Recruiting 101

NCAA Recruiting Updates: Division I Dead Period Extended to June 30th

May 13, 2020 

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NCAA DI Dead Period Extended to June 30th

On May 13th the NCAA Division I Council Coordination Committee has released updates regarding COVID-19 and how it will affect the recruiting process. Emergency legislation was passed to extend the recruiting dead period (as defined in NCAA Bylaw 13.02.5.5) to June 30th. This means that there is no in-person recruiting between college coaches and prospective student-athletes until that date. The Committee has agreed to review the status of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it pertains to the dead period again on May 27th, 2020.

This comes after yesterday, the National Association of Basketball Coaches and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association recommended the dead period be extended through the summer. When asked about the extension of the dead period, the president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, Jamie Dixon stated:

I would be surprised if there wasn’t something gained from these adjustments and becomes something of the future recruiting-wise.

We’re going to do the best job we can to come up with good opportunities and they may end up being better than what we had.

Jamie Dixon, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

As Dixon alluded to, coaches will have to get creative about their recruiting practices during this time.

The NCAA Division II Approved a Quiet Period from June 1-30

To follow the NCAA Division I announcement, NCAA Division II Administrative Committee approved a quiet period extending from June 1st to June 30th. The Committee released a statement that in this quiet period, “it will be permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts with prospective student-athletes only on the member institution’s campus, subject to applicable public health guidelines and institutional and conference decision”. They also stated that there will be “no in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts or evaluations may be made”. It will be important that during this quiet period for prospective student-athletes to reach out to Division II college coaches they are communicating with to make decisions about on-campus visits.

The NJCAA Will Lift In-Person Recruiting Ban on May 15th

On May 11th, the NJCAA announced that effective 11:59 PMS local time on Friday, May 15th they will lift the in-person recruiting ban. The NJCAA is leaving it up to individual regions to implement rules as necessary in accordance with state and local rulings as well as leaving any additional decisions up to the colleges themselves.

What about NCAA Division III, NAIA?

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, there has not been any explicit communication about recruiting for NCAA Division III but we have seen many Division III following similar protocol to Division I and Division II as advised by their athletic department. The NCAA DIII NESCAC Conference has stated on April 9th that they will prohibit all in-person recruiting through June 15th.

The NAIA has not come out with a statement regarding recruiting but coaches are will likely follow suit with the NCAA Division III in terms of letting schools and conferences make decisions about in-person recruiting.

What is a Dead Period?

A dead period is when there is no in-person face to face contact between student-athletes and college coaches. During this time it is not permissible to allow official or unofficial visits by prospective student-athletes to the institution’s campus. However, what is most important is that they are still able to contact recruits by phone and email during this period. This includes any form of video calls, including Facetime, Skype, Zoom etc.