Informed Athlete | The Allen Group, Inc. | » Athletic Scholarships & Financial Aid

National Letter of Intent Reminders

Rick Allen — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:31:13 +0000

Congratulations to those prospects who have committed to a school and will have the opportunity to sign a National Letter of Intent with their NCAA Division I or II future school starting November 9.

Here are some NLI general reminders and points to keep in mind:

Signing the National Letter of Intent commits the athlete to attend the school they sign with for one full academic year in exchange for receiving an athletic scholarship. If an athlete withdraws from school before completing one academic year, they might incur penalties upon transfer to another school, unless the school they signed with releases them. (This release is different than a release to speak with other schools about a transfer – two separate processes.)

The NLI must be accompanied by a financial aid agreement from the school the prospect will sign with. If both documents are not signed, the NLI will not be valid. Be sure to confirm that the financial aid agreement reflects the same amount of athletic scholarship that was offered during the recruiting process.

Coaches are not permitted to deliver the National Letter of Intent in person. Also, coaches are not permitted to be present when the prospect signs the NLI. The family of a prospect will sometimes ask if the coach can be present so they can get a picture together when their son or daughter signs the NLI. This is ok for Junior Colleges or NAIA schools, but not for NCAA coaches.

The financial aid agreement commits the school to provide an athletic scholarship to the athlete for one academic year. Athletes must be notified by July 1st each year whether their athletic scholarship will be renewed for the same amount, increased, decreased, or cancelled for the upcoming academic year. If an athlete’s scholarship is reduced or cancelled, the athlete must be notified by the school that a hearing opportunity is available to them.

Prospects who are planning to play both football and another sport at the college level (applies to both Division I and II) should not sign with their school until the football signing period in February. A number of years ago, some schools tried to get an advantage by having football recruits sign in other sports during the November signing period. That loophole was closed, and now football players or true dual-sport athletes who sign in November will be ineligible for practice and competition in football during their freshman year, and will forfeit a season of competition.

It’s permissible to “double sign” with an NCAA school and a Junior College. That’s somewhat common since some players want to “lock in” with an NCAA program, but also may want to attend Junior College to have an opportunity to be drafted after freshman year. (The Junior College signing date for baseball is January 15.)

Players who sign with an NCAA school, but start out at a junior college, need to keep in mind that the National Letter of Intent that they signed with the NCAA school remains binding on them until they graduate from the Junior College. Athletes who sign with NCAA school A, but change their mind and want to attend NCAA school B after junior college, will still be bound to NCAA school A if they want to transfer before completing their Associates degree. The other option is to obtain a complete release from the National Letter of Intent.

If you’re interested in individual assistance with questions about recruiting, eligibility, financial aid, or transfer rules, contact us at rick@informedathlete.com or 913-766-1235.

To Be or Not to Be – Recruited or Non-recruited?

Rick Allen — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 14:28:36 +0000

Can it actually be better to be a non-recruited walk-on to a Division I baseball team compared to a player who’s been actively recruited to join that team?

It can be when a baseball player desires to transfer from one Division I program to another!

As many of you know, in Division I baseball, a transfer directly from one program to another is required to “sit out” (can practice but not play) a year at the second school before he can be eligible for competition.

There is an exception, however, for a player who was not on scholarship and was not recruited by the first school. A player in that situation MAY transfer from one Division I program to another and be immediately eligible to play upon transfer (as long as they meet appropriate academic requirements). This exception also applies for basketball and football (bowl subdivision).

The requirement of this exception that trips up most players is how the term “recruited” is defined by the NCAA. A “preferred walk-on” might not be “recruited” in NCAA terms.

A prospect is “recruited” by a particular school:

If they’ve been contacted off-campus by one of the coaching staff members,
If they’ve made an official visit to campus,
If they’ve signed a National Letter of Intent or athletic scholarship agreement, or
If the coaches have contacted the prospect by phone more than one time to recruit them to the program.

Another possible “advantage” to being a non-recruited walk-on can be found in situations in which a prospect receives a scholarship from, for example, their high school booster club or a local civic club, such as Kiwanis or Rotary.

If their athletic achievements are the primary reason that a prospect wins such a scholarship, a non-recruited walk-on can accept the scholarship with no consequences.

A recruited walk-on, however, would be considered a “counter” and the value of their outside scholarship would count against the baseball team’s limit of 11.7 scholarships. This could result in the prospect being required to decline the scholarship so that its value does not cause the baseball team to exceed their scholarship limit.

Keep in mind that regardless of whether an athlete was recruited or not recruited:

If they desire to transfer from a Division I program to a Division I or II program, the athlete will still have to request permission from the first school to talk with other institutions about a transfer.

