Prospective Student-Athletes
NCAA Recruiting Information
The NCAA has extensive rules regarding how and when coaches may recruit prospective student-athletes. There are also a number of criteria that a prospective student-athlete must meet in order to be eligible to participate in college athletics. The NCAA provides some resources that summarize these rules and criteria that may prove helpful to you.
Basic Recruiting Do’s and Don’ts
- Prospective student-athletes being recruited by Saginaw Valley State University (or anyone else) should not receive cash or any other items of value from anyone associated with SVSU.
- Prospects should not receive promises of any of the above.
- Prospects should not receive correspondence or phone calls from anyone other than the SVSU staff or faculty about the University.
- Prospect's families should not be promised or given any items of value or received job promotions or new jobs based upon a prospect's decision to attend SVSU.
- Neither a prospect nor their family should receive "free" tickets to any events other than complimentary tickets for athletics events held on campus.
Official Visits
An official visit is when an institution invites you to visit campus at their expense. These visits may not last more than 48 hours. You may not make more than one (1) official visit to any one institution and may not make more than (5) official visits in total. You may not make an official visit until June 15th preceding your junior year of high school.
Information that a prospective student-athlete must provide us before they can make an official visit:
- A high school or college academic transcript
- Registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center and is placed on the institution's Institutional Request List (IRL).
- Prospective Student-Athlete Tryout Forms
Unofficial Visits
An unofficial visit occurs when a prospective student-athlete visits the institution at their own expense. A prospective student-athlete may visit a member institution's campus at his or her own expense an unlimited number of times. A prospective student-athlete may make unofficial visits before his or her junior year in high school.
Complimentary Admissions
During an official or unofficial visit, the institution may provide a prospective student-athlete a maximum of five (5) complimentary admissions to a home athletics event in which the institution's intercollegiate team practices or competes
- These complimentary admissions may only be used by the prospect and those persons accompanying the prospect on the visit
- The complimentary admissions must be issued through a pass list on an individual game basis.
- The complimentary admissions may provide seating only in the general seating area of the facility utilized for conducting the event.
- An institution may reserve tickets, only for the use of immediate family members accompanying a prospect during an official visit and for seat locations adjacent to the complimentary seats being provided to the prospect. These tickets must be purchased at face value.
- Providing seating during the conduct of the event (including intermission) for the prospect or those persons accompanying the prospect in the facility's press box, special seating box(es) or bench area is specifically prohibited.
- A member institution may not provide complimentary admissions to a prospect for a postseason conference tournament. The prospect may purchase tickets only in the same manner as any other member of the general public.
- The provision of complimentary or reduced-cost admissions to prospects for an NCAA championship (all rounds) or other postseason contests (e.g., bowl game, NAIA or NIT championship) constitutes excessive entertainment and is prohibited. The prospect may purchase these tickets only in the same manner as any other member of the general public.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I know if I am considered a prospective student-athlete?
A: In general, if you are between 9th and 12th grades of high school, you are considered a prospective student-athlete. This is generally true even if you don't plan to play college sports. In addition, if you have not yet started 8th grade, but an institution has provided you with benefits that it does not provide to all prospective students, that institution must treat you as a prospective student-athlete.
Q: I want to contact a coach to let them know that I would like to be an SVSU student-athlete. Can I do that?
A: Yes, you may contact a coach at your own expense and on your own initiative at any time, but please be aware that they may be prohibited from contacting you. So if you leave a telephone message or send an email, they may be prohibited by NCAA rules from calling you back or writing to you. If you do contact a coach, be sure to tell them your age and grade levels so that they can determine when or if it would be permissible for them to contact you.
Q: What is a Dead Period?
A: Under NCAA rules, each calendar year is divided into different recruiting periods. These periods are Contact Periods, Evaluation Periods, Quiet Periods and Dead Periods. Each of these periods have different limitations on the recruiting activities a coach can participate in, as follows:
Contact Period
During a Contact Period, authorized athletics department staff members may make in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts and evaluations.
Evaluation Period
During an Evaluation Period, authorized athletics department staff members may be involved in off-campus activities designed to assess the academic qualifications and playing ability of prospective student-athletes. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts shall be made with the prospective student-athlete during an evaluation period.
Quiet Period
During a Quiet Period, it is permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts only on SVSU’s campus. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts or evaluations may be made during the quiet period.
Dead Period
During a Dead Period, it is not permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts or evaluations on or off SVSU’s campus or to permit official or unofficial visits by prospective student-athletes to campus. It remains permissible, however, for an institutional staff member to write or telephone prospective student-athletes during a dead period.
Informational Links
SVSU Prospective Student-Athlete Information Form
Organized Competition Legislation