NCAA Regulation - September 1st

[PLCSara]

13.4.1 Recruiting Materials

In sports other than men's basketball and men's ice hockey, a member institution may not provide recruiting materials, including general correspondence related to athletics, to a prospective student-athlete (or the prospective student-athlete's parents or legal guardians) until September 1 at the beginning of the prospective student-athlete's junior year in high school. In men's basketball and men's ice hockey, an institution shall not provide recruiting materials, including general correspondence related to athletics, to a prospective student-athlete (or prospective student-athlete's parents or legal guardians) until June 15 at the conclusion of his or her sophomore year in high school. Violations of this bylaw shall be considered institutional violations per Constitution 2.8.1; however, they shall not affect the individual's eligibility. (Revised: 4/15/08) For more specific information on this regulation and other policies surrounding Recruiting Materials, please visit the NCAA website - http://www.NCAA.org.

I began my recruiting process as a to-be-senior in high school. I applied to a number of colleges in the fall, visited officially in the spring, and signed the National Letter of Intent the April before I was to enter college as a freshman. Obviously, a lot has changed over the last 17 years, but the NCAA still fights for space for athletes to grow and mature through high school and for the colleges to respect you during the recruiting process. Most of the limits the NCAA imposes on the college coaches are to protect athletes and their families’ privacy.

Engage in the Process

In entering this process, remember that it allows you the OPPORTUNITY to reach for your pursuits. The entire recruiting process is to help you find an outstanding collegiate experience – academically, athletically, and socially. Hopefully because of an impression you already made athletically, you receive some nice correspondence from college coaches in the fall. Be sure to read these letters and the materials included thoroughly. It is important to stay open-minded until a full unbiased and accurate assessment has been made.

You need to respond to correspondence with respect and appreciation, just as you want coaches to do with you. Be clear about your pursuits and where you see the program fitting with your assessment. Most college programs actively recruit 20-50 student-athletes. This list is comprised of student-athletes fitting the needs of their program. I would enjoy discussing with you the process to take in deciphering college coaches’ needs and their interest levels in you. For more information, email me at sara@powerlineconsulting.net. Ultimately, in order to have that exceptional experience, the fit needs to be mutual.

[LVTHEGAME]

What does your service cost

[PLCSara]

I would like to spur some discussion regarding recruiting and the NCAA rules here on Hey Bucket. This is a great forum and we should talk about situations that you have arising. Do you have any specific questions regarding communication, the rules, what to send, when to contact coaches??

I have a lot on information on http://www.powerlineconsulting.net. Please check it out. My fees are nominal compared to the service I offer. I have compared them to the other recruiting services across the country and am currently middle of the road. Also, I am offering a discount of $500 this fall. Please feel free to email me directly at sara@powerlineconsulting.net to discuss anything specifically.

I look forward to our discussions here on Hey Bucket!

[PLCSara]

This questions was emailed to me, and thinking it was good info to share for all, I received permission to post it here:

Sara -If the rules do not allow any recruiting until jr year how are the colleges allowed to work with players that are freshman and sophomores etc to get them to verbal to the college and programs ????????????

Good question! That was the trick as a college recruiter. Many times a college recruiter will talk to the club coach or the recruiting service to discuss their interest (there are also other rules guarding them against acting as an agent- so they have to be careful in how they talk). The athlete and her parents are not limited by any rules, so they are free to pursue communication by phone, email, letter, or to attend games and visit the campus. Note the communication can only be initiated by the athlete and her parents and can not be responded to by the college coaches. Once on campus, all communication can be open so visits and camps are much more frequent than they used to be.

I would be happy to answer questions or discuss scenarios anytime. Please visit my website for my contact information - http://www.powerlineconsulting.net.

As always, if there is specific rule interpretation information needed, please contact the NCAA directly at http://www.ncaa.org.