Athletics Veritas is a weekly series aimed at helping higher education executives, faculty, and other stakeholders stay tuned in on trending national issues impacting college athletics, especially NCAA Division I. Athletics Veritas is created by senior DI athletic administrators around the nation.
Term-In-Ology: Recruiting Quiet Period
Athletics Veritas recently confirmed that NCAA Division I extended the universal recruiting dead period through July for all Division I sports. There have been discussions across Division I campuses, including among coaches’ associations, as to whether a brief recruiting quiet period could be inserted during this recruiting power-off.
Per NCAA rules, a quiet period is “a period of time when it is permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts only on the institution's campus. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts or evaluations may be made during the quiet period.”
Next week, Athletics Veritas will explore the growing concern among Class of 2021 prospects who will not have as many recruiting exposure opportunities this summer due to the universal recruiting dead period.
A brief quiet period this summer blanketed by local health and safety protocols might bring a level of calm to the growing recruiting anxiety. For example, if a seven-day quiet period is inserted into the universal dead period this July, Division I coaches could utilize that time to host prospects and their parents and guardians on official or unofficial visits. At the same time, quiet periods, like a standard dead period, prohibit off-campus recruiting so a one-off quiet period this July wouldn’t wholly undermine the logic behind the universal dead period due to the pandemic.
The summertime is when prospects and their parents and guardians would have more time and opportunity to travel to schools. Campus visits provide value to a prospect because they provide a chance to tour the campus, get a sense of the culture and have in-person time with the coaches and current student-athletes.
In the end, these in-person, on-campus engagements -- even with physical distancing -- enables better-informed decisions by all parties in the recruiting process. And a one-off quiet period could make that a reality.
Athletics Veritas is presented for information purposes only and should not be considered advice or counsel on NCAA compliance matters. For guidance on NCAA rules and processes, always consult your university’s athletics compliance office, conference office, and/or the NCAA.
