New NCAA DI Recruiting Rules on Early Recruiting

The NCAA has adopted new recruiting rules for NCAA DI schools that go into effect May 1, 2019. These new rules put limits on the communication between a recruit and a college coach before the end of their sophomore year of high school. These rules are designed to stop the growth of early recruiting and give student-athletes the opportunity to make a more informed decision on their college of choice.

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What sports are impacted?

All NCAA DI sports except Football, Baseball, Softball, M/W Lacrosse and M/W Basketball.

What are the new NCAA DI rules?

  • No “communication with a coach” until June 15 of sophomore year
  • No Officialor Unofficial visits until August 1 of junior year
  • No “Recruiting Conversations” or Verbal Offers until June 15 of sophomore year

What is considered “communication with a coach?”

The new rules prevent any communication between a student-athlete or parent/guardian and a DI college coach before June 15 of sophomore year. “Communication with a coach” includes any phone, text and/or email conversations between a student-athlete or parent/guardian and a DI college coach.

Previously, coaches were prohibited from initiating contact with a recruit. However, if an athlete called a coach, the coach could pick up the phone. That is no longer allowed. There is zero off-campus communication allowed between a coach and a recruit before June 15 of an athlete’s sophomore year.

What are “Recruiting Conversations?”

College coaches are restricted from making verbal offers to an athlete before June 15 of sophomore year. Coaches are not allowed to have any kind of recruiting conversation with a student-athlete or parent/guardian. They can’t make a verbal offer, hint at a scholarship or help with admissions or other forms of financial aid.

These conversations are also not allowed between college coaches and an athlete’s high school or club coach. Moving forward, college coaches will be allowed to discuss freshman or sophomore recruits with club and high school coaches, but those conversations are limited to whether the coach is interested in recruiting them. College coaches cannot make unofficial offers or discuss support in admissions or any other form of financial aid with a club or high school coach.

Why did the rules change?

These rules are part of a continued focus from the NCAA to curb early recruiting. These specific changes were made in an effort to give student-athletes a similar timeline to non-student-athletes during the process of identifying and evaluating potential colleges.

When do I need to start the recruiting process?

Despite NCAA rules, the recruiting process does not start when coaches can begin contacting recruits. Taking the right classes, making sure you have film (for most sports) and researching the schools are all things you should be doing well before you start “communicating with a coach.”

As we see on NCSA’s platform every day, college coaches begin looking at athletes as early as freshman year. Even if coaches can’t contact these recruits, they are going to look at their videos and grades and potentially reach out to their coaches to make sure the student-athlete is one they want to recruit. While the NCAA rules suggest the recruiting process starts later, there are several things an athlete can do to be proactive and get a head start.

How will these rules impact me?

The impact of the new rules on you depends on your sport and what the previous recruiting rules entailed. In sports like track & field, swimming and wrestling, where the majority of recruiting was already happening junior year and later, these changes will actually speed up the recruiting process. According to the NCAA’s own research, over 80% of the student-athletes in these sports didn’t even get a verbal offer until senior year. In sports like soccer and volleyball, where early recruiting is more common, the impact will be harder to predict. While direct conversations about recruiting are now prohibited, it is unlikely that recruiting will stop altogether.

Here is a breakdown of how these changes will impact each sport (numbers quoted from NCAA research):

