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(Current as of April 2nd, 2003) General You become a "prospective student-athlete" when you start ninth-grade classes. Before the ninth grade, you become a prospective student-athlete if a college gives you (or your relatives or friends) any financial aid or other benefits that the college does not provide to prospective students generally. You become a "recruited prospective student-athlete" at a particular college if any coach or representative of the college's athletics interests (booster or representative) approaches you (or any member of your family) about enrolling and participating in athletics at that college. Activities by coaches or boosters that cause you to become a recruited prospective student-athlete are: Providing you with an official visit; Placing more than one telephone call to you or any other member of your family; or Visiting you or any other member of your family anywhere other than the college campus. In addition to general recruiting regulations, no alumni, boosters or representatives of a college's athletics interests can be involved in your recruiting. There can be no phone calls or letters from boosters. The restriction doesn't apply to recruiting by alumni or representatives as part of a college's regular admissions program for all prospective students, including nonathletes. You (or your family) may not receive any benefit, inducement or arrangement such as cash, clothing, cars, improper expenses, transportation, gifts or loans to encourage you to sign a National Letter of Intent or attend an NCAA college. Letters from coaches, faculty members and students (but not boosters) aren't permitted until September 1 at the beginning of your junior year. Telephone Calls In Divisions I-A and I-AA football, an institution's coaches may telephone you once during the month of May of your junior year in high school and then not again until September 1 of your senior year in high school. Also, an institution's football coaches can telephone you as often as they wish during the period 48 hours before and 48 hours after 7 a.m. on the initial signing date for the National Letter of Intent and during a contact period. Outside of a contact period, a football coach may only telephone you once per week. You (or your parents) may telephone a coach at your expense as often as you wish. Coaches also may accept collect calls from you and may use a toll-free (1-800) number to receive telephone calls from you on or after July 1 after completion of your junior year. Enrolled student-athletes may not make recruiting telephone calls to you. Enrolled students (nonathletes) may telephone you as part of a college's regular admissions program directed at all prospective students. Enrolled students (including student-athletes) may receive telephone calls at your expense on or after July 1 after completion of your junior year. Contacts A college coach may contact you in person off the college campus only on or after July 1 after completion of your junior year. Any face-to-face meeting between a college coach and you or your parents, during which any of you say more than "hello" is a contact. Also, any face-to-face meeting that is prearranged or that occurs at your high school or competition or practice site is a contact, regardless of the conversation. These contacts are not permissible "bumps." Division I football coaches may contact you off the college campus six times. However, no more than one contact per week may occur during a contact period, regardless of where the contact occurs. Also, a college football coach may visit your high school (with the approval of your high-school principal) only once a week during a contact period. Evaluations An evaluation is any off-campus activity used to assess your academic qualifications or athletics ability, including a visit to your high school (during which no contact occurs) or watching you practice or compete at any site. In football there are certain periods (see recruiting calendar below) when a coach may contact you off the college campus and/or attend your practices and games to evaluate your athletics ability. In all other sports, contacts and evaluations may occur anytime except during a dead period. Official Visits You can have one expense-paid (official) visit to a particular campus beginning on the opening day of classes of your senior year. This restriction applies even if you are being recruited in more than one sport. You can’t have an official visit unless you have given the college your high-school (or college) academic transcript and a score from a PSAT, an SAT, a PACT Plus or an ACT taken on a national test date under national testing conditions. Your academic transcript may be a photocopy of your official high-school (or college) transcript. [Note: In this instance, the Division I school may use the services of the Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse to validate your credentials.] During your official visit (which may not exceed 48 hours), you may receive round-trip transportation between your home (or high school) and the campus, and you (and your parents) may receive meals, lodging and complimentary admissions to campus athletics events. A coach may only accompany you on your official visit when the transportation occurs by automobile and all transportation occurs within the 48-hour period. Meals provided to you (and/or your parents) on an official visit may be provided either on or off the institution's campus. The complimentary admissions you receive may provide you seating only