NCAA Rules In Plain English: “The Dead Period”

Courtesy: Donny Brush, ACC Recruiting Coordinator and NCAA Compliance Director.

The American College Connection (ACC) is a SwimSwam partner.

Note: The dates have been updated since this article was initially published in May. See below.

No this is not a new Zombie movie out on Netflix! It is a rule by the NCAA which does not allow coaches to have any face-to-face contact with prospective student-athletes during that period of time.

Below is the rule out of the NCAA Manual:

13.02.5.5 Dead Period. A dead period is a period of time when it is not permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts or evaluations on or off the institution’s campus or to permit official or unofficial visits by prospective student-athletes to the institution’s campus. It remains permissible, however, for an institutional staff member to communicate with (other than in person) a prospective student-athlete during a dead period. [D] (Revised: 1/11/94, 12/6/13, 10/30/14)

Although the rules directly from the NCAA Manual can seem like they are from another dimension. At American College Connection we like to take the rules and put them in plain English.

Question: Can coaches speak with prospective student-athletes during a dead period?

Answer: Yes, coaches can speak with prospective student-athletes on the phone, via text, or social media, but “NO” face-to-face contact.

Question: Can a prospective student-athlete be offered a scholarship during a dead period?

Answer: Yes, a coach can give a scholarship offer over the phone or email, but “NO” face-to-face contact.

Question: If I see a coach at a restaurant during a dead period, can I speak with them?

Answer: NO, the coach is not allowed to have any face-to-face contact with prospective student-athletes during a dead period.

Question: Can a coach come to practice and observe during a dead period?

Answer: NO, the coach can “NOT” have any face-to-face contact with any prospective student-athlete during a dead period.

This year’s Dead Period will occur from November 6-9, 2023, while there will also be several other “shutdown periods”—see below:

A Recruiting Shutdown Period means exactly that, a total shutdown with no contact allowed between the coach and recruit.

13.02.5.6 Recruiting Shutdown. A recruiting shutdown is a period of time when no form of recruiting (e.g., contacts, evaluations, official or unofficial visits, correspondence or making or receiving telephone calls) is permissible. (Adopted: 4/25/18)

The new recruiting calendar was established to protect both the prospective student-athletes from being pursued and the coach a break from the 24/7 on-the-clock recruiting which will provide both parties with a better life balance. The new recruiting calendar provides a total of six weeks of recruiting shutdown periods.

Recruiting Dead Period

• November 6-9, 2023

Recruiting Shutdown Periods

• One week in August (August 21-27, 2023)
• The final 14 days of December (December 18-31, 2023)
• The first week of January (January 1-7, 2024)
• The last two weeks are in February during the two most popular weeks for conference championships (February 11-24, 2024)

Please contact American College Connection at www.ACCrecruits.com or post on our Facebook page if you have any questions about recruiting education, because ACC makes it EASY for you!

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