Tag Archive for: NCAA official visits

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NCAA Proposed Rule Changes: Official Visits, Transfers, Eligibility

It’s the time of year when the NCAA is starting to publicize proposed rule changes that will be voted on at the annual NCAA Convention in January. I’ll highlight those that will likely be of most interest to student-athletes and families.

Division I

The Division I Council has introduced a proposal to reduce the number of official visits a men’s basketball recruit can take to a Division I university from five to three during each of three periods:

  • Junior year of high school.
  • Senior year of high school.
  • After high school graduation (for a transfer or during a prep school year for example).

The proposal would also reduce the length of official visits in men’s basketball to 36 hours from 48. Members of the Council believe many student-athletes are taking official visits simply because they can and not because they intend to attend a school.

Division II

If approved, the Division II transfer rules will be revised to more closely align with the Division I transfer rules. Perhaps the most important revision would be that a Division II coach or athletic department would not be able to object to a student-athlete’s opportunity to be eligible in their first year at their new university.

The Division II transfer rules would be revised to:

  • Require a transferring student-athlete to view an NCAA-produced educational video before an institution may enter the student-athlete’s information into the NCAA Transfer Portal;
  • Eliminate the previous institution’s ability to object to use of the one-time transfer exception;
  • Require the new head coach and the student-athlete to certify in writing that they had no direct or indirect contact about a possible transfer prior to the student-athlete entering the Transfer Portal;
  • Establish June 15 as the date by which a student-athlete must enter the Transfer Portal to utilize the one-time transfer exception (not applicable to midyear transfers); and
  • Permit institutions to reduce or cancel an athletics aid agreement previously signed for the next academic year.

Division III

The Division III Presidents Council is supporting a proposal that would change the current “season of participation” rule to specify that only actual competition against another institution would trigger the use of a season.

  • A student-athlete would be charged with the use of a season of eligibility if the student-athlete competes at any point during the traditional season in their sport.

Please note that these rule changes are not currently planned to take effect until next June. We will be updating you and confirming the approval of these proposals when that occurs.

In the meantime, if you have questions about any of these proposals, contact us at rick@informedathlete.com or by calling 913-766-1235.

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Additional Official Visit Opportunities for NCAA Division I Sports

October 15th opens up opportunities for recruitable athletes in all NCAA Division I sports to take additional official visits to DI schools:

Up to 5 official visits can be taken prior to October 15th and 5 more official visits can occur after October 15th.

Athletes who qualify include:

  • Current four-year college athletes who are planning to transfer to an NCAA D1 program.
  • Athletes who have completed high school, but may have chosen to take a gap year and have delayed their college enrollment, or
  • Two-year college athletes.

HOWEVER,

  • If you are a currently enrolled two-year college student-athlete,
  • Were a Non-Qualifier for Division I (based on your high school academic performance)
  • And are in your first year as a full-time student at a two-year college,

You’re not allowed to take an official visit to a Division I university until you complete your freshman year at the two-year college.

Have Questions & Need Advice?

Schedule a confidential Recruiting Rules Consult online, send an email to rick@informedathlete.com or call our office at 913-766-1235.

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NCAA DI Recruiting Opportunities

August 1 is a very important date for certain aspects of recruiting for many NCAA Division I sports programs. Those recruiting opportunities that can begin on August 1 are listed below:

Official Visits – Can be provided August 1 by Division I programs to recruits who will be entering their junior year of high school, with the following exceptions:

  • Baseball, Softball, and Lacrosse – Sept. 1 of junior year of HS
  • Women’s Basketball and Football – April of junior year of HS

Unofficial Visits – Division I programs can be actively involved in unofficial visits for recruits who will be entering their junior year of high school starting August 1, with the following exceptions:

  • Football and Women’s Basketball – Any time, no restrictions.
  • Men’s Ice Hockey – January 1 of sophomore year of HS
  • Men’s Basketball – August 1 before sophomore year of HS
  • Baseball, Softball, and Lacrosse – Sept. 1 of junior year of HS

Off-Campus Contacts – Face-to-face interaction between Division I coaches and prospects (and/or their family) at off-campus locations permissible August 1 before their junior year with the following exceptions:

  • Men’s Basketball – Opening day of junior year of HS
  • Lacrosse and Softball – September 1 of junior year of HS
  • Women’s Basketball – March 1 of junior year of HS
  • Baseball and Football – July 1 after junior year of HS

If you have questions about the NCAA recruiting rules for your specific sport of interest, contact us at 913-766-1235 or via email to rick@informedathlete.com

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NCAA DI Recruiting Rule Changes Effective May 1, 2019

Click here to get a downloadable version of this article

The NCAA Division I Management Council recently approved following recruiting rule changes.  The NCAA DI Recruiting Rule changes are effective beginning May 1, 2019:

Recruiting Calls

In most sports, the earliest date for NCAA Division I coaches to place recruiting calls to prospects was moved up from September 1st at the start of the junior year to June 15th after the sophomore year.

