athlete in the future and would like a personal and confidential consult to discuss these issues, you can schedule online. Or, if you prefer, contact us directly by calling 913-766-1235 or sending an email to rick@informedathlete.com.
Friday, June 15th was the first day for NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball coaches to begin to place recruiting phone calls and send recruiting correspondence (emails, direct messages, etc.) to high school recruits in the graduating class of 2020.
June 15 was also the first day for coaches in all NCAA Division II sports to begin to recruit high school prospects who will graduate in 2020. These activities can include recruiting phone calls, sending recruiting correspondence, AND also offering official visits to a Division II campus.
If you’d like a complimentary copy, click NCAA Recruiting Calendars, and sign up to receive the most current calendars with a summary of important dates and most current need-to-know recruiting info.
Other ways we help student-athletes and their families navigate through the recruiting process include:
Recruiting Rules Consults via phone or email
College Visit Consult Packages
Informed Athlete’s Campus Visits Guide
I’m often asked by high school student-athletes or parents if it’s possible to “double-sign” with a Junior College and an NCAA institution. Because they are separate organizations, it is possible to sign a letter of intent with a school in each organization.
Since it’s best not to burn any bridges, student-athletes and parents should consider being honest with the schools about the double-signing so that the college coaches don’t get caught off-guard. You never know when you might choose to transfer to that other school that you signed with.
In some sports, primarily football and baseball, double-signing can actually be a good scholarship strategy under the right circumstances:
For example, a high round baseball draft choice may sign a letter of intent with a Junior College as well as with an NCAA school, to keep open the option of playing at the junior college for one year, and then have the opportunity to be drafted again the following year.
In the case of that baseball draft choice in the example above, what will happen in the case of an injury and the athlete is not drafted as hoped? The athlete will want to be eligible to play when he transfers to the NCAA university.
Regardless of the reason that an athlete starts their college career at a junior college, athletes who do this should keep in mind the NCAA eligibility and transfer rules that may apply to them should they end up transferring from the JUCO to an NCAA Division I or II program.
Also, for high school prospects who sign a National Letter of Intent with an NCAA Division I or II program, but decide to enroll in a JUCO instead, remember that the NLI that you signed remains binding upon you until you graduate from the JUCO or until you are released from the NLI by the school that you signed with.
If you have questions about this article or anything else related to recruiting, transfers, scholarships, or eligibility, please call Informed Athlete at 913-766-1235 or send me an email to rick@informedathlete.com.
That term “preferred walk-on” actually means nothing more than whatever that coaching staff intends it to mean. At one university, a preferred walk-on may be guaranteed a spot on their roster, while at another university, it may only mean that they don’t have to go through an open tryout to join full-squad practice sessions.
What is more important for a preferred walk-on in certain sports is whether they are considered “recruited” to their university team. This can be an important factor in their opportunity to be immediately eligible if they decide to transfer after a year or two to a Division I program.
For certain sports, it can mean the difference between being immediately eligible for competition and a scholarship at their new university, or serving a “year in residence” before they can compete.
If your athlete has been offered a preferred walk-on status at either an NCAA or NAIA school, and you have questions about what it means and how that could negatively impact a potential transfer opportunity, contact us at rick@informedathlete.com, or call 913-766-1235.
“NCAA Preferred Walk-on” is a term that is frequently seen on social media when a high-school athlete announces that they have accepted a “preferred walk-on” offer from a University’s coaching staff.
What exactly is an NCAA Preferred Walk-on? That term actually means nothing more than whatever that coaching staff intends it to mean.
At one university, an NCAA Preferred Walk-on may be guaranteed a spot on the team roster, while at another university, it may only mean that the athlete doesn’t have to go through an open tryout to participate in early Fall practices after classes begin.
What is more important for an NCAA Preferred Walk-on is whether they are considered “recruited” to their university team.
This can be an important factor in their opportunity to be immediately eligible if they decide to transfer after a year or two to a Division I program. For certain sports, it can mean the difference between being immediately eligible for competition and a scholarship at their new university, or serving a “year in residence” before they can compete.
If you have questions about the definition of a “recruited” athlete and how that may impact a potential transfer opportunity, contact us at rick@informedathlete.com, or 913-766-1235.
