Football: NCAA Rules of Athlete Recruitment
INTRODUCTION
Excelling at football to the point where you can get recruited to an NCAA football team is a surefire way to leapfrog over thousands of other applicants to highly selective colleges, provided you have the grades.
In the following article we lay out the rules and calendars for Division 1, Division 2, and Division 3 colleges so that prospective recruits know when they should be getting contacted by NCAA coaches and when they can conduct visits, both official and unofficial, as well as when they will be evaluated. When you start these conversations with coaches and when you can speak in-person on and off-campus with the head coaches of NCAA football teams is determined by a recruiting calendar, which will be explained in detail below.
From when you first reach out to the head coaches, to periodically reporting your progress, to speaking with the head coaches during unofficial campus visits, to then official campus visits, all communications with Division I head coaches fall under precise rules set by the NCAA and a recruitment calendar.
For Division 1 colleges, football coaches can begin all types of digital communication with recruits in their junior year of high school starting September 1. This includes texting, emails and social media messaging. Football coaches may also send recruiting materials to recruits.
For Division 2 colleges, football coaches may start contacting recruits after their sophomore year through digital means, in-person or off-campus, and sending them recruiting materials.
Division 3 colleges are generally left to their own devices when creating rules and schedules, with the only exception being that coaches cannot initiate contact with recruits until after the end of their sophomore year of high school.
What is the Value of Knowing the NCAA Football Rules and Calendar for Athlete Recruitment?
As football is an extremely competitive collegiate sport, it is essential that parents and players alike are familiar with the timelines so they know when their son ought to receive a call from a recruiter, whether it be from a D1, D2, or D3 coach. You can expect that the bulk of contact will occur in junior and senior year, meaning that if a player has not yet received any messages after September 1 of their junior year, they need to up their game and intensify their efforts to be noticed by recruiters.
RECRUITING CALENDAR AND RULES
The foremost task of a prospective NCAA football athlete recruit is to get to know the rules regarding contact between an athlete and an NCAA coach and the timeline for communication. These rules include:
when you can initiate a discussion with a head coach,
when head coaches can initiate discussion with you,
where and when you can begin in-person communication with a head coach
the medium of communication (phone call, e-mail, text, in-person)
the content of the interaction (particularly, when you can speak about recruitment)
the distinction between “official” and “unofficial” visits
when are unofficial visits allowed
when are official visits allowed
when is contact disallowed during the recruitment cycle
Whenever a coach says more than “Hello” to the athlete or his/her parents during a face-to-face interaction off-campus, a “contact” is made, according to the NCAA. The rules surrounding contact are very rigid. Many Division 1 NCAA coaches approach cautiously and will absolutely not interact with parents or players at games beyond a simple “hello” until between the player’s junior and senior year.
The rules and calendar vary between Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3 colleges, so please pay careful attention to which Division a college that you are interested in belongs.
Division 1 Football Athlete Recruitment Rules and Calendar
Freshman and Sophomore Year
An athlete may receive recruitment surveys, camp brochures and non-sports institutional publications from Division 1 coaches during freshman and sophomore year.
An athlete may make calls out to the coach and his staff at his expense, but may not receive calls from coaches yet.
Junior Year
September 1: All forms of private communication, including emails, texts and social media messages, are allowed from coaches.
April 1: Athletes are permitted to make formal campus visits with two family members on this date through the Sunday prior to the last Wednesday in June. A total of five official visits can be taken during high school, and an athlete may take another official visit after September 1 in their senior year.
Phone calls: Athletes in their junior year may receive one phone call per coach in the interval between April 15 and May 31.
Senior Year
July 1 prior to senior year: Coaches can reach out to athletes off-campus during only contact periods.
August: Athletes may conduct an official visit some time in this month. Remember that an athlete may take up to five official visits during the entirety of high school.
September 1: Coaches are permitted to call athletes once per week and as often as they like during contact periods.
September 1: Athletes are permitted to make official campus visits starting on this date.
Evaluations: Coaches are able to evaluate a recruit once during the fall evaluation period from September to November, and take up to 42 evaluation days. Then, in the spring evaluation period (Apr. 15 - May 31) coaches can take up to 168 evaluation days to evaluate a recruit two times.
Recruitment Calendar
At the Division 1 and Division 2 levels, various types of contact with college coaches are permitted at specific periods. Figure out what type of contact you can expect based on your age and the season by placing the NCAA Division 1 recruiting calendar for 2022-2023 and the NCAA Division 2 recruiting calendar for 2022-2023 on top of the recruiting rules.
Please note that there are exceptions in these calendar where multiple periods overlap. For instance, in the Div. 1 FBS calendar, a quiet period overlaps with the Aug. 1-31, 2022 dead period. Check the calendars to know where these exceptions occur.
Dead Periods
Potential men’s football recruits must also observe the “dead periods” of the recruitment calendar.
A Dead Period is defined by the NCAA as that period of time where conducting in-person (face to face) recruiting contacts or evaluations on or off the campus are not allowed, and the colleges are not allowed to conduct official or unofficial visits for potential recruits to the campus.
Division 1 FBS Dead Periods
Aug. 1-31, 2022
Dec. 19 - Jan. 12, 2023
Jan. 30 - Feb. 28, 2023
June 27 - July 24, 2023
Division 1 FBC Dead Periods
Aug. 1-31, 2022
Dec. 19 -Jan. 12, 2023
Jan. 30 - Feb. 2023
Quiet Periods
Quiet Period: A quiet period is defined by the NCAA as that period of time when it is permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts only on the member institution’s campus. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts or evaluations may be made during the quiet period.
