Term-in-ology. College athletics is not immune to industry acronyms or opaque concepts that can throw off the scent. With that in mind, Term-in-ology seeks each week to educate our readers on key NCAA definitions, terms of art, and policies and procedures encapsulating modern-day college athletics. If you are connected in any way to higher education, the business of education, or simply a college sports fan---this weekly morsel can help you decode college sports.
Recruiting Dead Period
The NCAA Division I Council Coordination Committee announced earlier this week that the universal dead period would extend to June 30. The universal dead period, which the NCAA implemented several weeks ago at the onset of the coronavirus’s spread, usurped all sports’ normal recruiting calendars. Originally, the Committee set the initial dead period through the end of April, but it has extended it on two occasions since -- through May and now through June. Late spring and summer are traditionally full of windows for Division I coaches to either evaluate and/or contact prospects depending on the sport's recruiting calendar---so the complete restriction is being felt across all Division I sports.
Per NCAA Bylaw 13, a “dead period” is a period of time when it is not permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts or evaluations on or off the institution’s campus. It remains permissible, however, for an institutional staff member to write or telephone a prospect during a dead period. Further, institutional camps involving prospect-aged individuals are prohibited during a dead period. Restricitons on hosting camps this summer will also limit evaluation opportunities for prospects attending Division I camps and hurt the coaches' pocket books in the process.
One primary exception to the NCAA dead period rule is permitting coaches to contact committed prospects who have signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) and/or the institution’s written offer of admission or financial aid or has made a financial deposit in response to the institution's offer of admission. However, the current in-person contact restrictions extend to signees, too, as COVID-19 inspired limits win the day.
One Division I sport has taken the dead period concept even further. Women’s basketball has a “recruiting shutdown” period in which no form of recruiting (e.g., contacts, evaluations, official or unofficial visits, correspondence or making or receiving phone calls) is permissible. Basically, it is a time for women’s basketball coaches and prospects to not interact in-person and put their phones down to take a complete break from the recruiting activity carousel.
The suspension of Division I in-person recruiting activities has both Division I sport programs and prospects (and their parents/guardians) increasingly concerned about the Class of 2021 prospects not receiving optimal recruiting evaluation and contact opportunities. Opportunities in the spring and summer before a prospect's high school senior year are key to inform the recruiting process and decision-making leading upto the NLI signing periods their senior year. The men’s and women’s basketball coaches’ associations are working together to find ways for alternate recruiting opportunities for their respective sports' prospects when the time and health conditions permit.
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.
