NCAA Prospect Communication Tips
NCAA does NOT allow college coaches to:
- Initiate or return text messages
- Call you or your parents before April 1st of your Junior year
- Visit you at your home until after Thanksgiving of your Senior year
- Send you an official scholarship offer letter before August 1st of your Senior year
- Call you between June 1st and September 1st before your Senior year (exception – a camp logistics call)
NCAA does allow college coaches to:
- Call you once a week beginning September 1st of your Senior year
- Send you unlimited regular mail and e-mail after September 1st of your Junior year
- Receive calls from you, but the coach CANNOT call you back
- Between April 15th and May 31st of your Junior year, you can be called one time by a college coach
*Important Note:
A great way of communicating with college coaches is by e-mail. Please add your e-mail account to your cell phone. This way you can leave a voicemail or e-mail message to the coach so that he can e-mail you back with the best time for you to call back.
When will I start hearing from coaches?
You won’t see any official “recruiting materials” from NCAA Division I and II schools in the mail before the summer of your junior year. And that’s because coaches at these levels can’t send specific recruiting literature until then. (Note: Division III and NAIA coaches can sent recruiting materials at any time in high school.)
But that doesn’t mean the recruiting process doesn’t start until junior year. Coaches can send you the following at any time in high school:
- Questionnaires
- Camp brochures
- General college information from the admissions department
Phone Calls
In most sports, phone calls are limited and coaches can’t start making them until after your junior year (basketball and football and major exceptions will allow some calls during your junior year). Coaches are regulated, but there’s no limit on how many calls you can make to coaches as long as those calls are at your own expense. Take advantage of this and establish communication with coaches early and often.
E-mails and Letters
Communication with coaches by e-mails or printed letters can certainly put you on their radar. Try not to send the same generic e-mail/letter to each coach. Make the correspondence specific. Mention something about the college that you like, or congratulate a coach on a big win. Personalized contact might just set you apart from others. Also, make sure you close every e-mail or letter with a professional signature. Include your name, address, e-mail, cell number, and NCSA recruiting profile link.
What about text messages?
A new rule adopted by the NCAA allows recruit/coach communications via text message only for Division I men’s basketball recruits. It’s likely that the NCAA may relax text messaging rules for other sports in the near future.
Coach Communications Guidelines
Below is a brief overview of NCAA rules for communications with college coaches.
NCAA Division I
- Coaches start sending recruiting materials on September 1st of your junior year (except in men’s basketball and men’s hockey where coaches can begin sending printed materials on June 15th after your sophomore year).
- You can call coaches any time you want but in most sports they cannot call you until you are a junior (calls can start June 15th after your sophomore year if you’re a men’s basketball recruit).
NCAA Division II
- Coaches can start mailing recruiting material, calling you, and making off-campus contact on June 15th before your junior year in high school.
NCAA Division III and NAIA
- Coaches can send printed materials and call at any time.