Compliance Corner

With the college recruiting process becoming extremely visible with boosters and the media, the WSU Compliance Office wanted to review the particular recruiting periods for our sports. As a fan of WSU Athletics, have you ever heard from a coach that he/she cannot talk to a prospective student-athlete on campus because it is a dead period? Each sport at the NCAA Division I level has four recruiting periods that take place during the year. These four recruiting periods are: Contact Period, Evaluation Period, Quiet Period, and Dead Period.

A contact period is when it is permissible for any authorized staff members to make in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts and evaluations with a prospective student-athlete. However, as stated in NCAA Bylaw 13.1.1.1, off-campus recruiting contacts can only be made with an individual or his or her legal guardians after July 1 following the completion of the junior year of high school for the prospective student-athlete.

Next, an evaluation period is a time when athletic department coaching staff can be involved in off-campus activities to assess the academic qualifications and playing ability of the prospective student-athlete. During these off-campus evaluations, the coaching staff is not permitted to make face-to-face contact with the prospective student-athlete.

During a quiet period, contacts are acceptable with prospective student-athletes, provided they occur only on WSU's campus. There are no instances of permissible in-person, off-campus contacts or evaluations during a quiet period. During this time, prospective student-athletes may make unofficial visits and official visits to an institution's campus.

Finally, during a dead period, it is not permissible to make in-person contacts with any prospective student-athletes on- or off-campus. A dead period also provides for a moratorium for evaluations on- or off-campus, and official and unofficial visits. During this time prospective student-athletes are not allowed to receive complimentary admissions to a WSU home athletics event. One exception is provided in NCAA Bylaw 13.7.2.5, which states free admission can be made available to an athletics event only for a group, rather than the individual and only if the prospective student-athlete is visiting campus for purposes other than recruiting.

Also, during a dead period, coaching staff are not allowed to serve as a speaker or attend a meeting or banquet if a prospective student-athlete will be in attendance. However, NCAA Bylaw 13.1.9.1 states this is permissible only if a meeting or banquet is in conjunction with the institution's appearance in a postseason contest, and only if it is open to the general public. In addition, the coach is not allowed to make a recruiting presentation and may not have direct contact with any prospective student-athlete in attendance. Contact with a prospective student-athlete via email or telephone calls is permissible during a dead period.

Hopefully this helps explain the recruiting periods the WSU coaching staff deals with during the year. Please do not hesitate to contact the Compliance Office if you have any questions regarding WSU, Pac-10 or NCAA rules and/or regulations.

Do you have a question for the Compliance Office? Please contact the WSU Athletics Compliance Office at (509) 335-2006 or via email at compintern@wsu.edu.