The University of Akron Athletics
Recruiting
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Recruiting Rules | Recruiting Terms to Know:
Contact Period:Â Coaches may have face-to-face contact with prospective student-athletes or their parents, watch student-athletes compete, visit their high schools, and write or telephone prospective student-athletes or their parents.
Evaluation Period:Â Coaches may watch prospective student-athletes compete, visit their high schools, and write or telephone prospective student-athletes or their parents. However, a college coach may not have face-to-face contact with prospective student-athletes or their parents off the institution's campus at this time.
Quiet Period:Â Coaches may not have face-to-face contact with prospective student-athletes or their parents, and may not watch prospective student-athletes compete or visit their high schools. However, it is permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts on the institution's campus. Coaches may also write or telephone prospective student-athletes or their parents during this time.
Dead Period:Â Coaches may not have face-to-face contact with prospective student-athletes or their parents, and may not watch prospective student-athletes compete or visit their high schools. Further, coaches may not have in-person recruiting contacts on the institution's campus. Coaches may write and telephone prospective student-athletes or their parents during this time.
Recruiting Rules:
Coaches recruiting activities with prospective student-athletes (e.g., providing recruiting materials, calling on the telephone, contacting off-campus) are governed by NCAA recruiting rules, which limit these communications based on the prospective student-athlete's year in school.
Recruiting Calendars:
Recruiting calendars help to promote the well-being of prospective student-athletes and coaches and ensure competitive equity by defining certain time periods in which recruiting may or may not occur in a particular sport.
Recruiting calendars can be found here.
Recruiting and Scouting Services
A recruiting or scouting service is defined as any individual or entity that is primarily involved in providing information about prospective student-athletes. This definition includes both paid services and free services, but not any service where the information provided on a prospective student-athlete is incidental to the primary purpose of the service (e.g., newspaper coverage of a high-school football game).
Coaches may subscribe to a recruiting or scouting service provided the following requirements are met per sport.
Sports Other Than Basketball and Football
- Made available to all institutions desiring to subscribe and at the same fee rate;
- Information is provided in a standardized format to ensure consistent distribution to all subscribers;
- Particular contests are not recorded on demand from a particular coaching staff; and
- May subscribe to a service that provides scholastic and/or non-scholastic video.
Basketball and Football
Basketball and football programs may only use NCAA-approved recruiting services and may only purchase one annual subscription that meet the following requirements:
- Made available to all institutions desiring to subscribe and at the same fee rate;
- Publicly identifiable rates;
- Information is disseminated at least four times a year;
- Publicly identifiable geographical scope;
- Analysis is provided beyond demographic information or rankings;
- Samples of information are provided to potential subscribers; and
- Information is provided in a standardized format to ensure consistent distribution to all subscribers;
- Does not provide information about prospects in any form (e.g., oral reports, electronic messages) beyond standardized, consistent information provided to all subscribers.
Basketball and football programs are permitted to subscribe to video-only services. If you want to know if a recruiting or scouting service has been approved by the NCAA contact the Compliance Office.
Recruiting Visits
What is an Official Visit?
An official visit is any visit to a college campus by a prospective student-athlete and/or his or her parents that is financed partially or in whole by the institution.
During an official visit, the institution may pay for reasonable transportation, lodging, and meals for the prospective student-athlete, as well as reasonable entertainment expenses, including complimentary admissions to a home athletics event.
Some additional rules to keep in mind:
- Prospects may take five official visits total.
- Prospects may only take one official visit per institution.
- Prospects may begin taking official visits:
v Sports Other Than Basketball: Opening day of classes of senior year of high school.
v Men's Basketball: January 1 of junior year in high school.
v Women's Basketball: Thursday following the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship game of junior year in high school. Â
- The following requirements must be met before a prospect takes an official visit:
v PSAT, SAT, PLAN, or ACT score;
v High school (or college) transcript; and
v Registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center and on institution's institutional request list (IRL).
What is an Unofficial Visit?
An unofficial visit is any visit to a college campus by a prospective student-athlete and/or his or her parents that is not financed by the institution. The only expenses that prospects may receive during an unofficial visit are three complimentary admissions to a home athletics event. Prospects may take an unlimited number of unofficial visits and can do so at any age.
What May Occur During a Visit to Campus?
During a prospective student-athlete's official or unofficial visit to campus:
- The prospect may participate in physical workouts or other recreational activities, provided they are not: (1) organized or observed by coaching staff; and (2) are not designed to test the athletics abilities of the prospect.
Exception: On-campus evaluations in basketball.
- Institutions may not arrange personalized recruiting aids (e.g., personalized jerseys) or permit prospects to engage in game day simulations (e.g., running onto field with team).
- Institutions may not publicize a visit to campus and the prospect may not participate in team activities that would make the public or media aware of the prospect's visit to campus (e.g., celebratory walks to or around stadium/arena).
A team physician may conduct a medical examination provided the exam does not include any test or procedure designed to test or measure the athletics agility or skill of the prospect. No coaches or staff, other than an athletic trainer, may be present during the medical examination.
Tryouts
General Rule for Non-Enrolled Students
A member institution, on its campus or elsewhere, shall not conduct or have conducted on its behalf any physical activity at which one or more prospective student-athletes reveal, demonstrate, or display their athletic abilities in any sport.
Who is a Prospective Student-Athlete for Tryout Purposes?
Sports Other than Men's Basketball
Anyone who has started classes for the ninth grade and is not enrolled at The University of Akron at the time of the practice or test.
Men's Basketball
Anyone who has started classes for the seventh grade and is not enrolled at The University of Akron at the time of the practice or test.
Recruiting Publicity and Social Media
Presence of Media During Recruiting Contact:
No media entity may be present during any recruiting contact made between an Akron coaching staff member and a prospective student-athlete.
Publicity Before Commitment:
An institution may comment publicly on a prospective student-athlete only to confirm the institution's recruitment of that prospect. It is not permissible to comment on the prospect's ability or potential contribution to the team. This restriction is in place until the prospect has:
- Signed a National Letter of Intent;
- Signed the institution's written offer of athletic aid; or
- Paid a financial deposit in response to an offer of admission.
Social Media and Recruiting:
Social media has become increasingly important in the recruitment process. Below are the rules surrounding the use of social media when recruiting prospective student-athletes.
