Rules for College Coaches Contacting Students

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recruiting rules have specific guidelines regarding when a coach may or may not have contacts with high school students. According to NCAA guidelines, contact involves any face-to-face contact that a coach has with an athlete or his parents off campus beyond a simple "hello," as well as any contact during competitions or practices. The NCAA has divided the recruiting calendar year into four periods: contact, evaluation, quiet and dead.

  1. Contact Period

    • Coaches may contact a prospective recruits in person, by writing or by telephone. Telephone calls include any form of human voice exchanges, including actual phone calls and video conferencing, but not emails, facsimiles or text messages. A coach may also visit a high school and attend practices or games. The contact period varies between NCAA division, sports and sometimes gender, based on which program is in or out of season. A student may make official visits to a campus after the first day of her senior year, but only with a written invitation from the college, and she must supply a copy of her high school transcript (for Division I schools) and SAT, ACT or PLAN scores.

    Evaluation Period

    • The coach may pay a visit to a student's high school, but she cannot have an in-person conversation with either the student or his parents; she may only make telephone calls or write letters. Any in-person contacts must occur on the college's campus during official or unofficial visits. During the evaluation period, the coach will review the student's playing abilities as well as his academic qualifications, including his high school transcript and standardized test scores.

    Quiet Period

    • During the quiet period the coach many not have any in-person contact with a student off campus, similarly to during the evaluation period. The student can still travel to the college for an official or unofficial visit to meet with the coach. However, the coach does not scout the high school player. Also like the contact and evaluation periods, the coach may call or write to the player.

    Dead Period

    • A coach may not contact a student or her parents in person during the dead period, but may write or telephone during that time. A student can make an unofficial visit (a visit paid for by the student or her family) to a campus at any time throughout her senior high school year, but a coach cannot come into contact with the student during the dead period. However, the student is allowed to receive three complimentary admission tickets to a home game from the college.