Tag Archive for: NCAA-Certified Recruiting Service

NCAA-Approved Recruiting Services – What You Should Know

We’re getting questions asking what it means if a recruiting service promotes themselves as “NCAA-approved” and/or feature the official NCAA logo on their website.

Here are the facts:

  • The ONLY sports that are required to subscribe and receive information about recruits from an NCAA-approved recruiting service are NCAA DI Football and DI Men & Women’s Basketball programs.
  • The Recruiting Service must be pre-approved by the NCAA before they can provide information to NCAA DI Football and Basketball coaches under very strict guidelines established by the NCAA.
  • This does NOT mean that the service has been recommended or endorsed by the NCAA for high school athletes and parents to sign up for that recruiting service.

Also, if you come across a recruiting service website that features a quote from an NCAA Division I or II coach recommending that service, beware.

Coaches who promote recruiting services or recruiting websites that claim to be endorsed by an NCAA coach are violating NCAA rules.

As with any other business, some recruiting services are better than others, and you may have a very good experience in using a particular service.

But don’t be swayed by the label of “NCAA-approved” – especially if your sport is NOT basketball or football – since those are the only sports for which such approval is required before an NCAA Division I coach can access their information.

Do you Have Questions or Need Advice?

If you have questions about this or any other topic pertaining to recruiting, eligibility issues, scholarship strategies, or transfer situations, contact us for further information at 913-766-1235 or rick@informedathlete.com

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What is an “NCAA-Certified” Recruiting Service?

Some athletic recruiting services promote themselves as “NCAA-Certified” services. So, what does it mean to be “NCAA-Certified?”

The NCAA certifies recruiting services ONLY if they are going to be used by the basketball and football programs at a Division I university. Those two sports can’t use a recruiting or scouting service unless it’s been expressly approved by the NCAA.

There are conditions that all recruiting services are supposed to follow if they want NCAA sports programs to subscribe to their services. To satisfy those conditions, recruiting services are required to:

  • Be available to all universities that choose to subscribe and at the same fee charged to all subscribers.
  • Provide information about each recruit in a standardized format that ensures the same information is provided to all subscribers.
  • Live phone reports, discussions, or individualized email or text messages don’t satisfy the above requirement.

However, in sports other than Division I basketball and football, those services aren’t certified with a “stamp of approval” as they must be for basketball and football.

The bottom line – buyer beware when it comes to signing up with a recruiting service.

For more information about recruiting issues, visit the Recruiting Rules section on our website.

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