Tag Archives: National Letter of Intent

Be Ready for Your Signing Day

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Today is the NCAA National Letter of Intent Signing Day.  Thousands of young student-athletes today officially signed their contract for scholarship aid to their NCAA institution of choice.  And yet, along with those thousands, there will be possibly thousands more very good players that did not have that opportunity today because they did not meet NCAA initial eligibility standards; they did not take care of business.

There are two things that will determine your initial NCAA eligibility coming out of high school.  The first, as was discussed in my previous post on College Entrance Exams, is your score on your ACT or SAT test.  The second factor that I will detail today is your GPA in what are classified as your Core Courses.

ncaa_eligibility_center_logoNeither your high school, nor the college you are entering determines your eligibility; an independent body called the NCAA Eligibility Center determines it. The NCAA Eligibility Center certifies the academic and amateur credentials of all college-bound student-athletes who wish to compete in NCAA Division I or II athletics.  The NCAA Eligibility Center also determines what courses from your high school are classified as Core Courses.  The Core Courses are very specific, essentially college prep courses, in Math, English, Science, and Social Studies.

As discussed in a previous post, NCAA Division I schools use a sliding scale to determine eligibility.  The minimum in either a NCAA DI or DII school is a 2.0 GPA in 16 Core units.  In the NCAA requirements for both the college entrance exam and the GPA in 16 Core units must be met.  The NCAA initial eligibility guideline brochure can be downloaded here: NCAA Eligibility Requirements

In the NAIA, the initial eligibility requirements are slightly different.  There are three factors.

  1. As mentioned previously, a minimum test score of 18 on the ACT or 860 SAT
  2. Overall high school GPA of 2.0 and
  3. Graduate in the top ½ of your high school class.

If an incoming student-athlete meets 2 out of the 3 requirements, they are eligible their freshman year at an NAIA institution.

The NAIA also has an NAIA Eligibility Center that you will need to register with prior to being certified for competition your freshman year.

In order to put yourself in a situation insuring you will meet either (or both) the NCAA or NAIA initial eligibility requirements, it is important that you make good progress through your high school career.  Typically, student-athletes who find they have not met these requirements have not done the necessary work through the entirety of their high school years.  Typically, they wait until it is too late to start planning.   Here are some suggested steps from the NCAA Eligibility Center.

Freshmen and Sophomores

  • Start planning now!
  • Work hard to get the best grades possible.
  • Take classes that match your high school’s List of NCAA Courses.
  • The NCAA Eligibility Center will use only approved core courses to certify your initial eligibility.
  • You can access and print your high school’s List of NCAA Courses at http://www.eligibilitycenter.org. Click the NCAA College- Bound Student-Athlete link to enter and then navigate to the “Resources” tab and select “U.S. Students” where you will find the link for the List of NCAA Courses.
  • At the beginning of your sophomore year, complete your online registration at www.eligibilitycenter.org.
  • If you fall behind, do not take short cuts. Classes you take must be four-year college preparatory and must meet NCAA requirements.

Juniors

  • Register to take the ACT, SAT or both and use the NCAA Eligibility Center code“9999”as a score recipient. Doing this sends your official score directly to the NCAA Eligibility Center.
  • Continue to take college prepratory courses. Double check to make sure the courses you have taken match your school’s List of NCAA Courses.
  • Ask your high school counselor to send an official transcript to the NCAA Eligibility Center after completing your junior year.
  • If you have attended more than one high school, the NCAA Eligibility Center will need official transcripts from all high schools attended. (The NCAA Eligibility Center does NOT accept faxed or emailed transcripts/test scores.) The NCAA Eligibility Center does accept transcripts electronically through Docufide/Parchment, e-Scrip Safe, ConnectEdu, National Transcript Center and Xap.
  • Before registering for classes for your senior year, check with your high school counselor to determine the number of core courses that you need to complete your senior year.

Seniors

  • Take the ACT and/or SAT again, if necessary. The NCAA Eligibility Center will use the best scores from each section of the ACT or SAT to determine your best cumulative score.
  • Continue to take college-preparatory courses.
  • Check the courses you have taken to match your school’s List of NCAA Courses.
  • Review your amateurism responses and request final amateurism certification on or after April 1 (for fall enrollees) or October 1 (for spring enrollees).
  • Continue to work hard to get the best grades possible.
  • Graduate on time (in eight academic semesters).
  • After graduation, ask your high school counselor to send your final transcript to the NCAA Eligibility Center with proof of graduation. The NCAA Eligibility Center accepts transcripts electronically through Docufide/Parchment, e-Scrip Safe, ConnectEdu, National Transcript Center and Xap 6 COLLEGE-BOUND STUDENT-ATHLETE

A very helpful document with all of this stuff can be downloaded here:  Guide for the College Bound Student-Athlete

Another source of information, especially to athletes in grades 8-11 is my recently launched YouTube Channel that deals specifically with the recruiting process.  The channel can be found here : The YouCanDoMore YouTube Channel, and the complete playlist can be viewed here.

