ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Below are additional resources provided by Wisconsin Blaze to help you and your athlete along their journey! Please take the time to go through each step and learn more about the NCAA Calendar (recruitment periods), NCAA NLIs, the NAIA, and more!

The NCAA defines recruiting as "any solicitation of prospective student-athletes (PSA) or their parents by an institutional staff member or by a representative of the institution's athletics interest, for the purpose of securing a PSA enrollment and ultimate participation in the institutional intercollegiate athletics program.

Recruiting Calendars: NCAA member schools limit recruiting to certain periods during the year. Recruiting calendars (see the updated link below) promote the well-being of college-bound student-athletes and ensure fairness among schools by defining certain periods during the year in which recruiting may or may not occur in a particular sport.

Recruiting Periods: Recruiting periods consist of contact, evaluation, quiet, and dead periods. These vary between sports and by division. You can find more information on recruiting periods here (here to to underlined with link) as well as the difference in recruiting at each level.

NCAA RECRUITING CALENDAR

https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2018/5/8/division-i-and-ii-recruiting-calendars.aspx

NCAA Eligibility Center

https://web3.ncaa.org/ecwr3/

If you want to compete in NCAA sports, you need to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center. Plan to register before starting your freshman year of high school (or year nine of secondary school). All potential NCAA student-athletes need to go through the eligibility center. Best practices are to do so your freshman year of high school.

Familiarize yourself with the following NCAA Recruiting Terminologies

The NCAA supports student-athlete well-being by promoting a fair recruiting environment that limits intrusions into the lives of student-athletes and their families.

Recruiting happens when a college employee or representative invites a high school student-athlete to play sports for their college. Recruiting can occur in many ways, such as face-to-face contact, phone calls or text messaging, through mailed or emailed material or through social media.

RECRUITING TERMS

A CONTACT happens any time a college coach says more than hello during a face-to-face meeting with a college-bound student-athlete or his or her parents off the college’s campus. This can happen at any of your sporting events, but not before or during the event. Contact can only be made after the game/match and after your coach releases you for the day.

AN EVALUATION happens when a college coach observes a student-athlete practicing or competing.

A VERBAL COMMITMENT happens when a college-bound student-athlete verbally agrees to play sports for a college before he or she signs or is eligible to sign a National Letter of Intent. The commitment is not binding on the student-athlete or the school and can be made at any time. When a student-athlete officially commits to attend a Division I or II college, he or she signs a National Letter of Intent, agreeing to attend that school for one academic year. Division III does have a National Letter of Intent, but does have a Celebratory Letter of Intent and is bound by the deposit of the student-athlete to the institution.

CAMPUS VISITS

Any visit to a college campus by a college-bound student-athlete or his or her parents paid for by the college is an official visit. Visits paid for by student-athletes or their parents are considered unofficial visits. During an official visit the college can pay for transportation to and from the college for the student-athlete, lodging and three meals per day for the student-athlete and his or her parents or guardians, as well as reasonable entertainment expenses including three tickets to a home sports event. The only expenses a college-bound student-athlete may receive from a college during an unofficial visit are three tickets to a home sports event and one on-campus meal.

NATIONAL LETTER OF INTENT

A National Letter of Intent is signed by a college-bound student-athlete agreeing to attend a Division I or II college for one academic year. Participating colleges agree to provide financial aid for one academic year to the student-athlete as long as the student-athlete is admitted to the school and is eligible for financial aid under NCAA rules. Other forms of financial aid do not guarantee the student-athlete financial aid. The National Letter of Intent is voluntary and not required for a student-athlete to receive financial aid or participate in sports. Signing a National Letter of Intent ends the recruiting process because participating schools are prohibited from recruiting student-athletes who have already signed letters with other participating schools. Learn more about the National Letter of Intent.

A student-athlete who signs a National Letter of Intent but decides to attend another college may request a release from his or her contract with the school. If a student-athlete signs a National Letter of Intent with one school but attends a different school, he or she loses one full year of eligibility and must complete a full academic year at the new school before being eligible to compete.

Learn more about the National Letter of Intent

DIVISION III CELEBRATORY SIGNING FORM

Division III institutions are permitted to use a standard, NCAA provided, non-binding celebratory signing form. A college-bound student-athlete is permitted to sign the celebratory signing form at any point, including high school signing events, after the student-athlete has been accepted to the institution. Institutions should keep in mind, however, that they are not permitted to publicize a student-athlete’s commitment to the institution until the student-athlete has submitted a financial deposit (Bylaw 13.10.7).

To access the Division III celebratory signing form, Division III coaches and administrators can use the “My Apps” link on ncaa.org to navigate to LSDBi. Log in to LSDBi by clicking the “login” tab at the top of the screen and entering your single source sign on information. Once logged in, select the “resources” tab. Once on the “resources” tab, the celebratory signing form can be found under the “compliance” heading.

WHY CHOOSE THE NAIA?

The NAIA is a governing body of over 250 small athletic programs that are dedicated to character-driven intercollegiate athletics. NAIA members provide more than 77,000 student-athletes with opportunities to play college sports, earn $800 million in scholarships and compete in 28 national championships.

In the NAIA, the rules for recruiting are very different from other associations. Being able to develop personal relationships is a hallmark of the NAIA and part of the philosophy behind NAIA recruiting rules. NAIA recruiting rules don’t restrict when or how often the student and college coaches can communicate. This way, students can fully explore what NAIA schools have to offer them both athletically and academically.

The NAIA has no recruiting calendar. Students and coaches can communicate year-round. There is also no limit to the number of communications or how the communication takes place. The student’s family and the coach set the terms for communicating – not the NAIA. Students are permitted two days of try-outs at each NAIA member school. The two days do not have to be consecutive, and the student may be provided lodging, meals, etc. if the same would be provided to non-athletes trying out for other programs at the school.

National Junior College Athlete Association (NJCAA)

The National Junior College Athlete Association (NJCAA) is the national governing body of two-year collegiate athletics and continues to be the leader in championing academic and athletic opportunities for student-athletes. The organization is the second-largest national intercollegiate athletic organization in the United States (second to the NCAA) with over 500 member colleges in 44 states.

Much like the NCAA, there are three divisions to the NJCAA--Division I, II, & III. Each division has different experiences and financial opportunities. DI can have athletic scholarships; DII may have partial scholarship or provide housing; D3 has more limited financial opportunities through athletics but can provide through the institution.

Each year nearly 70,000 student-athletes compete in one of 28 different sports with the organization sponsoring 53 national championship events plus sanctioned football bowl games.

To learn more, visit: The NJAA Experience https://www.njcaa.org/compete/index

CCCA: California Community College Association

The California Community College Association is a separate organization from the NJCAA. It hosts its own athletic opportunities and championships at the Junior college and Community College level. The California Community College Athletic Association is an integral part of California's extensive community college system. As authorized by the State Legislature, the Education Code provides the CCCAA the opportunity and authority to establish the rules and regulations to administer the intercollegiate athletic activities of the nearly 24,000 men and women student-athletes in the state.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

RECRUITING TERMS

CAMPUS VISITS

NATIONAL LETTER OF INTENT

DIVISION III CELEBRATORY SIGNING FORM

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