As a football player, you study tape, build camaraderie with your teammates, lift weights to build strength, perfect your skills and it’s all to prepare to be the best on game day. It’s a process. Recruitment is similar. Everyday you work towards reaching the goal of a roster spot on a collegiate football program. It starts with putting together a game plan.
The NCAA football recruiting rules and calendar outline when and how college coaches can reach out to athletes. These rules are in place to protect elite athletes from getting overwhelming amounts of contact from college coaches. Families can use the NCAA football recruiting rules and NCAA football recruiting calendar to make sure they’re on track in their recruiting. For example, if it’s September 1 of the athlete’s junior year of high school, they can receive emails, texts and DMs from D1, D2, D3 and NAIA coaches. If they haven’t heard from any coaches at this point, they know you have some work to do to get on their radar! The recruiting calendar is also a good way for athletes and their coaches to organize their recruiting efforts for the year. For example, if an athlete is a senior in high school during a contact period, they should arrange campus visits and maximize coach contact during this time. Class of 2023 NCAA FBS Recruiting Calendar Dates
November 28, 2022, through December 17, 2022, is a Contact Period except for the bulleted dates listed below: Six (6) in-person, off-campus contacts per prospective student-athlete shall be permitted during this time period, with not more than one permitted in any one calendar week (Sunday through Saturday) or partial calendar week.
Class of 2024 Recruiting Begins
One hundred sixty-eight evaluation days [216 for U.S. service academies excluding Memorial Day and Sundays selected at the discretion of the member institution as provided below: An authorized off-campus recruiter may use one evaluation to assess the prospective student-athlete’s athletics ability and one evaluation to assess the prospective student-athlete’s academic qualifications during this evaluation period. If an institution’s coaching staff member conducts both an athletics and an academic evaluation of a prospective student-athlete on the same day during this evaluation period, the institution shall be charged with the use of an academics evaluation only and shall be permitted to conduct a second athletics evaluation of the prospective student-athlete on a separate day during this evaluation period. Those days in April and May not selected as an Evaluation Period are deemed a Quiet Period.
Contact Period — It’s permissible for authorized athletic department staff members to make in-person and off-campus recruiting contacts and evaluations. College coaches are allowed to visit recruits off campus (at their high school or home). Coaches can make only one visit per week to individual recruits and are permitted to make one phone call per week to a recruit during this period. Quiet Period — Recruits can visit with college coaches but only at those college campuses. Also, during the month of September, October, or November, coaches are permitted to make one in-person off-campus visit to a recruit (at their high schools or at an athletic event) (colleges are allowed a total of 42 days of evaluation time during this period). Dead Period — Coaches are not permitted to make in-person recruiting contacts or evaluations on or off-campus or permit official or unofficial visits by recruits, or make phone calls to recruits. Evaluation Period — It’s permissible for authorized athletics department staff to be involved in off-campus activities to assess academic qualifications and playing abilities. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts with a prospect are permitted during these evaluations: the college coaches are only allowed to attend athletic events and/or the prospect’s school and talk to the high school coaches and school administrators, but they are not allowed to speak to the recruit during one of these visits except to say “hello.” Colleges are allowed a total of approximately 168 days each year to conduct evaluations for all of their prospective recruits. Early Signing Period — A short period of time, in mid-December, when the NCAA allows senior high school student-athletes to sign their Letter of Intent earlier than the beginning of the National Letter of Intent Signing Day in February. WHEN CAN A COLLEGE FOOTBALL COACH START CALLING AND HOW MANY TIMES? First Permitted Phone Call to a Recruit: FBS (D1 ) football coaches can make one phone call to a prospect from April 15 through May 31st of his junior year. Additional calls to the prospect and/or to his parent/guardian or relatives may not be made until September 1st of his senior year. Beginning September 1 of a prospect’s senior year, college coaches can begin calling a recruit, but they are forbidden to call a single recruit more than once per week. Coaches can make no calls to recruits during dead periods. WHEN CAN A COLLEGE FOOTBALL COACH START SENDING LETTERS AND EMAILS? Colleges can send prospects’ non-athletic program information such as college summer camp brochures, newsletters, recruiting questionnaires, and educational information about their schools at any time. However, college coaches cannot begin sending personal correspondence to a recruit until September 1st of his junior year. WHEN CAN A PROSPECT OR PARENT/GUARDIAN CONTACT COLLEGE COACHES? Recruiting prospects and/or their parent/guardian are allowed to make phone calls or send correspondence to college coaches at any time. WHEN IS THE FIRST TIME A NCAA FOOTBALL PROGRAM CAN MAKE AN OFFICIAL SCHOLARSHIP OFFER TO A PROSPECT? NCAA schools cannot make an official offer to a prospect until June 15—after his sophomore year—or on (or anytime after) September 1 of his junior year. |
WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL RECRUITING?
WHAT MAKES A GOOD STUDENT ATHLETE PROSPECT?
WHAT COACHES WILL DO TO PROMOTE YOU AS A PROSPECT: WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PROMOTE YOURSELF AS A PROSPECT:
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