 

Questions or Comments are always welcomed… I will  answer!  Just shoot me an email or leave a comment.

Remember – You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you…. Don’t Believe It!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

 

Signing Day and Recruiting

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I originally published this post a couple of years ago… it is, of course, still very relevant this year. Each year I am amazed with the flurry of recruiting activity (mainly from those student-athletes wanting to get recruited) during the month of January. This really is something that student-athletes (and their families) should be taking care of beginning with their 9th and 10th grade years. Hopefully this information will find its way into some of those young student athletes hands … and heads!

Signing Day and Recruiting

National Signing Day is exciting.

  • Exciting for the student-athletes (and their parents) that are beginning the next step of their athletic and academic career…
  • Exciting for high school coaches that are proud to see the young men that they have helped mold, shape and develop get rewarded for their work….
  • Exciting for the college coaches that have worked so hard over the last year (and longer) to put together their 2014 recruiting class… (and can now get off the road for a few weeks!)

national_signing_day

For the seniors signing the NLI , today is the culmination of the recruiting process.  For everyone else (athletes in grades 9-11) the process is either still ongoing, or just getting going.

When I checked my blog stats over the last couple of weeks, I noticed a huge spike with search terms regarding recruiting and that National Letter of Intent.  People with questions like “Does signing the NLI mean I get a full scholarship?” and “How will the NLI be delivered?”.  This tells me what I already know… the recruiting process can be a scary and confusing time for student-athletes and their parents.

For student-athletes and parents with questions, I have compiled some links and posts that might help understand the recruiting process.  For high school coaches, steering your athletes and parents to these posts might help relieve some of the burden of explaining this complicated process.  I also make the point… often and strongly… that a high school coach will not “get you (or anyone) a scholarship”… that it is ultimately up to them as a student-athlete.

You can click on the following links to navigate to these pages:

The Flipbard Magazines have links my recruiting posts.   There is a little overlap, as some of the “Pyramid” posts are also included in the Wanted and Rewarded ebook. They are optimized for viewing on an iPad, but can also be read on your computer.

In addition to these written posts, I have recently launched my YouTube Channel that deals specifically with the recruiting process.  The channel can be found here : The YouCanDoMore YouTube Channel, and the complete playlist can be viewed here.

 

Questions or Comments are always welcomed… I will  answer!  Just shoot me an email or leave a comment.

Remember – You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you…. Don’t Believe It!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Recruiting – The National Letter of Intent

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level of interestToday is the final installment in the six-part series designed to help student-athletes and their parents know what to expect at the various stages of the recruiting process.  I briefly explained these stages in the post, Recruiting – Gauging Their Level Of Interest; this series goes into greater detail at each step, helping you maximize every opportunity to market yourself.

In addition to these written posts, I have recently launched my YouTube Channel that deals specifically with the recruiting process.  The channel can be found here : The YouCanDoMore YouTube Channel, and the complete playlist can be viewed here.

 

This post will discuss “The National Letter of Intent” (NLI) and detail exactly what signing this document means.

You made it through the recruiting process to this ultimate and important step;  the last step in the recruiting process, but the first in your collegiate playing experience.  This step takes on increased importance, because unlike many of the previous steps (The Offer or your verbal commitment) this step IS binding.  The NLI (National Letter of Intent) used by the majority of NCAA schools, is a legal, binding agreement that ties you to the issuing college and visa-versa.  Non-NLI member colleges are the Ivy League schools, Military Academies, Division III and NAIA institutions, prep schools and junior colleges.

Signing date (the first day of the regular signing period) for football is typically the first Wednesday in February.  The dates for all the sports can be found at this link: NCAA NLI Guide

Here are some things to keep in mind regarding the NLI and signing day:

