Coronavirus and Your Recruiting

What do we know and what comes next?

NCAA Update 2

Division I Recruiting Dead Period Extended Through July 31

UPDATED: May 27, 2020

The Division I Council Coordination Committee extended the recruiting dead period in all sports through July 31.

“The extension maintains consistent recruiting rules for all sports and allows coaches to focus on the student-athletes who may be returning to campus,” said Council chair M. Grace Calhoun, athletics director at Pennsylvania. “The committee is committed to reviewing the dead period again in late June or early July.”

The committee will regularly evaluate the dead period, continuing to be guided by medical experts.

Virtual physical activities
Additionally, the committee decided to allow strength and conditioning coaches to virtually observe voluntary physical workouts for health and safety purposes but only if requested by the student-athlete. The measure goes into effect June 1. The strength and conditioning coach will be allowed to observe the workouts and discuss items related to voluntary workouts but not direct or conduct the workout.

The decision was supported by the Committee on Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports Prevention and Performance Subcommittee. The subcommittee encouraged schools that decide to allow their strength and conditioning coaches to observe voluntary workouts to proactively consider the school’s overarching responsibility to protect the health of and provide a safe environment for each student-athlete. More specifically, the subcommittee stressed that schools should plan for how the strength and conditioning coach should respond if they observe an unsafe workout environment or in the event that a medical emergency occurs during a voluntary session.

The committee will continue to explore the opportunity for strength and conditioning coaches to conduct voluntary workouts virtually, as they do during in-person, on-campus voluntary workouts.


NCAA Update

NCAA voted yesterday to extend the DI dead period and institute a DII quiet period.

NCAA DI Dead Period Extended to June 30th
On May 13th the NCAA Division I Council Coordination Committee has released updates regarding COVID-19 and how it will affect the recruiting process. Emergency legislation was passed to extend the recruiting dead period (as defined in NCAA Bylaw 13.02.5.5) to June 30th. This means that there is no in-person recruiting between college coaches and prospective student-athletes until that date. The Committee has agreed to review the status of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it pertains to the dead period again on May 27th, 2020.

The NCAA Division II Approved a Quiet Period from June 1-30
To follow the NCAA Division I announcement, NCAA Division II Administrative Committee approved a quiet period extending from June 1st to June 30th. The Committee released a statement that in this quiet period, “it will be permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts with prospective student-athletes only on the member institution’s campus, subject to applicable public health guidelines and institutional and conference decision”. They also stated that there will be “no in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts or evaluations may be made”. It will be important that during this quiet period for prospective student-athletes to reach out to Division II college coaches they are communicating with to make decisions about on-campus visits.


NCAA Headquarters

FACTS: Additional Season of Competition & Eligibility for Student-Athletes Impacted by COVID-19

UPDATED: April 4, 2020

  • The NCAA Division I Council voted to allow institutions to provide Spring - Sport student-athletes an additional season of competition and extended their period of eligibility.
  • Financial aid rules were modified to allow sports teams to carry more players on athletic scholarship to account for incoming recruits and student-athletes who had been in their last year of eligibility and decide to stay for another year.
  • Schools have the flexibility to give student-athletes the opportunity to return for the 2020-2021 academic school year without requiring that athletics aid be provided at the same level it was awarded for during the 2019-20 academic school year. This flexibility applies only to student-athletes who would have exhausted eligibility (seniors) in 2019-20.
  • The amount of scholarship money for a returning senior could range from no money to as much the athlete received had been receiving during the 2019-20 academic year. Seniors can return for another season and it will not count against a program’s scholarship limits. There will be no roster cap, as long as the overage of the cap includes all seniors.

NCAA spring sports included in scholarship limits and legislation. (Note: NCAA D3 has NO athletic scholarships, only academic monies)

NCAA Scholarship Limits
  • Institutions also will have the ability to use the NCAA’s Student Assistance Fund to help in the assistance to award scholarships for students who take advantage of the additional eligibility modifications in 2020-21. Returning seniors could see their scholarship dollars cut at the discretion of each institution.
  • NCAA Division I rule limit student-athletes to four seasons of competition in a five-year period. The decision allows institutions to self-apply waivers to restore one of those seasons of competition for student-athletes who had competed while eligible in the COVID-19-shortened spring season during the 2020 spring academic calendar. ** This gives individual schools the flexibility to make decisions at a campus level
  • Winter sports were not included in the decision. Eligibility was not extended for student-athletes in sports where all or much of their regular seasons (Fall & Winter) were completed.

NCAA’s Division II and III Update: each is granting spring sport athletes an extra year of eligibility.

NAIA & NJCAA Update: In an effort to provide relief, no spring sport student-athlete will be charged a season of competition. Any spring sport student-athlete who was enrolled full-time in 2020 will be awarded two additional semester terms of attendance or the equivalent. ** Still waiting to hear from the NCAA compliance office on the exact structure of what the roster and scholarship situation will look like.

Junior College Transfers, Regular Transfers and Graduate Transfers Ruling

  • Per the NCAA Division 1 Councils ruling, a sophomore in junior college will arrive at a Division I institution as a junior this fall (20-21). However, the Division 1 institution reserves the right to submit a waiver request to NJCAA on the athlete’s behalf to get that year back.

Regulars & Graduate Transfers can move to a new athletic program and get a year back of eligibility.

  • As for regular transfers and graduate transfers, if an underclassman transfers to another athletic program, they would get the year back.
  • The underclassman’s aid amount would count against the new program’s scholarship and/or roster limitations.

