All information was extracted from the NCAA official website at ncaa.org

NCAA recruiting criteria – Part 1

Key topic

This is part 1 of a two-part brief guide taken from the official NCAA website in order to acquaint athletes with basic information on the process of recruiting. Today we will take a look at the recruitment process and we will detail the different steps in that process. We will then examine the recruiting terms and conditions along with all their demands on behalf     of recruiter and recruited. Please note that a similar lesson will be delivered to your parents in order to assist you in this process. Navigating all the NCAA regulations, stipulations and requirements is not an easy task, and you should be really careful not to jeopardize your eligibility if you want have a chance to compete at the collegiate level.

Learning objectives

• Understand the process of NCAA recruiting Prospective Student Athletes
• Understand the different steps in the process
• Realize the importance of upholding the terms and condition

The process of recruiting

Today we will begin with a short clip about the realities of recruitment during 2021 and 2022:

How the College Recruiting Process Works: 5 Steps from a Coach

In Division-I there are 173,500 student- athletes in 346 schools; 51% of these student- athletes receive some kind of financial aid/support from the NCAA due to their involvement in sports; 81% of student-athletes manage to graduate with a degree. This is what it’s all about.

Recruiting happens when a college employee or representative invites a high school student- athlete to play sports for their college. Recruiting can occur in many ways, such as face-to- face contact, phone calls or text messaging, through mailed or emailed material or through social media. The NCAA, in support of parents and prospective student athletes’ well-being, promotes a fair recruiting environment, which was instigated to limit the intrusions into the lives of student-athletes and their families. 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.

As you will read further down, you have to concentrate on very specific and simple tasks. These, in brief, are:

1. Register with the NCAA Portal for Prospective Student Athletes (PSA)
2. Register with the Academic Eligibility Center
3. Take the right courses and college entry tests and make good grades
4. Refine and perfect your sporting skills to reach the level required for collegiate sports
5. Maintain the status of amateur athlete at all times

The actual recruitment process has several steps which also happen during pre-determined time periods. The first one has to do with scouting, which is the time during which colleges spend identifying talented players, players who can fit their program and who can make the transition both in terms of sports and academics. It is done without any contact, usually by the collection of statistics, press information, audiovisual material and so on, and usually through a network that is built between coaches of several different levels.

The second step is that of contact. 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.

The next phase of the process is the evaluation process. 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.

Once colleges and athletes have made their decisions, there are two steps in finalizing their agreement. The first step is known as a verbal commitment, which takes place from the athlete towards the college and the second step is known as the offer of a National Letter of Intent (NLI), which is basically a binding agreement offered by the college to the athlete, in order to make them commit to the college.

Additional to the contact period and the evaluation period, the NCAA has instigated two more periods in time, known as the quiet period and the dead 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.

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 their 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 they sign 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. It is understood that an athlete, who already verbally committed to one school, could at any time change their mind and verbally commit and/or sign a National Letter of Intent with another school. It should be noted that this is an uncommon occurrence, since athletes tend to be absolutely sure before committing verbally or in writing. When a student-athlete officially commits to attend a Division I or II college, they sign a National Letter of Intent, agreeing to attend that school for one academic year.

Let’s watch a short clip about the practical aspect of the recruiting process by the National Scouting Report:

The 4 Phases of the College Soccer Recruiting Process

Useful recruiting terms

We set below some of the basic terms you will come across during the recruiting process and which you need to be familiar with:

National Letter of Intent – A National Letter of Intent is signed by a college-bound student- athlete agreeing to attend a Division I or II college for one academic year. Participating colleges agree to provide financial aid for one academic year to the student-athlete as long as the student-athlete is admitted to the school and is eligible for financial aid under NCAA rules. Other forms of financial aid are not guaranteed to the student-athlete.

The National Letter of Intent is voluntary and not required for a student-athlete to receive financial aid or participate in sports. Signing a National Letter of Intent ends the recruiting process because participating schools are prohibited from recruiting student-athletes who have already signed letters with other participating schools.

A student-athlete who signs a National Letter of Intent but decides to attend another college may request a release from their contract with the school. If a student-athlete signs a National Letter of Intent with one school but attends a different school, they lose one full year of eligibility and must complete a full academic year at the new school before being eligible to compete.

Gray-shirting is a term used in the recruiting process to describe situations in which a student-athlete delays initial enrolment in a collegiate institution to the winter or spring term after the traditional academic year begins. Student-athletes who “gray-shirt” often use the fall term to take part-time classes or choose not to enroll in college at all. “Gray-shirting” is not a formal designation by the NCAA or the National Letter of Intent program. If an athlete decides to delay the initial enrolment, provided they were eligible to enrol, the National Letter of Intent remains binding. If a coach or the institution’s admission office asks an athlete to delay the enrolment whilst eligible to enrol, the institution is obliged to honor the athlete’s athletics aid, if the athlete wishes to attend the institution. Should the athlete want to attend another member institution of the National Letter of Intent program, due to the coach or institution delaying the enrolment, then the letter signed will be declared null and void.