The exceptions are:

  • Baseball, Softball, Lacrosse and Women’s Basketball – September 1st of junior year
  • Football – September 1st of senior year except for one call between April 15-May 31st of junior year
  • Men’s Ice Hockey – January 1st of sophomore year

Incoming Calls

NCAA DI coaches in most sports can accept incoming calls from recruits on/after June 15th after the sophomore year.

The exceptions are:

  • Lacrosse and Softball – September 1st of junior year
  • Baseball, Basketball, Football and Men’s Ice Hockey – Permissible at any time

Earliest Date for Coaches to Send Recruiting Materials to Prospects

NCAA DI Coaches are now allowed to send recruiting materials via text message, emails, etc to prospects starting June 15th after sophomore year of HS. (The previous rule for most sports was September 1st of the junior year).

The exceptions are:

  • Football, Baseball, Softball, Lacrosse and Women’s Basketball – Sept. 1st of junior year
  • Men’s Ice Hockey – January 1st of sophomore year

Off-Campus Contacts

NCAA DI Coaches in many sports can now have off-campus contacts with recruits in many sports as early as August 1st at the START of the recruit’s junior year. (The previous time frame was July 1st AFTER the junior year.)

The exceptions are:

  • Baseball and Football – July 1st following completion of junior year of HS
  • Men’s Basketball – opening day of junior year of HS
  • Women’s Basketball – March 1st of junior year of HS
  • Men’s Ice Hockey – June 15th after sophomore year of HS
  • Lacrosse and Softball – September 1st of junior year of HS

Official and Unofficial Visits

The earliest date for official and unofficial visits was moved just one month earlier for most sports – from September 1st at the start of the junior year to August 1 at the start of the junior year. This rule was changed to accommodate home football, soccer or volleyball contests that occur in August.

For Official Visits, the exceptions are:

  • Baseball, Softball and Lacrosse – September 1st of junior year
  • Women’s Basketball – Thursday after Women’s Final Four during junior year
  • Football – April 1st of junior year

For Unofficial Visits with Athletic Department Involvement, the exceptions are:

  • Baseball, Softball and Lacrosse – September 1st of junior year
  • Men’s Basketball – August 1st of sophomore year
  • Football and Women’s Basketball – No restriction on earliest date

Medical Exams During Official or Unofficial Visits:

Effective May 1, 2019: During an official or unofficial visit to a Division I campus, universities will be permitted to conduct a medical exam on a prospect to determine the prospect’s “…medical qualifications to participate in intercollegiate athletics.”

The exam must be conducted by a team physician or athletic trainer. No coaches or other athletic staff members may be present.

Prospects Involved in Tournaments or Multi-Day Events:

Effective May 1, 2019 for all sports other than basketball: Prospects involved in competition (such as in a tournament or multi-day event) can have contact with NCAA Division I coaches when competition has concluded for the day. (The previous rule prohibited contact until the tournament concluded or the prospect’s team is eliminated from competition.)

Scholarship & Financial Aid

Effective August 1, 2019: Athletes can accept up to $1000 of athletically-related outside financial aid per academic year from “…established and continuing programs to aid students.”

Examples include high school booster clubs, local sports clubs, and civic clubs providing athletic recognition.

For more information

Contact us via e-mail at rick@informedathlete.com or by calling 913-766-1235 if you have questions about these rule changes or any other changes that you might have heard or read about via social media or in your local paper (if you’re “old-school” like me!!).

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Attention High School & JUCO Transfer Athletes: Insider Secrets About Campus Visits

A recruiting coach’s job is to sell their school in the best light possible.
YOUR job as a recruit or parent of a college recruit is to have as much accurate information as possible to make a decision that is based on what is the best fit for you!

Many athletes make their choice based on incomplete or inaccurate info received during the recruiting visit and then later come to regret their decision and want to transfer.
A transfer from one university to another can be extremely stressful and also very costly if a scholarship isn’t available at the next college, and if some academic credits won’t transfer to the next university.
In almost 10 years of working with college athletes and their families as well as many years prior to that as a Division I compliance director, we’ve learned that many transfers occur because an athlete or family didn’t know what to expect, which questions to ask, or what to look for when they were making campus visits.
Our Informed Athlete’s Comprehensive Guide to Campus Visitsincludes:

  • The rules regarding official and unofficial visits for athletic recruiting
  • Walks you “behind the scenes” and gives you a real-life example of what you can expect during a campus visit
  • Includes questions to ask and things to look for when making those campus visits so you can make a more informed decision.

Click here to get your copy via email
so you can make the most of your campus visits
and make an informed decision!  

We also offer Recruiting Advisory Consult Calls where you can ask questions regarding anything related to the recruiting process, including preparing for your official and/or unofficial campus visits and reviewing what you learned during the visit, discuss any scholarship or walk-on offers that were made, etc.

As always, anything you share is held in very strict confidence!  Informed Athlete’s is only concerned with what is in the athlete’s best interest!

Give our office a call at 913-766-1235 to schedule an appointment with Rick!

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