If you are a prospect, parent, high school coach or travel ball coach, you will want to be aware of some upcoming changes regarding NCAA rules and policies that will take effect very soon:
Effective August 1, 2010:
Division I - Phone Calls to Recruits:
The previous rules for telephone recruiting limited coaches to one call per week to a senior prospect and the prospect’s family or legal guardians. After August 1, calls to a recruit, family or legal guardian will now be unlimited during a contact period for the following sports only:
a) Baseball
b) Softball
c) Women’s Basketball
d) Women’s Volleyball
e) Men’s & Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field
f) Men’s & Women’s lacrosse
g) Men’s Basketball*
Outside of a contact period, recruiting phone calls with high school seniors in these sports will continue to be limited to one call per week, except for men’s basketball.
*Outside of a contact period, men’s basketball will continue to be governed by their rule allowing two calls per week to a senior prospect.
Division I - Written Offer of an Athletic Scholarship:
Prior to August 1 in any given year, preceding a prospect’s senior year of high school, institutions will NOT be allowed to provide prospects with a written offer of an athletic scholarship or to indicate in writing to a prospect that an athletic scholarship will be offered.
Some schools and sports have received commitments from juniors and even sophomores by indicating in writing that they will be offered an athletic scholarship when the signing period occurs in their senior year. These written offers are not legally binding and the schools did not have to honor them if the athlete became injured or if the coaches simply decided that they preferred another player. The new rule will not stop coaches from making verbal offers of aid, but at least the practice of providing preliminary written offers will be restricted.
Division I - Printed Media Guides:
After August 1, schools will be able to provide a media guide to a recruit in a digital format only, such as on a compact disc or on a flash drive.
Division I coaches will no longer be permitted to provide printed media guides (which often doubled as recruiting guides) to prospects. Schools will even be prohibited from leaving printed media guides in public areas where they would be available to prospects, such as in an office waiting area or at the ticket office windows.
Effective September 1, 2010:
Division I & II - Changes to NCAA Eligibility Center Fees
If you have not yet registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center you may want to register soon and save a few dollars. Effective September 1, the Eligibility Center will be increasing its registration fee from $60 to $65 for prospects in the U.S. The fee for international prospects will be increasing from $85 to $95.
If you have questions about these changes or would like assistance in navigating NCAA recruiting, eligibility or financial aid rules, contact Rick Allen at 918-994-7271 or at rick@informedathlete.com. You can also subscribe to the Informed Athlete monthly newsletter at www.informedathlete.com, or join the Informed Athlete Facebook fan page.