2023–24 NCAA Men’s Golf Recruiting Rules and Calendar
When can men’s golf coaches begin to contact potential recruits? It’s the first thing student-athletes want to know as they kick off their recruiting journey. In general, college coaches can personally reach out to student-athletes starting June 15 after their sophomore year. They can call, email, text and make verbal offers. However—and this is important—a significant amount of recruiting takes place before this time.
To build a list of interested prospects, college coaches start researching recruits before they can initiate contact. They follow national rankings, evaluate golf scores at top tournaments and analyze swing videos. So, this section not only explains the men’s golf recruiting rules and calendar, but it also goes into detail on how coaches recruit during—and around—these regulations
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How to use the NCAA golf recruiting rules and calendar
At first glance, the NCAA golf recruiting rules and calendar may seem daunting, but once you break them down, you’ll find they’re not overly complicated. Here’s the gist: each academic year, the NCAA establishes a recruiting calendar that outlines when and how college coaches can contact student-athletes. These restrictions prevent coaches from emailing and calling recruits too often (and too early). Knowing the contact rules will help student-athletes maximize their opportunity of establishing relationships with men’s golf coaches at schools they’re interested in. Plus, it’s a good way to ensure your recruiting remains on track. For example, if you know coaches are allowed to reach out to athletes after their sophomore year, then you want to get on their radar before that point.
Recent changes to the NCAA golf recruiting timeline
In May 2019, the NCAA proposed new recruiting rules that affect Division 1 college coaches. With some athletes committing as early as freshman year, these rules were enforced to curb early recruiting. However, for men’s golf, the new changes will mostly go unnoticed. First, early recruiting isn’t really a prevalent issue in men’s golf. And according to the NCAA, 62 percent of golf recruits received their first contact from a college coach during their sophomore and junior year. So, more likely than not, the golf recruiting timeline will remain about the same.
When can college golf coaches contact recruits?
NCAA Division 1 and Division 2 golf coaches can begin to contact recruits starting June 15 after their sophomore year. At this time, they can call, text, email, direct message and make verbal offers to student-athletes. Then, beginning August 1 before junior year, recruits can partake in unofficial and official visits. Division 3 college coaches, on the other hand, aren’t required to adhere to the same set of rules and can reach out to recruits at any point in high school. NAIA coaches set their own recruiting timeline, as well.
But don’t be mistaken—a lot of work is done before this point. Men’s golf coaches are actively researching and evaluating recruits so when the time comes, they know exactly who they’ll contact. Coaches keep a close eye on national rankings, such as the Junior Golf Scoreboard, the American Junior Golf Association and Golfweek, evaluate swing videos, track scoring averages at tournaments and prioritize high academic recruits. That’s why student-athletes interested in competing at top golf programs need to start early and be proactive. This includes: researching the different divisions, improving your national ranking by playing at tournaments and tours, registering for the NCAA Eligibility Center and meeting academic requirements, creating a profile that highlights academic achievements and a swing video and emailing coaches.
NCAA Division 1 golf recruiting rules
NCAA Division 1 sports follow the most restrictive set of rules:
- Any time: College coaches can send recruits general materials, such as questionnaires, camp information, non-athletic information about the school and materials published by the NCAA.
- June 15 after sophomore year: Student-athletes can officially receive personal contact and recruiting materials. Coaches can call athletes, send text messages, direct messages and emails, as well as make verbal offers.
- August 1 before junior year: Recruits can take unofficial and official visits to schools. Student-athletes are permitted to take unlimited official visits, with one official visit permitted per school.
NCAA Division 2 golf recruiting rules
NCAA Division 2 recruiting rules are slightly more lenient, mostly around visits:
- Any time: Coaches can send recruits general materials, including questionnaires, camp brochures, NCAA materials and non-athletic information about the school. Student-athletes can take unofficial visits and aren’t restricted in the number of unofficial visits they take.
- June 15 after sophomore year: College coaches can call, text, email, direct message and conduct off-campus contact with an athlete and/or their family. Student-athletes can also begin taking official visits at this time. They’re allowed one visit per college, with unlimited total visits to Division 2 schools.
NCAA Division 3 golf recruiting rules
NCAA Division 3 differs from Division 1 and Division 2 in that it doesn’t have limits on when coaches can contact recruits. The only restrictions in place are around off-campus contact and official visits.
- Any time: Student-athletes can receive recruiting materials, as well as generic materials about the school. Coaches can call, email, text and send direct messages to student-athletes. Recruits can go on unofficial visits at any point during high school and aren’t restricted in the number of unofficial visits they take.
- After sophomore year: Coaches can contact student-athletes off campus.
- January 1 of junior year: Student-athletes can begin going on official visits. They’re allowed one visit per college and can take as many unofficial visits to Division 3 programs as they like. It’s common for golf recruits to visit Division 3 schools during the spring of their junior year.
2023–24 NCAA golf recruiting calendar
The NCAA Golf Recruiting Calendar dictates when and how college coaches can proactively recruit athletes. The calendar is broken into different periods: the evaluation period, dead period, quiet period and contact period.
NCAA Division 1
Contact Period: You’ll find that most of the NCAA golf recruiting calendar falls under the contact period. During this time, college coaches can evaluate a recruit in-person and conduct off-campus contact.
- August 1-November 22, 2023 (except dates listed as dead or quiet period)
- January 2-July 31, 2024.
Dead Period: During a dead period, coaches can’t talk to recruits at their college campus, a camp or the athlete’s school.
- November 6-9, 2023
- November 23-26, 2023
- December 5-7, 2023 of the Golf Coaches Association of America National Convention. This dead period remains in effect until 12:01 a.m. on December 8.
- December 23, 2023–January 1, 2024
Quiet period: At this time, college coaches may not have face-to-face contact with recruits or their parents off the college campus, and they can’t watch student-athletes compete or visit their high school.
- November 27–December 22, 2023
- Except: A coach may evaluate at the two events (showcase and combine) that are traditionally held in conjunction with the Golf Coaches Association of America National Convention.
- Except: The first official day of the Golf Coaches Association of America National Convention to 12:01 a.m. on the day after the adjournment of the convention.
Evaluation Period: There’s an exception during the Quiet Period time frame above—the Evaluation Period. A coach may evaluate at the two events (showcase and combine) that are traditionally held in conjunction with the Golf Coaches Association of America National Convention.
NCAA Division 2
Dead Period: Nov. 6 (7 a.m.) to Nov. 8 (7 a.m.), 2023, (during the 48 hours prior to 7 a.m. on the initial date for the signing of the National Letter of Intent).
NCAA Division 3
Year-round recruiting permitted.
National signing day for golf
Sure, getting a verbal offer is exciting, but signing the National Letter of Intent (NLI) makes it official—and even better, it marks the end of your recruiting journey. The NLI acts as a binding contract between a prospective student-athlete and the college: the student-athlete is solidifying their commitment to the school and in return, the college is promising to provide an athletic scholarship for that academic year.
All athletes (outside of football and basketball) can begin signing the NLI and securing their scholarships on the same date. Previously, there was an early signing period, followed by a break, and then a regular signing period in the second half of senior year. As a result of this change, more and more recruits are signing their NLI earlier than before and committing in the first half of senior year.