That request should be made in writing to the compliance office (after talking with the coach), especially in cases where you believe the coach may want to withhold or restrict that permission for contacting other schools. The schools have deadlines within which they must provide an athlete with an answer to their request to contact other schools (Division I – 7 days, Division II – 14 days).

If you have questions about NCAA rules, contact Rick at rick@informedathlete.com or at 918-994-7272. We’ll discuss your situation and how we can help.

Key Points About Outside Scholarships

Rick Allen — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 15:55:17 +0000

The end of the school year will be arriving before we know it, bringing with it graduations and awards ceremonies where many scholarships will be awarded to high school seniors to help pay for their college education.

For those students who will be playing a sport at an NCAA Division I or II university, it will be important to remember some key points if they receive one of these scholarships from their high school, local civic club, parent’s employer, or other organization. Local organizations providing these scholarships should also keep these key points in mind.

The NCAA considers any financial aid for an athlete that comes from a source other than their family, or the college or university they are attending, to be “aid from outside sources.” This “aid from outside sources” is classified into three categories. Those three categories are:

No relationship to athletics ability;
Athletics participation not major criterion; and
Athletics participation as a major criterion.

Here are some key points about outside aid classified into these three categories:

No relationship to athletics ability: A scholarship program that requests or encourages an applicant to include their athletic participation or achievements as part of the application process cannot be classified in this category. The organization that awards the scholarship may be asked to confirm that it did not consider athletics participation or achievements in selecting the athlete who receives the award and must not restrict the athlete’s choice of college institution.

Athletics Participation not Major Criterion. Scholarships fit in this category if athletics participation or achievements are one of the criteria considered in awarding the scholarship, but are not the major criteria for awarding the scholarship. Organizations awarding scholarships in this category are strongly encouraged to provide written notification of the award to the financial aid office of the college that the athlete will be attending.

Athletics Participation as a Major Criterion. Scholarships are classified in this category if the athlete’s athletics participation and achievements are the major criteria for awarding the scholarship. In fact, if applicants or nominees are required to be an athlete in order to be considered for a scholarship, then that scholarship will automatically be considered to be in this category. Furthermore, if the recipient of a scholarship from this category was recruited by the college they will be attending, the recipient will be considered a “counter” for financial aid purposes and the value of the scholarship will be counted toward team financial aid limits as if it were an athletic scholarship awarded by the college. Scholarships in this category should be sent to the financial aid office of the college the recipient will be attending so that the aid will be properly tracked for NCAA limits.

Athletes attending an NCAA Division I or II university will likely be asked to indicate on a form for their athletic department whether they are the recipient of an outside award. In addition, an awarding organization may be asked to provide a copy of their application or nomination form and a list of criteria for the scholarship.

If you have questions about outside awards, or other questions about athletic scholarships, contact Rick Allen at 918-994-7272 or at rick@informedathlete.com. You can also subscribe to the Informed Athlete monthly newsletter at www.informedathlete.com, or join the Informed Athlete Facebook fan page.

National Letter of Intent & Athletic Scholarships

Rick Allen — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:13:25 +0000

November is an exciting time for those high school seniors (or junior college athletes) who have been recruited by an NCAA Division I or II athletic program and have been offered an athletic scholarship to continue participating in their sport in college.

These athletes will have an opportunity to sign a National Letter of Intent with an NCAA Division I or II institution during the early signing period that begins on Wednesday, November 11. The signing period continues through Wednesday, November 18 and is available for athletes in most sports.

High school football seniors will not sign a National Letter of Intent until February 3, 2010. Other sports that do not sign until February 3 are cross country, track and field, soccer, field hockey and water polo.

Do you have questions about the National Letter of Intent?

Questions about scholarship offers that accompany the National Letter of Intent?

Join Informed Athlete for our next teleseminar when we discuss the rules and processes regarding the National Letter of Intent and scholarship agreements.

This topic will be especially helpful to any high school athletes and parents who are planning to sign a National Letter of Intent during the November signing period, or during a future signing period.

Date: Wednesday, October 28th
Time: 7 PM CST

Rick Allen, Founder of Informed Athlete will discuss:

The NCAA rules regarding the National Letter of Intent

Institutional athletic scholarship agreements.

Recruiting rules during this signing period.

“Double signing.”

Publicity about letter of intent signings

To register for this FREE teleseminar, go to National Letter of Intent.

If you would like to submit a question before the teleseminar begins, you can send it to rick@informedathlete.com.

This teleseminar is one of our regular series in which we discuss topics of interest to athletes, parents, and coaches, and interview coaches, scouts and other from the world of baseball. It is provided as a complimentary service of www.informedathlete.com, but registration is required.

