Posted by Ron Johnston on Fri, Jun 25, 2010 @ 02:25 PM
Last Tuesday evening we had a great Recruiting Summit, with hundreds participating by phone in this free 90-minute event. Jon & I taught some important recruiting techniques, helping take the mystery out of the whole recruiting game. We actually spent more time answering questions than we did teaching our prepared topics. From the comments that came in afterwards, people clearly enjoyed the event and found it valuable.
One of the questions asked was "Can you explain the whole thing about Verbal Commitments?" We answered that, though we occasionally hear of a young athlete making a verbal commitment - sometimes as young as Junior High - a verbal commitment is completely non-binding on either party. It may feel reassuring to the athlete, but the truth is that it's not even a guarantee that a scholarship will eventually be given.
Here's what the NCAA says about verbal commitments:
Q: Can I make a verbal commitment to a school and sign a National Letter of Intent with a different school?
A: Yes. A verbal commitment, stating publicly one's intentions to attend a certain institution, is a non-binding, oral agreement between you and the institution. The only binding nature of the commitment is your word and the institution's promise. The National Letter of Intent program does not recognize verbal commitments. It is not uncommon for a student to verbally commit to one institution and subsequently sign a National Letter of Intent with another institution. And, on some occasions, a university may accept your verbal commitment and later offer the National Letter of Intent to another prospective student-athlete.
But wait... there's more!
The NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee has just issued new proposed legislation that would stop early verbal offers in all sports. They say they've heard from coaches, prospects and families who felt pressured to make decisions earlier without the necessary information or academic qualifications.
The proposal would prohibit verbal offers of athletically related financial aid before July 1 after a prospective student-athlete’s junior year in high school. The proposal would also require institutions have at least a five-semester or seven-quarter high school transcript on file at the institution before extending any verbal offer of aid.
Click here to read the NCAA News article detailing the proposal.
Posted by Jon Fugler on Tue, Oct 20, 2009 @ 05:23 PM
With the Early Signing Period coming up for most sports in less than a month (November 11-18), it's time to for a refresher on what this is all about and what it means to prospects.
The National Signing Dates are those periods of time when college coaches can sign high school seniors to a National Letter of Intent, which is explained by the NCAA:
"By signing a National Letter of Intent, a prospective student-athlete agrees to attend the designated college or university for one academic year. Pursuant to the terms of the National Letter of Intent program, participating institutions agree to provide athletics financial aid for one academic year to the student-athlete, provided he/she is admitted to the institution and is eligible for financial aid under NCAA rules."
The Early Signing Period next month includes basketball and most other sports. Excluded are Football, Field Hockey, Soccer, Track and Field, Cross Country and Men's Water Polo.
Once the Early Signing Period is over, coaches can continue to recruit but may not sign an athlete to a National Letter of Intent until the Regular Period, which varies depending on the sport. You can see the complete schedule for this year on the NCAA site.
What does it mean if you are not signed during the Early Period? Well, it probably just indicates you are not a blue-chip athlete, but by no means are your scholarship hopes dashed. There will be many more scholarships handed out during the Regular Period.
Continue to contact coaches and get on their radar. And, if you are already on their radar, build the relationships and pursue your scholarship dream.
Posted by Ron Johnston on Mon, Feb 09, 2009 @ 05:24 PM
This year, as every year, there was lots of hoopla around National Signing Day - the first day an athlete can sign his or her National Letter of Intent. It fell on February 4 this year for football and five other sports, and there was an amazing amount of hype.
In fact, many colleges even scheduled press conferences to announce who they'd added to next year's roster. With all this press coverage, you'd have thought it was the NFL draft, not high school athletes committing to play at the college level.
One funny, but not-so-funny National Signing Day story. Kevin Hart, a small-town high school football player, called a school assembly/press conference to announce his choice of colleges and athletic scholarships. He showed an Oregon Ducks cap and a Cal Bears cap, and with much drama, finally put on a Cal Bears cap to indicate his choice. The whole school was so proud that one of their own had been recruited to a major D-I college.
Turns out it was all a fraud. He'd not been recruited by ANY college, and had just made it all up. Sad, because, though he may not have been D-I material, he was probably good enough to get legitimately recruited if he'd done the right things to get coaches looking at him and keep them interested. But that's another story; he's cooked his own goose now.
So what exactly is a National Letter of Intent?
It's every prospective student-athlete's dream - a letter they sign committing to play their sport for a year at a specific NCAA institution in exchange for an athletic scholarship and/or financial aid.
By signing, they take themselves off the market and all other coaches must then cease recruiting them. Since 610 of 622 NCAA D-I and D-II institutions participate in the National Letter of Intent, that pretty much covers all the schools that offer athletic scholarships. You can see more details on the National Letter of Intent and National Signing Day dates here.