With the early signing period having passed

Now, with that being said, this article is for those of you, who like me, were not able to sign with a school in November and are still looking for that right opportunity. 

I remember the feeling that I had when the early signing period of my senior year had passed and I had not received many calls or offers from schools that I had hoped to hear from. 

I found it extremely frustrating to see kids that I was convinced I was better than – signing with Division I schools – while I was left wondering and waiting.   

For whatever reason they got called and you did not – it’s happened and now nothing will be able to change that. 

I know it’s hard not to, but I can tell you that continuing to wonder why they got calls and you didn’t will not help your frustration.

But, what you can do is focus on YOU and put YOURSELF in the best position possible to continue participating in your sport after high school graduation.   

Reach out to schools to gauge their interest in you as an athlete and as a student.

If they won’t knock down your door, then you go knock down theirs. 

Don’t be afraid of a little rejection, most schools will do it in a very respectful (and even helpful) manner. 

For those of you finding yourself still looking for a place to play, I want to wish you the best of luck. 

Don’t let one little bump in the road derail your entire path - Keep pushing and finding ways to make it happen!

Each year, parents spend thousands of dollars on lessons, equipment, competitive sports teams, and travel in the hopes that their child will be noticed by college athletic recruiters and offered a scholarship. 

Their journey is often complicated by making costly mistakes due, in many cases, to not knowing or understanding the NCAA rules. 

If you are going through the recruiting process or plan to be soon, this book could save you hours of time and THOUSANDS of dollars. 

Decisions made during the recruiting process can have HUGE and lasting impact both emotionally and financially later on. This book provides real-life advice and experiences that are typical of the many situations you will encounter if you are actively pursuing an athletic scholarship. 

In this book, you will learn how soon you should get started in the recruiting process, what you should do if you’re not getting recruiting interest, what to look for and questions to ask on your campus visits, what academic requirements are needed to be eligible for an athletic scholarship, what to do if things don’t work out and you need to transfer to another school, and what you should know BEFORE you go through the recruiting process.

For over 20 years, I was Director of NCAA Compliance at 2 major universities: The University of Illinois and Oklahoma State University. In addition, I have walked in parents’ shoes when our son was recruited and accepted a college baseball scholarship at a Division I school. 

Some of the stories I share are based on situations I’ve encountered throughout my years on campus. Some of these stories include mistakes that were made in our own son’s recruitment process despite my years of NCAA experience and expertise.

Note:  Price includes shipping.

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 918-994-7272.

Ryan Allen

So fall drills have started, and lo and behold, the coach/coaches aren’t quite what they seemed to be when they were recruiting you to their school.

Unfortunately, this seems to happen fairly often.  I was a fortunate one that did not have horror stories to tell once I stepped on campus.  A few of my former teammates from high school and Connie Mack ball were not so lucky.

I’d like to be able to tell players that there is a magic fix to the problem, but unfortunately, that’s not a realistic option.

The best option available in this situation is to try and use this for mental toughness and experience in working with someone you don’t see eye-to-eye with.  It’s a tough situation, but like any tough situation, it can be used to benefit you later on down the road.

Even though the waters are rough with this particular coach, don’t hesitate to open the lines of communication if you feel that you are not on the same page with your coach.  If this is done in a respectful and confident manner, odds are that the coach will have a greater respect for you because of it.

In some cases, the best option may be for you to transfer away.  Again the best way for this to be done is respectfully (Remember, those coaches still have control over what school you transfer to).

For those reading this, I hope you don’t have to encounter something like this.  But, for the ones that are/will go through this, I hope this can provide you with some help.

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.  

July 1 is the date when it is permissible for coaches in most NCAA Division I sports to begin to have off-campus face-to-face contact with high school recruits who will be entering their senior year.  July 1 is also the date in most sports when once-per-week phone calls to high school upcoming seniors are permissible as well.

For those athletes who are fortunate to receive recruiting interest at this time of year, enjoy the attention and be sure to ask a lot of questions.  Remember that you should be evaluating the coaches and the schools just as much as they have been evaluating you. 

For those athletes who do not receive a recruiting phone call, or a visit by a college coach to your home, on July 1 or within a few days of this “special date,” don’t panic and get stressed out.  There is still plenty of time to be recruited and plenty of opportunities for you to be seen.  You may not be recruited by your first choice of schools, but there are plenty of other schools to choose from.

For more on the permissible dates for phone calls and other recruiting information, sign up for our newsletter and you’ll receive our monthly newsletter and a monthly recruiting calendar with important dates including ACT/SAT test dates.

For more information on Informed Athlete’s services, please call us at 918-994-7272.

