The University of Mississippi Athletics
The NCAA And Recruiting Periods
12/8/2010 | Compliance
Dec. 8, 2010
Like farmers who have defined seasons for cultivating, fertilizing, spraying and harvesting, coaches have defined seasons in which they evaluate, contact, sign or must avoid prospective student-athletes. The NCAA develops recruiting calendars for all sports which identifies the "seasons." Like the seasons of the year, the NCAA divides recruiting seasons into four distinct periods: quiet, evaluation, contact, and dead.
Evaluation Period: An evaluation period is a time in which coaches may go off-campus to evaluate the athletic skills and academic preparedness of prospects, but may not have any off-campus personal contact with the prospect. Coaches may, however, have contact with a prospect if the prospect comes to the institution's campus. When evaluating off-campus, the coach is permitted to go to the prospect's educational institution and visit with the prospect's coach, guidance counselor, teachers, etc. As the term implies, the coach may also observe the prospect at practice or in a game. Evaluation periods may be split into several weeks scattered throughout the year.
Contact Period: A contact period is a time when coaches may have in-person contact with a prospect and his/her family on- or off-campus. The number of weeks is more limited than the evaluation period, so coaches utilize every available day to persuade young men and women that their institution is the best fit for the prospect's future. In addition to the time in which a contact may be made, there is also a limit on the number of times.
Quiet Period: A quiet period is a time when coaches are prohibited from engaging in any off-campus recruiting activities -- evaluations or contacts. However, prospects and their families may come to the institution's campus and visit with coaches. Quiet periods represent the most number of days on a recruiting calendar for sports which have defined recruiting calendars.
Dead Period: A dead period is a time when coaches may not have contact with a prospect either off- or on-campus. Dead periods represent the fewest number of days during the recruiting calendar and usually bracket the initial date (two days before and two days after) in which a prospect may sign a National Letter of Intent (NLI). This is to ensure that the prospect does not have the pressure of in-person contact while trying to decide where to sign. Other dead periods may be during a holiday or coach's convention. This is designed to give coaches some relief from recruiting. While coaches are expected to know the dates when they cannot see a prospect on campus, the prospect and his/her parents may not be aware that such a prohibition exists until they arrive on campus. Prospects and parents should call first.
Within the next few months, coaches will be able to measure the success of their recruiting efforts. Only prospects that have entered their senior year in high school (or beyond) may sign a NLI and they may only sign during specific dates. Juniors may make verbal commitments, but these are not binding on the prospect or the institution. The next and most celebrated NLI signing date is the February date for football, soccer, and track/field. The other sports have already had an "early" signing period in November (one week window only) but their regular signing period begins on April 13 and extends into the summer. Football had a brief signing period in December but it was limited to mid-year, two-year college graduates only.
Finally, alumni and friends of the institution must be aware that prospects who sign NLIs remain prospects until they have enrolled at the institution. While institutional coaches and staff may have expanded contact with prospect's who have signed, this does not apply to alumni and "representatives of the institution's athletic interests." The same recruiting ban which existed prior to the prospect signing an NLI continues to exist for alumni and boosters, i.e. no in-person, written or telephone recruiting contact! The only exception in which an alumnus may call a prospect after the prospect has signed and prior to enrollment is for the purpose of arranging summer employment.
The reason for extending the alumni/booster contact ban until the prospect enrolls is because the signee may fail to meet the NCAA eligibility requirements before enrolling. Therefore, their NLI becomes null and void, and the signee becomes eligible to be recruited all over again by all institutions. Once a prospect has enrolled as a full-time student, alumni and friends of the institution may have contact with the person who has transformed from a "prospect" into a "student-athlete."
The University appreciates the enthusiastic support our alumni and friends demonstrate at athletics events. Prospects attending athletics events on campus note how well the event is attended and how excited the fans are about the team. However, only authorized institutional coaches may engage in recruiting activities. If you know of an outstanding prospect in your area, it is permissible for you to attend the prospect's games, banquets, etc., and share your impressions of the prospect with the coaching staff, but boosters are not permitted to contact the prospect or the prospect's coach for recruiting purposes or pick up film at the high school.
Thank you for your support and cooperation in building competitive teams at Ole Miss and ensuring that we are compliant with the rules of the NCAA.
