Recruiting
Recruiting is the process by which schools identify, contact and sign prospective athletes. It is governed by rules covering when contact may occur, who may make it, what may be offered and what a prospect may receive. Revenue sharing changed the substance of recruiting more than any rule change in decades.
The Recruiting Calendar: Four Period Types
The year is divided into periods that determine what contact is permitted, and dates vary by sport. A contact period is the least restrictive: coaches may have in-person contact with prospects and their families, on or off campus. An evaluation period allows coaches to assess a prospect’s academic and athletic ability, attending games, reviewing transcripts, but not to make in-person recruiting contact off campus. A quiet period limits in-person contact to the school’s own campus. A dead period is the most restrictive: no in-person contact at all, on or off campus, though written and electronic communication remains permitted throughout. Dead periods typically fall around signing periods and championship events.
Who May Make Contact, and When
Contact rules apply to coaches and other school staff involved in recruiting, and they’re tied directly to the calendar above: what’s permitted depends on which period the calendar is in on a given date, not on general judgment about what seems reasonable. Because periods differ by sport, the current sport-specific calendar always governs rather than a general rule of thumb.
Official vs. Unofficial Visits
An official visit is paid for by the school: transportation, lodging, meals and limited entertainment for the prospect and, within limits, their family, and is capped at 48 hours with limits on how many a prospect may take. An unofficial visit is funded by the prospect and carries far fewer restrictions: no cap on the number a prospect may take, and few limits on timing outside dead periods. Because the school is paying for an official visit, it comes with far more structure and documentation. See our Official Visit page for the full breakdown, including student host rules and family coverage.
What Schools Can Offer Recruits Now
Schools can offer athletic aid and, at participating schools, revenue-sharing compensation under a written agreement, a fundamental change from the recruiting landscape before 2025, where compensation discussions of this kind simply didn’t happen. What recruits sign has changed accordingly: an institutional financial aid (Grant-in-Aid) agreement, and, where applicable, a revenue-sharing agreement. The National Letter of Intent, which used to be the central signing document, was eliminated in October 2024.
The Role of Agents and Advisors
Athletes may now work with agents and advisors for NIL and compensation discussions without jeopardizing eligibility, which was not true before 2021. Agent involvement has become a normal part of recruiting conversations at many programs, particularly where revenue-sharing and NIL terms are being negotiated alongside the athletic decision itself. What athletes still cannot do is sign with an agent for professional representation in a sport while retaining college eligibility in that sport, subject to sport-specific exceptions.
What Associated Entities and Individuals Cannot Do
Recruiting contact by associated entities and individuals: boosters, collectives, and others connected to the school’s athletics program, remains prohibited regardless of the settlement’s other changes. A payment made mainly to secure a prospect’s commitment is pay-for-play, and that line hasn’t moved: it’s treated as impermissible no matter how the payment is documented or what it’s called.
The Transfer Portal as a Recruiting Channel
The transfer portal has become a major recruiting channel in its own right, and portal activity now clusters around revenue-sharing and NIL negotiations in a way it didn’t before 2025. Entering the portal makes an athlete visible to other programs and allows those programs to make contact, but it’s a notification and compliance tool, not a marketplace or a guarantee of a new roster spot. See our Transfer Portal page for entry windows and exceptions.
Common Recruiting Violations
The most common violations cluster around a handful of patterns: contact made outside the permitted period for that sport, benefits or payments provided to a prospect or their family that go beyond what’s authorized, recruiting contact by an associated entity or individual, and official-visit spending that exceeds the 48-hour window or the permitted expense categories. Most of these are documentation and timing failures rather than deliberate rule-breaking, which is exactly why a documented recruiting process matters as much as knowing the rules themselves.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is the recruiting calendar?
The year is divided into periods that determine what contact is permitted: contact periods allow in-person contact, evaluation periods allow observation but not contact, quiet periods limit contact to campus, and dead periods prohibit in-person contact entirely. Dates vary by sport.
Q. What can schools offer recruits now?
Athletic aid, and at participating schools, revenue-sharing compensation under a written agreement. That is a fundamental change: compensation is now a legitimate and central part of the conversation.
Q. What do recruits sign?
An institutional financial aid (Grant-in-Aid) agreement and, where applicable, a revenue-sharing agreement. The National Letter of Intent was eliminated in October 2024.
Q. Can boosters or collectives recruit?
No. Recruiting contact by associated entities and individuals remains prohibited, and a payment made mainly to secure a commitment is pay-for-play regardless of how it is documented.
Q. What’s the difference between an official and unofficial visit?
An official visit is paid for by the school: transportation, lodging, meals and limited entertainment for the prospect and, within limits, their family, and is capped at 48 hours with limits on how many a prospect may take. An unofficial visit is funded by the prospect and carries far fewer restrictions. See Official Visit for the full breakdown.
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