National Letter of Intent Rules

Receiving a National Letter of Intent is an exciting time for a prospective student-athlete. All the early morning and late night practices you've put in are finally going to pay off. At this point, the recruiting process is coming to an end, and decisions will have to be made. You may have verbally said you wanted to attend an institution, but the formal declaration is the signing of the National Letter of Intent.

  1. National Letter of Intent

    • The National Letter of Intent, also known as the NLI, is an agreement that is binding between the member institution and the prospective student-athlete. The member institution is bound to provide athletics-based financial aid for one academic year. An academic year is either two semesters or three quarters depending on the member institutions academic calendar. The prospective student athlete, in return, is bound to attend the institution full-time for one academic year.

    Processing

    • The process by which an NLI is issued to a prospective student is straightforward. The institution issues the National Letter of Intent, along with an offer for athletics-based financial aid, to the prospective student. Two copies get sent to the prospective student. One will be signed and forwarded to the institution, and the other will be signed and kept by the student. The prospective student has up to 14 days to sign the NLI once it has been issued. The issue dates for the NLI fall within the appropriate signing periods for each sport. The signing periods are listed on NCAA.org (see References). Once the institution receives the NLI, it verifies all required information and sends it to the conference office within 21 days of the signing. The conference office validates the National Letter of Intent and enters the prospective student athlete into the NLI database.

    Validity

    • In order to be considered valid, an NLI must be accompanied with several pieces of required information. It must include an NCAA ID, which is obtained by the prospective student athlete by registering with the NCAA Eligibility Center (see Resources). There has to be an athletics financial agreement accompanying the NLI, and it had to be signed within the signing dates for that particular sport. A parent or guardian signature must also be on the National Letter of Intent if the signee is under 21 years of age. If the NLI is declared invalid, the prospective student-athlete can still sign another National Letter of Intent during the same signing time.

    Null and Void

    • An NLI can be considered null and void in several circumstances. The NLI can be voided if the prospective student athlete is denied admission or doesn't meet NCAA eligibility. If an institution is forced to discontinue a sport, the National Letter of Intent can also be voided. The prospective student-athlete is not able to sign another NLI until the following signing term if the National Letter of Intent is null and void.

    Penalties

    • The penalty for not fulfilling the National Letter of Intent agreement can be harsh. Fulfillment of the obligation is considered an entire academic year, not just an athletic season. You would have to serve at least one full academic year at the next institution, and you would lose one season of competition eligibility if you violate your agreement.