NCAA Position
The recruiting process must balance the interests of prospective student-athletes and the Association’s member institutions. The NCAA recruiting bylaw is designed to promote equity among member schools in the recruitment of prospective student-athletes and to shield the recruited individuals from undue pressures that may interfere with their scholastic or athletics interests.
Resources
NCAA News: DI Legislative Council backs football signing limit
Read the article »
NCAA News: Cabinet to review Division I Recruiting model
Read the article »
Champion Magazine: Recruiting cabinet supports unlimited phone calls
Read the article »
NCAA Recruiting Chart: Graphic explains the recruiting process for each division and for specific sports. The sports are coordinated in conjunction with the specific dates that contact is allowed and the specific type of contact.
Download the PDF »
Football recruiting
Division I Football Bowl Subdivision teams are allowed 85 student-athletes on full scholarships and Football Championship Subdivision teams are allowed 63 scholarship equivalencies, which means the numbers of prospective football student-athletes being recruited annually far exceeds any other sport. The competition for talent can be intense.
Recruiting rules can be complicated. Rules closely govern factors such as when (and how many) official visits can occur, which personnel can recruit off-campus, and how (and when) coaches may communicate with potential recruits.
Division I recently addressed a concern involving the practice of oversigning. Programs were signing many more than the 25 prospective student-athletes they are allowed to carry on scholarships for the entering class. The oversigning was done in anticipation that some of the recruits would not qualify academically or would drop out for another other reason. Because the rules limit the number of student-athletes on scholarship, current or prospective student-athletes could find their scholarships were no longer available.
In January, the Division I Legislative Council approved legislation for Football Bowl Subdivision programs to specify an annual limit of 28 on the number of prospective student-athletes who may sign a National Letter of Intent or an institutional offer of financial aid from the initial signing date of the regular signing period of the National Letter of Intent through May 31. The legislation encourages institutional personnel to discuss academic and admission qualifications of each prospective student-athlete (rather than simply athletics ability) before sending the prospective student-athlete a National Letter of Intent or a written offer of financial aid. The legislation also reduces the number of signed prospective student-athletes signed who are unlikely to meet NCAA academic-eligibility requirements.