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… CY: wait… I: wait… YCat: wait… I: wait… Top: wait… I: wait… L: wait… C: wait…

When my friend asked him how many times he had taken it so far, the player said “This will be my first time.”  (He has not taken the SAT either.)

If you are a subscriber to our monthly newsletter, I’m confident that most of you know how important it is to take the ACT or SAT test during the junior year. 

It not only provides a baseline score so the athlete knows how much, if any, they need to improve their score for freshman eligibility to compete, but also how much they need to improve their score for academic scholarships.

Keep in mind that an ACT Sum Score of 105 or an SAT score of 1200 (in critical reading and math) could mean an additional academic scholarship (100 or 1050 for NCAA Division II).

In addition, it also is required before athletes can make official visits to campus or be offered a National Letter of Intent. 

So make sure you get an ACT or SAT test scheduled at least once during your junior year.

If you are new to our website, you can access our up-to-date recruiting calendar with upcoming ACT & SAT test dates by clicking on the “Current Recruiting Calendars” button on our home page at www.informedathlete.com.  For additional assistance, please call us at 918-994-7272 or send an email to rick@informedathlete.com. 

3. 4-4 transfers in bowl subdivision football and men’s ice hockey, as well as in baseball and basketball, are ineligible to compete during their first year in residency.

4. Athletes in baseball or basketball looking for immediate eligibility upon transfer need to look at NCAA Div. II, Div. III, NAIA, or a two-year college.

5. Find out when your grades from this term will be posted to your transcript.  Request a copy of your transcript ASAP.
 
6. You must have written permission from your present NCAA Division I or II school before speaking to another Division I or II school about the possibility of a transfer.  Request this “permission to contact” before the athletic offices are closed for the holiday break if possible.

For more detailed information, you can search the blogs on our website, or contact us for assistance at 918-994-7272.

Allen’s new book Both Sides of the Plate – Insider Secrets for Navigating the College Baseball Recruiting Process  is now available for $17.95 + $4.75 shipping.   

 Decisions made during the recruiting process can have HUGE impact both emotionally and financially.  This book provides real-life advice and insights into many situations you will encounter during & after the recruiting process. 

Some of the questions this book answers include:

- How soon should we get started in the recruiting process?

- What should we do if we’re not getting recruiting interest?

- What should we look for and what questions should we ask on campus visits?

- What are the academic requirements needed to be eligible for an athletic scholarship?

- What should we do if things don’t work out and we need to transfer to another school? 

- What should we know about transfers BEFORE we go through the recruiting process? 

Each year parents spend thousands of dollars on lessons, equipment, competitive sports teams, and travel in the hopes that their child will be noticed by college athletic recruiters and offered a scholarship.  Their journey is often complicated by making costly mistakes due, in many cases, to not knowing or understanding the NCAA rules. 

Informed Athlete helps families navigate through the often confusing and complex athletic recruiting, academic eligiblity, transfer and financial aid rules so they can make informed decisions that are in the best interest of their family.  This book was written to address many questions we receive on a daily basis from families who call asking for help. 

To order your copy, please go to:  http://www.informedathlete.com/online-store/both-sides-of-the-plate.

For your convenience, the calendars are in pdf format, and the first page contains a listing of the recruiting definitions. 

Informed Athlete educates, advises, and assists families of high school and college student-athletes on issues related to athletic recruiting, academic eligibility, transfer isues and financial aid rules so that they are able to make informed decisions that are in their best interest.

If Informed Athlete can be of assistance to you in any way, please don’t hesitate to contact us at 918-994-7272 or send an email to rick@informedathlete.com. 

To obtain final amateurism certification:
1.  Log onto http://www.eligibilitycenter.org/ and select the box for “Fall 2010 or After.”
2.  Log in using your e-mail address and password.
3.  Request final amateurism certification separately for each sport.  Track and cross country athletes, for example, will need to request separate certification for each.

If you are an athlete who originally registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center through the old website and have not transferred your account to the new site, you need to transfer your account before requesting final amateurism certification. 

Regarding academic certification, athletes must submit all required materials to the Eligibility Center.  This includes a final transcript with proof of graduation as well as an official transcript from any other high school that the athlete attended.

Important: 

1.  Be sure that a final transcript is sent by your high school to the Eligibility Center as soon as possible after graduation occurs.  Waiting until the middle of summer can result in a delay as many high school offices are closed for a few weeks of summer vacation.

2.  Also required is an official ACT or SAT test score sent directly to the Eligibility Center from the testing agency. 

3.  Be sure that the proper fee has been paid to the Eligibility Center for processing.  Each year there are a significant number of athletes whose certification is delayed because they have not yet paid the fee.