Graduate Transfers can get more than their previous year aid amount at any new institution.

  • The situation with graduate transfers is different than with the regular transfer. Should a graduated senior move to another athletic program, the new program would not be required to give them the same amount they were receiving in aid at the previous institution.
  • The new institution would be allowed to go under or over the previous scholarship amount.
  • If a student-athlete stays at the same program as a senior, they can only receive up to the previous year’s amount in scholarship.

    Example: If a graduated senior transfer from University #1 to University #2, and they were getting 30% at U#1, U#2 could give the student-athlete 50%. However, that scholarship would then count against the maximum scholarship allotments, per the interpretation of the rules. The NCAA, however, is clarifying that.

There are many different scenarios to iron out, but it means that the collegiate sports nation can move on and those potential lost seasons of eligibility are back… Hope the healing can resume. NSR will continue to keep you all informed with any new information on this subject.

* UPDATE: Division I, Division II extends their recruiting dead periods through May 31, 2020.

NCAA Update Dead Period

Recent Articles

Coronavirus and Your Recruiting

Coronavirus & Your Recruiting

March 13, 2020

The past week has been one that most Americans won’t soon forget! For those of us that live in the sports community daily, it is a week that will NEVER be forgotten!

The actions of the NBA to “suspend the season until further notice” has set in motion a tidal wave of reactions. The NCAA, NAIA, Professional, High School, Club, and Travel events, Tournaments and seasons have all been cancelled. All of this is being done in an effort to promote health safety. These types of cancellations, while warranted due to the health concerns, now create an entirely different issue that must be addressed.

Thousands of high school athletes that were scheduled to compete in their high school seasons will not get that opportunity. Athletes that were headed to huge college recruiting showcase events will now miss these opportunities. In simple terms, there are countless high school athletes that were hoping to get evaluated for college scholarship opportunities at these events. These critical evaluation days are missed. The college coaches are limited as to the number of off campus evaluation days they can have to recruit. Those days will never be replaced. College coaches will not have the opportunities to contact athletes at these events when allowed by NCAA rules.

COVID-19/Coronovirus is now having a negative impact on the potential collegiate future of thousands of deserving athletes. Coach Mike Smith, Executive Director of Scouting for NSR “This will have a big impact on the high school athletes that are wanting to be recruited. Think about it. If I can’t bring you in for a visit or camp and I can’t go out and see you play, how can I evaluate you. As a coach I can tell you that’s a problem. College Coaches can not stop recruiting as it is the lifeblood of their programs. This window of time will force the recruiting efforts to shift.”

Coach Smith explains, “Coaches will be reaching out to those sources that they trust. Here at NSR the calls have already started. Fortunately our athletes don’t depend on all of these events or showcases for their exposure. Their videos, athletic and academic data is ready for the college coaches for evaluation. I feel for the athletes that are not prepared.”

If it’s your dream to play college athletics and you are unsure how this will affect your recruiting, contact NSR today.

If you know you are going to need help with your recruiting complete this short evaluation form today.

Stay calm, stay safe and stay tuned for updates.

NCAA Action to Prevent the Spread of the Coronavirus

The NCAA has taken swift action to stop the spread of the Covid-19 (coronavirus). Here are some things we currently know.

  • NCAA College coaches are on an "emergency dead period" and are not allowed to recruit in-person at tournaments, camps, their campus, anywhere, especially any events to recruit.
  • These coaches are not allowed to have potential student athletes in campus at this time.
  • These restrictions will be in place until mid-April (best case) and possibly beyond.
  • The identification, recognition and video evaluation of potential athletes HAS NOT stopped. In the past week, my NSR scouts and I have been overwhelmed with college coaches reaching out to us about the athletes we have chosen to work with, and their needs for each grad year/position/size/speed/etc.
  • While we may not know when travel/ club or high school will continue, we do know it will return. The college coaches WILL GO DIRECTLY TO THE GAMES OF THE ATHLETES THAT THEY WERE EVALUATING AND FOLLOWING during this difficult time. Those athletes will get the first looks.
  • Every division in NCAA (1-2-3), NAIA (1-2) and JUCO (1-2-3) have different parameters dictated by their governing bodies about giving their current players, not just seniors, another year of eligibility... which will obviously change the scholarship money... which will in turn, have an impact on the next several grad classes' available scholarship monies as well as dictate what positions they do and do not need now.

Learn more about the NCAA's response to Coronavirus at the links below.

NCAA Coronavirus FAQ NCAA Healthy Tips

Effects of Coronavirus on Testing

SAT Update

SAT Test Logo

In response to the rapidly evolving situation around the coronavirus (COVID-19), College Board is canceling the May 2, 2020 SAT and SAT Subject Test administration. Makeup exams for the March 14 administration (scheduled for March 28) are also canceled.

Students who already registered for May, whose March test centers were closed, or who do not receive March scores because of any irregularities will receive refunds.

In the coming days, College Board will share additional information and details directly with registered students and test centers.

Keep Up to Date with the most current info at the link below.

SAT Coronavirus Updates

ACT Update

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The safety of students and test center staff is ACT’s top priority. ACT has rescheduled its April 4 national test date to June 13 across the U.S. in response to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). All students registered for the April 4 test date will receive an email from ACT in the next few days informing them of the postponement and instructions for free rescheduling to June 13 or a future national test date.

Keep Up to Date with the most current info at the link below.

ACT Coronavirus Updates