Contact Rules for NCAA Basketball Recruiting

The NCAA puts strict rules on coaches about contacting recruits. Contact is defined as any face-to-face encounter, other than a greeting, between a prospect or his relatives and a member of the college's athletic department, including coaches.

  1. Freshmen and Sophomores

    • College basketball coaches are not allowed to contact freshmen and sophomore prospects until June 15 of their sophomore year, at which point they may call the players once a month.

    Juniors

    • Coaches may contact juniors by phone once a month through July 31 of the summer before their senior year.

    Seniors

    • Coaches can contact seniors by phone twice a week beginning Aug. 1 of the summer before the school year. They may begin off-campus contact starting Sept. 9. Additionally, a coach can make an official campus visit for a prospect on the first day of his classes.

    Two Year College Prospects

    • A two-year prospect is a player who has played at a two-year school or junior college and is interested in transferring to an NCAA affiliated four-year school. NCAA coaches are allowed to call these players once a week. If the player was a qualifier in high school, meaning he had good enough grades to play at an NCAA school but chose not to, the NCAA coaches can contact him right away. If the player was a non-qualifier in high school, coaches must wait until after his first year at the two-year school before contacting him.

    Four Year College Prospects

    • A four-year college prospect is a student who wants to transfer from one NCAA four-year school to another. To contact a student enrolled in another school, a coach needs permission from that school, even if the student is not currently in the basketball program. Once written permission is granted, coaches can make phone contact once a week.