  • The NLI must be accompanied by an athletics financial aid agreement.  An institution cannot ask a student-athlete to sign a letter of intent to “walk on” or if it is accompanied only by a financial aid agreement from a non-athletic (i.e. academic) source.
  • The NLI may not be signed prior to the signing dates for the applicable sport.  A coach cannot and should not ask a student-athlete to sign the NLI early “just to get a head start on things” unless your sport has an applicable early signing period.
  • A parent or legal guardian must also sign the NLI if the prospective student-athlete is under 21 years old, regardless of marital status.
  • A coach or institutional representative may not hand deliver the NLI off campus or be present off campus at the time of signing.  The NLI will probably be delivered express mail, courier service, or regular mail.  It can also be delivered electronically via email or fax.  In the “old days” coaches, often head coaches, often head coaches competing for the same prospect, would show up at this top recruits high school with the NLI in hand.  The NCAA felt like this was putting too much pressure on the prospective student-athlete and their family on signing day.  It is still possible for a student-athlete to have more than one NLI delivered to them, but they will be able to decide which to sign without the pressure of a coach hovering over them.
  • It will be up to your high school to organize any signing day event.
  • Once you sign the NLI, all other institutions must respect the student-athletes NLI signing by ceasing all recruiting.
  • The student-athlete (and parent/ guardian) will sign two copies of the NLI and athletic scholarship agreement.  They will keep one and return one to the institution.
  • The NLI binds a student-athlete to the institution, not the coach.  If the coach leaves, the student-athlete is still bound by the provisions of the NLI
  • There are various circumstances that could make the NLI declared null and void.  These are detailed at this site: NCAA NLI Guide

On a final note, I think it is important to remember that, although the recruiting process is over, your collegiate experience is just beginning.  In order for you to compete at this next level, it is imperative that you continue ALL the things (or more) that put you in a position to receive an athletic scholarship and sign a NLI.  Continue working to make yourself a remarkable, Purple Cow athlete!  An athlete that was ultimately Wanted… and Rewarded!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Recruiting – The Offer

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offer pyramidToday is the fifth of a six-part series designed to help student-athletes and their parents know what to expect at the various stages of the recruiting process.  I briefly explained these stages in the post, Recruiting – Gauging Their Level Of Interest; this series goes into greater detail at each step, helping you maximize every opportunity to market yourself.

In addition to these written posts, I have recently launched my YouTube Channel that deals specifically with the recruiting process.  The channel can be found here : The YouCanDoMore YouTube Channel, and the complete playlist can be viewed here.

The previous post in this series can be found on my blog at the following link: Recruiting – The Level of Interest Pyramid.  This post will discuss “The Offer” and detail exactly what the verbal offer of scholarship aid means.

At some point during the recruiting process, the school (or schools) that has been recruiting you will make a decision.  They will either decide that you do not fit the current needs of their program, or that you are the type of student athlete that will be successful in their program.

If their decision is that you do not meet their current needs, understand their decision does not necessarily mean you cannot be a collegiate football player.  It only means that you do not meet the needs of that specific program, at that specific time.

If their decision is that you DO meet their needs, their next step will be determining what type offer they will be making.  Here are some important things to remember regarding the verbal offer:

  • At all levels below FBS football, the scholarships can be broken up into partial awards, ranging anywhere from a small dollar amount to a full ride.  At the NCAA FBS level, the scholarships are all full awards.  A full scholarship can include tuition, fees, room, board and books.  If you qualify for any need based aid, such as a PELL grant, you can accept that amount on top of your scholarship award.
  • At all levels below the NCAA DI level, the scholarship awards are 1-year contracts, with the option for annual renewal.  A 2011 rule change allowed NCAA DI schools to offer multi-year awards, but even then, those are rare.  A recent study by the Pittsburg Post-Gazette found the following:

“But nearly two years after that legislation, multiyear scholarships are rare, not publicized by universities and largely unknown by the athletes. According to data of 82 universities at the Division I-A level obtained by the Post-Gazette through open records requests, only 16 have offered more than 10 multiyear scholarships. Thirty-two of the universities have offered between one and 10, and thirty-four have not offered any.”

  • If a DII school tells you that they are offering you a 4-year scholarship, they are not being completely honest.
  • The verbal scholarship offer is non-binding; it can be rescinded.  Nothing is binding until the National Letter of Intent is signed.
  • College programs will offer more scholarships than they have available, knowing that they will not “win” every recruiting battle.  Because of this, they will want to know ASAP if you intend to accept the offer… and will ask that you give a verbal commitment to them.  If you are not going to accept their offer, they know they can make an offer to the next person on their list.  Just because the college will want to know ASAP, does not mean you should feel, or be, pressured to make a decision.
  • Your verbal commitment is non-binding as well; it can be rescinded.  Nothing is binding until the National Letter of Intent is signed.

You should feel free to ask questions related to the scholarship offer:

  • Can the offer be increased from year to year?
  • How often does that happen?
  • What about my red-shirt year… will the scholarship cover a 5th year?
  • What happens to the amount of aid if I get injured and cannot play any longer?  What if I graduate in 4 years, and still have a year of eligibility… will the scholarship cover grad school?

You are getting to the final, home stretch, of the recruiting process.  You now are fairly confident in their level of interest.  It is now up to you to continue your evaluation and make your decision based on the important factors to you and your family.  You want to be confident in your decision before the next and final phase of the process, signing the National Letter of Intent.

Questions and Comments are always welcome!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com