The Effect of New Scholarship Rules in Division I Baseball

Rick Allen — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:09:05 +0000

With the NCAA Division I baseball scholarship changes coming into full effect during the 2009-10 academic year, walk-ons will take on more important roles on baseball rosters.

Each Division I institution will be limited to 27 counters (athletes receiving an athletic scholarship) among their roster limit of 35 players, with the other 8 spots being occupied by walk-ons who will receive no athletic scholarship.

Division I rosters of no more than 35 players must be established the day prior to the first contest in February. Coaches can have more than 35 players during the Fall and January practice periods, but must be at no more than 35 before the start of the season.

Walk-ons who are on teams that have more than 35 players participating in fall practice sessions must be aware that they are at increased risk of being cut from the team. Once a player is cut from the team, he will not be able to use the athletic facilities to work out and will have no practice opportunities with the team.

A student-athlete who is receiving an athletic scholarship must be included in the counter limit of 27, and the total roster size of 35, even if they are injured and unable to play. So a walk-on who has been performing well during practice sessions must be aware that they may be cut from the team to make room for an injured player receiving a scholarship because the injured player must be counted among the 27 and 35.

Juniors at Division I programs who choose to return to school for their senior year may be asked to return as a walk-on as their scholarship was probably already “given away” in the recruitment of an incoming freshman. This has already been the case for a number of years, but may become more common as the opportunity for coaches to give 5% or 10% scholarships to late signees is only available in rare situations.

Some baseball programs have established their own set of “rules” for distributing scholarships. Some let recruits know up front that their scholarship will decline each year after their freshman year, while others may inform the players after their enrollment that there will not be a baseball scholarship for their senior year if they return.

Players and parents should be asking about the effect of the new financial aid rules on their baseball scholarship so they will know well in advance.

For those who are walk-ons, especially at programs that have more than 35 players participating in Fall drills, it will be extremely important to assess your chances of making the 35-man roster that will be in effect for the season.

For those who choose to transfer, it is quite possible that a fresh start at an NCAA Division II or NAIA program may result in increased opportunities for financial aid, for playing time, and for a better opportunity to be drafted due to the increased playing time.

For more information from the parent of a college baseball player who is also an expert with over 20 years experience in NCAA rules regarding recruiting, eligibility, financial aid, and transfer issues, go to www.informedathlete.com and register for our free newsletter, or contact Rick Allen at 918-994-7272 or rick@informedathlete.com.

Athletic Scholarships and Financial Aid Issues

Rick Allen — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:26:16 +0000

While some people believe that college athletes who receive athletic scholarships receive “full-ride” scholarships, the truth is that no athletic scholarship covers ALL of the costs of attending college, and that athletes in the majority of sports programs receive “partial” athletic scholarships. A “full” athletic scholarship covers the following costs of college: tuition, certain course-related fees, room and board, and the value or provision of books. An athletic scholarship may not cover all student fees, and also may not cover things like parking fines, a single room in the dorm, library fines or late fees, etc.

In NCAA Division I, the following sports are “head-count” sports: men’s and women’s basketball, football, women’s gymnastics, women’s tennis, and women’s volleyball. All other Division I sports, as well as all Division II sports, are “equivalency” sports. In equivalency sports, coaches can divide their scholarships up as they desire, as they long as they do not exceed the total allowable scholarship value available in their sport. A few examples in Division I are baseball with 11.7, softball with 12, and wrestling with 9.9 scholarships. One athlete on the team may be provided with the cost of tuition, a second athlete on the team may be provided with room and board, and a third athlete on the team may only be provided the value or use of books.

Any student-athlete who receives any amount of athletic financial aid is considered a “counter” per NCAA rules. Once a student-athlete is considered a “counter” there are situations in which other types of financial aid may be required to be “counted” as athletic financial aid.

Any scholarships that a student-athlete will be receiving from groups such as a Rotary or Kiwanis club, a church youth group, or a high school booster club should be sent to the financial aid office of the college the student-athlete is attending so that the scholarship can be processed properly. In addition, NCAA rules may require that the donor organization of the scholarship be required to complete a questionnaire to determine whether athletic participation was part of the criteria for the awarding of the scholarship.

In addition, if a student-athlete also receives an academic scholarship from their college or university due to their high school GPA or their ACT or SAT test score, the fact that they are already an NCAA “counter” may affect the value or receipt of their academic scholarship. Once a student-athlete is a “counter” all other financial aid received from their institution is required to “count” as if it is an athletic scholarship, unless the student-athlete qualifies for an exemption based on the level of their GPA, their class rank, or their ACT or SAT test score. If you have questions regarding athletic or academic scholarships for a student-athlete, you can contact Informed Athlete at 913-766-1235 or email rick@informedathlete.com.