On April 19th, the NCAA passed major recruiting legislation that has altered the DI recruiting calendar for several major sports. Here we discuss everything you need to know about the new legislation, how it will affect your recruiting process, and what you should be doing moving forward.

Before you continue: This legislation applies to all sports EXCEPT football,  men’s and women’s lacrosse, softball, baseball, and men’s and women’s basketball.  Men’s Ice Hockey has adopted different legislation.

Additionally, this legislation applies to the Division I level ONLY.

Watch the webinar to learn

  • Who this legislation applies to
  • What was passed
  • When this legislation will go into effect
  • How this will affect your process
  • How SportsRecruits can help in your process

 

Q&A

What was passed?

The new NCAA legislation has altered the DI recruiting calendars for all sports EXCEPT football, lacrosse, softball, baseball, and basketball. Below are the new changes for those sports’ (excluding men’s ice hockey) recruiting calendars:

  • June 15th Entering Junior Year- Allowable date for college coaches to initiate or engage in recruiting-related discussions with prospective student-athletes (Formerly September 1st)
  • August 1st Entering Junior Year – Allowable date for unofficial/official visits (Formerly September 1st)

In addition to the changes in the recruiting calendar,  this new legislation prohibits college coaches from using third party individuals (club/high school coaches) to circumvent the rules and pass along messages to a prospective student-athlete. It also prohibits phone calls between prospect student-athletes and college coaches before June 15th of their Junior Year.

Men’s Ice Hockey  – what was passed?

Men’s Ice Hockey has passed similar legislation as stated above, however, the dates of communication are different. Below are the new recruiting calendar changes for Men’s Ice Hockey.

  • January 1st Entering Sophomore Year- Allowable date for college coaches to initiate or engage in recruiting-related discussions with prospective student-athletes (Formerly September 1st)
  • August 1st Entering Junior Year – Allowable date for unofficial/official visits (Formerly September 1st)

Similar to the legislation above, this new legislation prohibits college coaches from using third-party individuals (club/high school coaches) to circumvent the rules and pass along messages to a prospective student-athlete. It also prohibits phone calls between prospect student-athletes and college coaches before June 15th of their Junior Year.

 

How will this affect your process?

College coaches will not be able to talk to prospective student-athletes until June 15th of their Junior Year. Prospective student-athletes will not be able to call college coaches and have recruiting related conversations until July 15th of their Junior Year. And finally, college coaches will not be able to contact your club coach, high school coach, etc, to discuss a prospective student-athlete’s recruiting process. With these new rules, student-athletes may feel their process will slow down – and that is the point! This legislation was passed in order to slow down the recruiting process and give prospective student-athletes the time to explore schools, feel out coaching styles, build relationships with coaches, etc. before being pressured into making a decision.

 

What if I didn’t get a call from a coach?

If you didn’t receive a call from a coach on this June 15th date, and you haven’t been reaching out to coaches, now would be a good time to start.  HERE is a great template for an introductory message to a coach.

If you have  been proactive in reaching out to college coaches prior to June 15th, it may be time to reconsider that school as an option moving forward.   If you were only looking at top tier Division 1 schools up until this point and haven’t received any feedback, now would be the time to have an open mind and consider Division II or Division III programs as well! Remember, finding the right fit for a college should not only be about what type of fit it is athletically. Consider how these schools fit academically, geographically, socially, and financially! All of these factors should be considered when building your target list of schools. If you have a dream school that you are not ready to give up on just yet, that’s okay. Just make sure you are casting a wide net and having a good balance of fit, reach, and safety schools.

 

How should I stay on a Coach’s Radar?

The best way to stay on a coach’s radar would be by contacting them with any new information you have about yourself.  It’s very important that these messages you send are personalized, as coaches do NOT enjoy being on email blast messages.  Also, make sure you are contacting coaches for good reason; There needs to be a point for why you are reaching out to them, so don’t just check in and see how the weather has been on their campus.  Some great updates that you can offer a coach are:

  • New Video available- Highlight Reel or Full game are both great!
  • Academic Update- New Transcript, SAT or ACT scores, etc.
  • Upcoming events that you will be participating in.  Find out if they’re attending!
  • Ask them if they have any prospect days or showcases coming up on campus.

 

How can SportsRecruits help me connect with College Coaches?

SportsRecruits provides a variety of tools that will help with researching schools, connecting with college coaches, and providing transparency.

  • School Search Tool: With the SportsRecruits school search tool you are able to search for schools based on specific criteria that fit your needs. You are able to search for schools based on location, academics, and athletics. When building your target list of schools it is important to make sure you are not just thinking about the athletic fit, but also the academic fit, social fit, geographic fit, and financial fit. With this new legislation, prospective student-athletes now have the time to make sure that their target list of schools is the right fit!
  • Messaging System: The SportsRecruits built-in messaging system makes messaging college coaches seamless. With every college coaches email address in our database, it makes it easy for you message a coaching staff in just a few minutes. Communication is one of the most important aspects of your recruiting process, therefore it is important to be proactive and message college coaches to introduce yourself, provide them with your event schedule, and update them on any academic or athletic accolades.
  • Providing Transparency: When messaging college coaches through the SportsRecruits Messaging System, there is an embedded link at the bottom of every one of your messages. When a college coach clicks this link they will be taken directly to your SportsRecruit Profile.  You will be alerted whenever a college coaches goes to your SportsRecruits Profile, watches video, or opens your transcript. With this new legislation, it will be harder for you to know which college coaches are interested in you as a prospective student-athlete, however, with this feature, SportsRecruits will provide you insight on which college coaches are taking the time to learn more about you as a prospective student-athlete.

 

Where can I tune into more webinars?

Feel free to check out our brand new Webinar Page to view previous webinars or register for upcoming sessions! You can also explore our blog or YouTube Channel for more recruiting resources.