Recruiting Changes/Dates to Know

[Munson09]

Interesting Changes:

• Schools used to be able to take more than 25 signees in a class with the loophole being they could count early enrollees to the previous signing class. That loophole is no longer in effect meaning there is a hard cap at no more than 25 signees in each given class, provided a school can sign that many prospects and not go over the NCAA mandated 85-person scholarship limit.
• What happens when attrition strikes and schools fall under that 85-limit? That is when coaches have to get some added bonuses found in the transfer market. Transfers count only against the 85-limit, so they do not affect signing class numbers.

Recruiting periods and dates:

• Recruiting is now in a contact period, which means college coaches can have one-on-one contact with a recruit and his family on or away from a college campus from Nov. 26 through Dec. 16.
• On Dec. 17, a quiet period kicks in and in-person contact is allowed only on the college campus.
• The following day is the start of a dead period and it is the most stringent of all as no in-person contact can take place on or off a college campus.
• Just as it is with a quiet period, coaches can send letters, emails, text messages, direct messages through social media, and call prospective recruits. That runs from Dec. 18 through Jan. 11.
• During the dead period, recruits can visit the college campus but cannot have any in-person contact with a coach.
• Coinciding with the dead period is the first-ever early signing period for football that runs from Dec. 20-22.

• On Jan. 12, the contact period is back in play and runs all the way to Feb. 4, which is the final weekend for recruits to take official visits before National Signing Day.
• Once again, a quiet period is in effect on Feb. 4 and the final dead period before signing day starts on Feb. 5 and lasts until Feb. 8 – the day after National Signing Day.

NCAA rule on in-home visits:

• Another NCAA rule that coaches must deal with is one that has been around for several years – number of in-home visits allowed during a contact period.
• A school can make a total of six in-home visits during the contact periods to a prospective recruit. Only one visit can take place in a calendar week or partial calendar week that includes Sunday through Saturday.
• Each head coach is allowed to make only one in-home visit per prospect, but he can be accompanied by assistant coaches.
• Assistant coaches have more leeway and can use the remaining visits.
• The coaches can visit with the recruit at school then go into the home or some other venue on the same day and it counts as only one visit.

Information Found on Twitter/NCAA