Division 1 FBS Quiet Periods
The 48 hours before a home game through 48 hours after the game has finished in August or on Sept. 1 or 2
Sept. 1-Nov. 26, 2022
Dec. 18, 2022
The seven days prior to the first day of classes in the second academic term (only relevant to aspiring student-athletes who plan to enroll in the middle of the academic year).
Jan. 29, for National Service Academies
Mar. 1-Apr. 14, 2023
Days in April or May that weren't chosen for evaluation opportunities.
June 1-Jul. 31, except for:
• Jul. 25-Jul. 31: Official visits not allowed for juniors (Class of 2024)
Division 1 FCS Quiet Periods
Aug. 1-Nov. 26, 2022
The 48 hours before a home game through 48 hours after the game has finished in August or on Sept. 1 or 2
Sept. 1-Nov. 26, 2022
Dec. 18, 2022 (applies to all student-athletes)
The seven days prior to the first day of classes in the second academic term (only relevant to aspiring student-athletes who plan to enroll in the middle of the academic year).
Jan. 29, 2023
Feb. 3-Apr. 14
Days in April or May that weren't chosen for evaluation opportunities.
June 1-Jul. 31, except for:
• Jul. 27-Jul. 31: Official visits not allowed for juniors (Class of 2024)
Contact Periods
Contact Period (Recruiting Period): A contact period is the time frame during which coaches may make in-person (face to face) contact with athletes and evaluate potential recruits off-campus. All periods not designated as “dead period” should be treated as contact periods.
Division 1 FBS Contact Periods
Each prospective student-athlete is allowed six in-person off-campus contacts during this time, with a maximum of one per calendar week (Sunday through Saturday) or partial calendar week
Jan. 13-28 (for junior college prospective student-athletes who intend to enroll midyear)
Division 1 FCS Contact Periods
Each prospective student-athlete is allowed six in-person off-campus contacts during this time, with a maximum of one per calendar week (Sunday through Saturday) or partial calendar week
Evaluation Periods
Evaluation Period: An evaluation period is when authorized athletics department staff members are allowed to participate in off-campus activities to evaluate potential student-athletes' academic credentials and playing skills. During an evaluation period, no face-to-face off-campus recruiting contacts may be conducted with the potential student-athlete.
Division 1 FBS Evaluation Period
42 evaluation days in September, October and November, selected at the coaches’ discretion; a coach can only visit an athlete’s high school campus one day in this entire period
168 evaluation days except for Memorial Day and Sundays selected at the discretion of the college
Division 1 FBC Evaluation Period
42 evaluation days in September, October and November, selected at the coaches’ discretion; a coach can only visit an athlete’s high school campus one day in this entire period
168 evaluation days except for Memorial Day and Sundays selected at the discretion of the college
Football Division 1 Athlete Recruitment Timeline Chart
Football Division 1 Athlete Recruitment Timeline
Division 2 Football Athlete Recruitment Rules and Calendar
Note that there are no highly selective colleges in NCAA Division 2
Freshman and Sophomore Year
At any time, a Division 2 football can conduct unofficial visits to college campuses before official contact starts between the athlete and the NCAA coach. Just like with Division 1, athletes may be given recruiting questionnaires, general camp brochures, and non-athletic recruiting publications.
Junior Year
June 15 prior to junior year: NCAA coaches are permitted to contact athletes via phone calls, texts, emails, social media direct messages and more.
Coaches can send athletes institutional publications, along with all other recruiting materials.
Athletes can begin making official campus visits, while coaches can begin meeting with recruits off-campus.
Coaches can approach a recruit's coach during contact periods at a competition, such as a football game or camp.
Evaluation: In Division 2, coaches are not limited in the number of times they can evaluate an athlete. They can chose to evaluate an athlete any time of the year provided that the game takes place within the state where the member institution is situated.
Dead Periods
Dec. 19 (7 a.m.)-Dec. 21 (7 a.m.), 2022: For all prospective student-athletes at two-year colleges who plan to enroll midyear
Jan. 9-11, 2023
Jan. 30 (7 a.m.)-Feb. 1 (7 a.m.), 2023
Quiet Periods
Jun. 1, 2022: as established by the first football game right before the athlete’s high school football season
Mar. 7-May 31, 2023
Contact Periods
For two-year college prospective athletes, the time from the end of their last college football game to November 27, 2022 is a contact period
Evaluation Periods
During the high school or two-year college football season of the prospective student-athlete (determined by the first football game immediately preceding the start of the regular season).
Nov. 1-27, 2022
Four weeks between April 15 and May 31 (excluding Memorial Day and Sundays) at the coaches’ discretion.
Coaches can evaluate a high school football all-star game any time of the year, as long as the game is in the same state as the college the coach represents.
Division 3 Football Athlete Recruitment Rules and Calendar
Freshman and Sophomore Year
There are no set Division 3 recruiting calendars - NCAA Division 3 college coaches are not restricted from recruiting during dead periods, contact times, or silent periods. All recruiting material, phone calls, digital correspondence and unofficial visits are permitted starting sophomore year.
Off-campus contact is permitted starting sophomore year.
Junior Year
January 1: official visits are permitted
Senior Year
Official visits are permitted with one allowed for each college on the opening day of classes.
Football Division 2 & 3 Athlete Recruitment Timeline Chart
Football Division 2 & 3 Athlete Recruitment Timeline