What is Informed Athlete?

Athletic Scholarships & Transfer Issues

“You need to transfer if you want to get more playing time.”

That’s the last thing that a college athlete wants to hear from his or her coach.  Sometimes transfers are initiated by the athlete, but many times they are initiated by the coach.

Throughout the years, I have encountered many different reasons for athlete transfers including coaches moving to another school, athletes’ wanting to move closer to home, athletes’ desire to switch schools, or because their scholarship has been reduced or cancelled.

You may be wondering why I am writing about the topic of NCAA transfers when most athletes and parents are just thinking about the NCAA recruiting process.  The transfer rules may be the last thing on your mind.  I understand that – I’ve been there.  However, I believe that you should at least be aware of some of the basic transfer rules.

The sport of baseball is a bit unique in that it is the only sport in which most athletes receive partial scholarships, yet they cannot transfer directly from one NCAA Division I school to another and be immediately eligible, even if their athletic scholarship is reduced or cancelled.

Of special note is the fact that in many transfer situations the first college can still control whether a player will play at another Division I or II school.

An NCAA Division I or II college must receive the written permission of the four-year school that a player is currently attending before they are permitted to speak with that player about the possibility of a transfer.  This can become an issue of conflict between athletes and coaches, and we have worked with a number of athletes and their families to help reduce this conflict and accomplish the transfer in a positive manner.

Players also need to remember that academic eligibility will be a very important factor in order to be immediately eligible at the next college, whether transferring from a four-year college or from a junior college.  Registering with the NCAA Eligibility Center and being classified as a Qualifier – even if you know you will be starting out at the junior college level – is an important factor and will make the transfer process much easier and less stressful when that time comes.

Contact us for further information if you need help with transferring.  Through the years, we have assisted many athletes through tough transfer situations.  To schedule an appointment with Rick Allen, please call us at 918-994-7271 or email rick@informedathlete.com

National Letter of Intent & Athletic Scholarships

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.

Campus Visits 101

One of the most important decisions that a college athlete recruit will make is which college scholarship offer to accept.  The best way to learn about a college or university and the baseball program, that you are interested in or that that is recruiting you, is to visit campus.  From the standpoint of NCAA rules, there are two types of visits:  “official” and “unofficial”.  This article will discuss both, the differences and the rules for each.

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 918-994-7271 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.

Does your nutritional supplement contain banned substances?

It was recently reported by the New York Times that two dietary supplements that are popular with high school football players, Mass Xtreme and Tren Xtreme, contain steroids, according to court documents filed by federal authorities.  Search warrants executed by authorities on July 23 allege that the products, manufactured by American Cellular Labs, contain illegal man-made steroids.

This news should serve as a reminder to high school athletes, parents, and coaches to be careful about nutritional supplements that are purchased over-the-counter.

In addition, high school athletes who will be starting their college careers at NCAA colleges and universities within the next month are reminded that they will be subject to NCAA drug tests, and in many cases, additional drug tests administered by their school or conference.  These athletes should have received a list of the NCAA’s banned substances from their college or university.  If you did not receive such a list, be sure to contact your coaches and request a copy of the list.

Many universities, especially at the Division I level, have their own drug-testing policies, which in most cases are “help-based” programs.  This means that if an athlete tests positive in a university drug test, they will be referred for counseling and/or drug education classes, and may serve a penalty determined by the coach or school, but will not necessarily be subject to restrictions by the NCAA.

NCAA athletes will also be subject to drug tests administered by the NCAA.  The NCAA drug-testing program is a “punitive” program.  Student-athletes who test positive for NCAA banned substances will be ineligible for one calendar year from the date of a positive drug test. There have been cases in which freshmen athletes tested positive for a substance that they began taking while involved in high school sports because they were not aware that the product contained an NCAA banned substance.

Athletes and parents are reminded that a product as common as caffeine is on the list of NCAA banned substances.  Most athletes would have to drink a large quantity of caffeine to test positive in a NCAA drug test, but due to different body compositions and metabolic rates, there is no sure way to know how much caffeine may be consumed before being in danger of a positive NCAA test.

For more information about matters regarding NCAA rules, or any other issues that athletes and parents have questions about, go to www.informedathlete.com to sign up for our free newsletter, or contact Rick Allen at 918-994-7271 or rick@informedathlete.com.