Campus visits – Any visit to a college campus by a college-bound student-athlete or their parents, which is paid for by the college, is considered as an official visit. Visits paid for by student-athletes or their parents are considered unofficial visits. During an official visit the college can pay for transportation to and from the college for the student-athlete, lodging and three meals per day for the student-athlete and their parents or guardians, as well as reasonable entertainment expenses including three tickets to a home sports event. The only expenses a college-bound student-athlete may receive from a college during an unofficial visit are three tickets to a home sports event.

Scholarships – NCAA Divisions I and II schools provide more than $2.7 billion in athletics scholarships annually to more than 150,000 student-athletes. Division III schools do not offer athletics scholarships. Only about 2% of high school athletes are awarded athletics scholarships to compete in college.  Of the student-athletes participating in sports with professional leagues, very few become professional athletes. A college education is the most rewarding benefit of the student-athlete experience.

Full scholarships cover tuition and fees, room, board and course-related books. Most student-athletes who receive athletic scholarships receive an amount covering a portion of these costs. Many student-athletes also benefit from academic scholarships, NCAA financial aid programs such as the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund and need-based aid such as Federal Pell Grants. It should be noted that only some sports offer full-ride scholarships. These are called “head count” sports. In the NCAA, these include only football for the Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly known as Division I-A, and basketball for Division I.  For women, basketball, volleyball, tennis and gymnastics offer full scholarships.

All other sports are called “equivalency” sports, which means that the available scholarship money for each team can be divided among players. There are no restrictions on how many athletes can be on scholarship, and the allotted number of awards can be divided in whichever way the coach chooses. This includes all other Division-I sports and all NCAA Division-II sports, NAIA sports and junior colleges. Division I schools may provide student- athletes with multiyear scholarships. Additionally, Division I schools may pay for student- athletes to finish their bachelor’s or master’s degrees after they finish playing NCAA sports.

Additionally, students and parents should keep in mind that while Division-I schools may provide multiyear scholarships, some awards must be renewed each year. According to the NCAA, scholarships can be cancelled at the end of the award period, or during the period if the student-athlete becomes ineligible, commits fraud, engages in misconduct or quits the team for personal reasons. If a school plans to reduce or not renew a student-athlete’s aid, the school must notify the student-athlete in writing by July 1 and provide an opportunity to appeal. In most cases, coaches decide who receives a scholarship, the scholarship amount and whether it will be renewed.

Action steps – Exercise 1 (15 minutes)

Let’s  test  what  you  took  away  from  today’s  lesson.  Please  respond  to  the  following statements with a True or False (T/F):

1. Recruiting happens when a college employee/representative invites a high school student-athlete to play sports for their college       
2. NCAA Recruiting happens throughout the year. A school may recruit you at any point      
3. You don’t have to register with the NCAA Portal for Prospective Student Athletes (PSA) as the interested university will do that for you                              
4. It is paramount that you maintain the status of amateur athlete at all times      
5. The first step of the recruiting process is that of contact. 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      
6. Once colleges and athletes have made their decisions, there are two steps in finalizing their agreement. The first step is known as a verbal commitment and the second step is known as the offer of a National Letter of Intent             
7. Signing a National Letter of Intent ends the recruiting process because participating schools are prohibited from recruiting student-athletes who have already signed letters with other participating schools              
8. A National Letter of Intent is a binding agreement offered by the college to the athlete, in order to make them commit to the college                                    
9. Visits  to  university  campuses  paid  for by  student-athletes or  their  parents are considered official visits                                    
10. Of the student-athletes participating in sports with professional leagues, very few become professional athletes      

Answer sheet

Lesson wrap-up

Today’s lesson was about the recruiting criteria of the NCAA. Specifically, we discussed  briefly the process of recruiting, as well all some useful terms that are thrown around during the process. Moreover, we took a look at the terms and conditions of the process, explaining some of the possible pitfalls, the obligations on behalf of the parties involved and what certain concepts mean and entail. We will continue and conclude our discussion regarding the recruiting criteria in a subsequent lesson.

At this point we will wrap up today’s lesson. First, we will go over the learning objectives of this lesson and we want your feedback as to whether they have been achieved and then we will address any questions you may have. Please feel free to ask anything you’d like in relation to today’s lesson and we would love to hear how the concepts we discussed today.