  • Baseball – Baseball was not included in the rule change. As a result, there is no expected change in the recruiting timeline.
  • M Basketball – Men’s Basketball was not included in the rule change. As a result, there is no expected change in the recruiting timeline.
  • W Basketball– Women’s Basketball was not included in the rule change. As a result, there is no expected change in the recruiting timeline.
  • Field Hockey– Field Hockey recruiting was already happening very early in high school, with 70% of student-athletes reporting their first recruiting contact sophomore year or earlier. While direct recruiting and early offers will stop, coaches will still be looking for ways to evaluate student-athletes and make their interest known.
  • Football – Football was not included in the rule change. As a result, there is no expected change in the recruiting timeline.
  • M Golf– 62% of Men’s Golf recruiting contact started sophomore/junior year of high school. It is unlikely there will be a major change to the recruiting timeline moving forward.
  • W Golf– 61% of Women’s Golf recruiting contact started junior year or later. It is likely these rules will increase the timeline for recruiting.
  • M Ice Hockey– see details below
  • W Ice Hockey– There is very little data on early recruiting in Women’s Ice Hockey. That said, it traditionally begins later in high school. It is likely these rules will increase the timeline for recruiting.
  • M Lacrosse– Men’s Lacrosse was not included in the rule change. As a result, there is no expected change in the recruiting timeline.
  • W Lacrosse– Women’s Lacrosse was not included in the rule change. As a result, there is no expected change in the recruiting timeline.
  • M Rowing– There is very little data on early recruiting in Men’s Rowing. That said, it traditionally begins later in high school. It is likely these rules will increase the timeline for recruiting.
  • W Rowing– 88% of Women’s Rowers report their first recruiting contact junior year or later. It is likely these rules will increase the timeline for recruiting.
  • M Soccer– 76% of Men’s Soccer recruiting conversations start sophomore or junior year. The recruiting process will increase the recruiting timeline.
  • W Soccer– Women’s Soccer recruiting starts very early, with 78% of student-athletes reporting their first recruiting contact sophomore year or earlier. While direct recruiting and early offers will stop, coaches will still be looking for ways to evaluate student-athletes and make their interest known.
  • Softball– Softball was not included in the rule change. As a result, there is no expected change in the recruiting timeline.
  • M Swimming– 85% of Men’s Swimmers reported their first recruiting contact junior year or later. These new rules are going to speed up the recruiting process.
  • W Swimming– 81% of Women’s Swimmers reported their first recruiting contact junior year or later. These new rules are going to speed up the recruiting process.
  • M Tennis– 76% of Men’s Tennis players reported their first recruiting contact junior year or later. These new rules are going to speed up the recruiting process.
  • W Tennis– 68% of Women’s Tennis players reported their first recruiting contact junior year or later. These new rules are going to speed up the recruiting process.
  • M Track– 82% of Men’s Track and Field athletes reported their first recruiting contact junior year or later, with 39% not receiving contact until senior year. These new recruiting rules will significantly speed up the recruiting timeline.
  • W Track– 82% of Women’s Track and Field athletes reported their first recruiting contact junior year or later, with a full 37% not receiving contact until senior year. These new recruiting rules will significantly speed up the recruiting timeline.
  • W Volleyball– 70% of Women’s Volleyball players reported their first recruiting contact before junior year. While direct recruiting and early offers will stop, coaches will still be looking for ways to evaluate student-athletes and make their interest known.
  • M Volleyball– There is very little data on early recruiting in Men’s Volleyball. That said, it traditionally begins later in high school. It is likely these rules will increase the timeline for recruiting.
  • M Water Polo– There is very little data on early recruiting in Men’s Water Polo. That said, it traditionally begins later in high school. It is likely these rules will increase the timeline for recruiting.
  • W Water Polo– 81% of Women’s Water Polo players reported their first recruiting contact junior year or later. These new recruiting rules will significantly increase the recruiting timeline.
  • M Wrestling– 72% of Men’s Wrestlers report their first recruiting contact junior year or later. These new recruiting rules will increase the recruiting timeline.
  • W Wrestling– Women’s Wrestling is not currently governed by the NCAA and isn’t impacted by these changes.
  • Esports– Esports is not currently governed by the NCAA and isn’t impacted by these changes.

What if I have verbally committed before my junior year?

For prospects who have already been in touch with DI coaches, those communications will have to stop until June 15 of the prospect’s sophomore year. If you were fortunate enough to have been offered a scholarship and made a verbal commitment, you will no longer be able to discuss that offer with the coach. As always, verbal offers are always unofficial until the beginning of the signing period.

Do the new rules impact how college coaches can use NCSA?

No. College coaches across all division levels will continue to use NCSA to identify prospects and add them to their recruiting class, even before the new NCAA rules allow them to send emails or make phone calls.

In fact, for underage athletes, our Coach Activity Report is going to be incredibly helpful. This feature alerts recruits and their club or high school coach when a college coach has shown interest in their recruiting information. Athletes can use this report to find out which programs are interested in them before a coach can call or email you. At the very least, you need to build and your online recruiting profile and keep it updated. This way, college coaches can evaluate you as a recruit before they are able to initiate contact.

For more information about how NCSA can help your recruiting efforts, call our team of recruiting experts at 866-495-5172.

Why didn’t all sports get new rules?

All NCAA DI sports have updated their rules in the last few years. The sports that were left out of this update (Football, M/W Basketball, Softball, M/W Lacrosse and Baseball) didn’t want to change their rules again. Softball and M/W Lacrosse updated their recruiting rules in previous years and have more restrictive rules against early recruiting. Baseball plans on updating their rules in 2020.

What about other division levels?

The new rules will not directly impact the recruiting timeline at the NCAA DII, DIII, NAIA or Junior College levels. That said, the recruiting behavior at the DI level has a big impact on other division levels. As the recruiting classes fill up at the DI level, coaches at the DII, DIII and NAIA levels look to get commitments soon after. For sports that already had early recruiting, don’t expect much to change. But for sports that traditionally recruit during junior and senior year, expect the recruiting process to speed up.

New rules for Men’s Ice Hockey

Men’s Ice Hockey adopted different recruiting rules to allow slightly earlier contact between recruits and college coaches. The different rules recognize the unique opportunities for top prospects to potentially go pro out of high school. Here’s what’s new for Men’s Ice Hockey:

  • No “communication with a coach” until January 1 of sophomore year
  • No unofficial visits until January 1 of sophomore year
  • No official visits until August 1 of junior year
  • No “Recruiting Conversations,” Verbal Offers or off-campus contact until August 1 of junior year