Introducing: Beyond the X’s and O’s of the Game — A Coach Blog Series

Coaching at the collegiate level goes far beyond game strategy. That’s why we’re excited to announce a new blog series that explores the administrative side of running a successful collegiate program. This series is written by Coach Mac—a former women’s volleyball coach—and aims to highlight key topics that coaches and administrators navigate each and every day. 

Have a topic you’d like us to explore? We welcome and encourage you to reach out with suggestions for future sessions: [email protected]

Part 1: Official Visits

There is so much that goes into collegiate coaching beyond coaching the skills of the game. If you were anything like me when I first started coaching, I was so overwhelmed with all the paperwork and administrative items that needed to be done for both the university and NCAA. Throughout this series, we are going to investigate some of those additional items that newer coaches may want to learn about or even for seasoned coaches that just want to learn more. First up, we are going to be diving into official visits. 

An official visit is any visit to a college or university by a PSA and their parents that is paid for by the college. The key point is that the college pays for the visit. This could look like a college paying for your travel to campus, whether it be gas or even a flight, a night stay at the local hotel, entertainment, or complimentary admission to a home match. The only prospective student-athletes (PSAs) who are able to take official visits are those who have reached June 15th following their sophomore year, entering their junior year. PSA’s are only allowed to come on one official visit per college. For some coaches, this might happen as the PSA’s first time on campus or it might be later on in the recruiting process with the PSA. This is entirely dependent on the coach, program, or department. No official visit can exceed 48 hours. The time clock does not include travel time and will begin as soon as the PSA arrives on campus. 

In order to comply with all NCAA requirements, there are multiple items that should be collected and returned to your college’s compliance director prior to the arrival of the PSA on campus. Each coach will need to make sure that the PSA is registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center. This might also include having the PSA placed on the program’s IRL. The NCAA Eligibility Center is a website that all PSA’s must sign up on to be cleared to begin competing in college sports. The eligibility process begins during the recruiting process, not just when the PSA arrives on campus for their first day as a student-athlete. Every coach will need to make sure that they get an academic transcript from the PSA as well. For visits, the transcript can be an unofficial transcript from the PSA’s high school and not an official one. Transcripts will allow all compliance directors to ensure that the PSA is on the right track to being eligible to compete when they begin college athletics. Coaches should check with their compliance director at their institution to know how much prior these items should be completed. The forms might look different college to college, so coaches should check with their department if there is any specific paperwork that needs to be completed for the department. However, if there is nothing specific that needs to be turned in, I have included an example form to help you as you begin recruiting your PSAs and bringing them on campus for an official visit. 

During some official visits, coaches may want to have the PSA’s tryout or play live. This would allow coaches to be able to see how the PSA plays with the team and/or moves on the court or field. While this sounds like a great opportunity for both the PSA and coaches, there is additional paperwork that must be included in the official visit form such as, a physical and sickle cell test result. Similar to the requirements for official visits, tryouts must be after June 15th going into the PSA’s junior year and a PSA can only participate in one tryout per college. The physical must be completed within one year prior to the tryout date. Both of these items would be turned into the compliance director and shared with the college’s athletic trainer. 

Recruiting is a very exciting time for both the PSA and coaches. With the excitement can come moments when we forget to stay in compliance with NCAA regulations. That’s why it’s important for coaches to stay organized and prepare sooner rather than later, giving the PSA enough time to gather everything needed to fully enjoy their visit to campus. 

One way to keep all of this organized is by using SprySign, which allows coaches to submit everything they need through an Official Visit workflow. Instead of juggling multiple forms and emails, it puts all the required information in one place so your administrative staff has what they need to process the visit and keep everything compliant.

All information was fact checked using the 2025-2026 NCAA Division II Manual.