NCAA Moves Up First Contact Date with Recruits

CHN Staff Report

The NCAA Board of Directors approved legislation that will move up the time when college coaches can first contact recruits. It approved the move at its annual NCAA Convention this month.

The prior date of June 15 of a student-athlete's sophomore year in high school was moved to January 1, giving coaches 5 1/2 more months of time. This is something the hockey community had pushed for given the competition for players with major junior teams in Canada, and basketball had already moved up its start date with no issues.

The Jan. 1 date is also prior, now, to the major junior draft. According to a College Hockey Inc. article, "This should help more and more talented young players understand their options prior to making a decision that could jeopardize their NCAA eligibility."

Coaches will also have more freedom to communicate via telephone, email, social media and text messages start Jan. 1 of a player's sophomore year, and it removes many of the limits.

The lack of communication often meant that players were unaware of a school's interest in them prior to the major junior draft. Even if a player contacted a school on their own, they would not get a return communication until June 15.

In-person contacts are still limited, and the first off-campus contact with a player still must wait until June 15 of a given year.