in the facility's general seating area. You may not be given special seating (e.g., press box, bench area). In addition, a student host may help you (and your family) become acquainted with campus life. The host may spend $30 per day to cover all costs of entertaining you (and your parents, legal guardians or spouse); however, the money can't be used to purchase souvenirs such as T-shirts or other college mementos. Additionally, during a campus visit, the school may provide you with a student-athlete handbook. Printed Materials A Division I college that is recruiting you may provide to you only the following printed materials on or after September 1 of your junior year: Official academic, admissions and student services publications and videotapes published by the college; General correspondence, including letters and college note cards (attachments to correspondence may include materials printed on plain white paper with black ink); Game programs (a college may only give you a program on an official or unofficial visit; colleges may not mail you a program); A media guide or recruiting brochure (but not both) in each sport; Any necessary preenrollment information about orientation, conditioning, academics, practice activities, as long as you have signed a National Letter of Intent or have been accepted for enrollment; One student-athlete handbook. (A college may only give you a handbook on an official or unofficial visit. Effective August 1, 1997, a college may mail you a handbook once you've signed a National Letter of Intent or been accepted for enrollment.) One wallet-size playing schedule card in each sport. In addition, a Division I college may show you a highlight film/videotape, but may not send it to or leave it with you or your coach. Finally, a Division I college also may provide you a questionnaire, camp brochure and educational information published by the NCAA (such as this guide) at any time. 2002-03 Division I Football Recruiting Calendar August 1, 2002 - July 31, 2003 (See NCAA Bylaw 30.11.3 for Division I football calendar formula) The dates in this calendar reflect the application of Bylaw 30.11 at the time of publication of this Manual but are subject to change per Constitution 5.2.3.1 or if certain dates (e.g., National Letter of Intent signing dates) are altered. Quiet Period: (a) August 1, 2002 through November 30, 2002 [except for (1) and (2)] Evaluation Period: (1) In Division I-A football, six days during the months of September 2002, October 2002 and through the last Saturday in November 2002 selected at the discretion of the institution (an authorized off-campus recruiter may visit a particular educational institution only once during this evaluation period): Evaluation Period: (2) In Division I-AA football, 42 evaluation days (see Bylaw 13.02.6.2) during the months of September 2002, October 2002 and through the last Saturday in November 2002 (not to exceed a period of 42 calendar days) selected at the discretion of the member institution and designated in writing in the office of the director of athletics; authorized off-campus recruiters shall not visit a prospect's educational institution on more than one calendar day during this period. Contact Period: (b) December 1, 2002 through February 1, 2003 [except for (1) though (6) below] Six in-person off-campus contacts per prospective student-athlete shall be permitted during this time period with not more than one permitted in any one calendar week (Sunday through Saturday) or partial calendar week: Quiet Period: (1) December 22, 2002 (The Sunday after the third Saturday in December). Dead Period: (2) December 23, 2002 through January 1, 2003 Dead Period: (3) January 2, 2003 Quiet Period: (4) January 3, 2003 through January 5, 2003 Dead Period: (5) January 6, 2003 through January 9, 2003 Quiet Period: (6) January 10, 2003 and January 11, 2003 Additional restrictions in (1), (2) and (3) below for two-year college prospects and their educational institutions: Quiet Period: (1) December 15, 2002 Dead Period: (2) December 16, 2002 through December 19, 2002 Quiet Period: (3) December 20, 2002 Quiet Period: (c) February 2, 2003 Dead Period: (d) February 3, 2003 through February 6, 2003: Quiet Period: (e) February 7, 2003 through April 14, 2003: Evaluation Period: (f) April 15, 2003 through May 31, 2003 [except for (g) below] – Four weeks (excluding Memorial Day and Sundays) selected at the discretion of the member institution and designated in writing in the office of the director of athletics – (an authorized off-campus recruiter may use one evaluation to assess the prospect’s athletics ability and one evaluation to assess the prospect’s academic qualifications during this evaluation period.): Quiet Period: (g) Those days in April/May 2003 not designated above for evaluation opportunities: Quiet Period: (a) June 1, 2003 through July 31, 2003 Recruiting Definitions Contact period - permissible for authorized athletic department staff members to make in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts and evaluations. Dead period - not permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts or evaluations on- or off-campus or permit official or unofficial visits. Evaluation period - permissible for authorized athletics department staff to be involved in off-campus activities to assess academic qualifications and playing abililties. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts with a prospect are permitted. Quiet period - permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts only on the member institution's campus. |