Academic certifications are prioritized by the date that a file is “Ready to Process” and by the date that an Institutional Request List (IRL) is submitted by the college or university for a particular athlete.  This is important to keep in mind as the following example illustrates:

If the IRL for a wrestler is submitted to the Eligibility Center by a university a month prior to the submission of an IRL for a soccer player by the same university, the file for the wrestler will be reviewed at the Eligibility Center before the file for the soccer player even though the wrestling season starts two months after the start of the soccer season.

For questions about eligibility requirements, or the eligibility certification process, contact Rick Allen at rick@informedathlete.com or at 918-994-7272.  For more information, register for our free monthly newsletter, or become a fan of Informed Athlete on Facebook.

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.

Have you ever watched an athlete who obviously has raw athletic skill falter and not achieve his or her highest potential while others who aren’t as athletically gifted excel far beyond anyone’s expectations?

Informed Athlete LLC provides guidance and answers questions that high school and college athletes, parents, and coaches have about college athletic recruiting, eligibility, transfers, and scholarships.

Rick & Julie Allen founded Informed Athlete in 2008 to help families of student athletes who have the athletic skills to compete at the collegiate level, but often struggle through the recruiting or transfer process and make mistakes that cost a lot of money or result in an athlete quitting their sport before they have reached their full potential.

Informed Athlete is NOT a recruting service – our prime concern is the family we work with.  We also offer assistance following college enrollment, for example in situations involving a transfer from one college to another.  We deliver our services in several ways including our website:  InformedAthlete.com, monthly newsletters, teleseminars, live presentations and individual consultations/coaching sessions with the student-athlete and his/her family.

Rick Allen is uniquely qualified in this field.  He has worked on college campuses since 1980, and has over 20 years experience working directly with the NCAA compliance rules and procedures on two college campuses:  the University of Illinois and Oklahoma State University.  In addition, he also understands what it’s like to be in the parents’ shoes as his son went through the recruiting process and signed to play baseball at University of Missouri 4 years ago.

Unofficial Visits
Any time an athlete visits campus with parents or other family members, or with some of their friends, at their own expense, this is an “unofficial” visit.  Some facts about unofficial visits:

• Must be made at prospect’s expense

• University can provide up to 3 complimentary admissions to campus athletic event

• No limit on number of unofficial visits

• Cannot visit campus during a dead period – a period of time in which the NCAA will not allow any contact between the coach and a recruit.

• Cannot participate in tryout during official visit (Division I)

Official Visits

Official visits are highly regulated by NCAA rules.  During an official visit to an NCAA institution, it is permissible for the institution to provide a prospect with transportation to visit the campus, and with meals and lodging during a visit to campus that cannot exceed 48 hours from the time that the prospect (and parents or legal guardians, if they accompany the prospect) arrives on campus.

Large universities with ample recruiting budgets may provide all of the permissible expenses that they are permitted to provide.  However, some institutions, especially smaller colleges or universities with limited recruiting budgets, may only provide meals while on campus, or meals and lodging for just one night instead of two.

Some important points to know about official visits include:

• Cannot be made prior to first day of classes for senior year of HS

• Limit of 5 official visits, only one per school (even if 2-sport athlete)

• Cannot visit campus during a dead period

• Must be registered with Eligibility Center

• Must provide HS transcript and ACT or SAT test score to university

• University can provide transportation, meals, lodging for prospect

• University can provide meals and lodging to parents, also transportation if traveling together in car with prospect

• Phone call rules prior to visit (unlimited during 5 days prior to visit)

• 48-hr. rule from time of arrival on campus

• Will visit interfere with competition?

• Can combine two visits into one trip with assistance of schools.

• Cannot participate in tryout during official visit (Division I)

This article has addressed the difference between official and unofficial visits and outlined the rules for each.  However, knowing the rules is only the starting point.

Many parents and athletes are so excited and happy about being noticed and recruited, that they often forget the ONE THING that is vital to their future success and happiness playing the sport they love at the level they aspire.  That one thing is proper preparation for the visit!

Making the decision on which college to attend is extremely important and can have major financial and emotional implications for many years.

The visit, whether official or unofficial, is extremely important and should be treated as you would a job interview.  Proper preparation is essential for you to make sure you have the information to help your son or daughter make the very best decision for them.

If you have questions about this topic or any other issues related to recruiting, eligibility, financial aid or transfer issues, please go to register for our free newsletter, or contact Rick Allen at 918-994-7272 or rick@informedathlete.com.  Rick has over 20 years of experience in NCAA rules at the college level and is also the parent of a college baseball player who was recruited at the Division I level.