The NCAA tries to keep a tight rein on recruiting and the number of football scholarships a school can offer. The NCAA rulebook for recruiting and college football scholarships is the size of a phone book.
The laws governing college football can be very confusing so colleges have hired NCAA regulations officials to inform coaches and athletic directors what is permitted and what isn't.
Number of Football Scholarships
Division I-A schools can offer 85 football scholarships. Division 1-AA schools are allowed 63 football scholarships and Division II can offer 36 football scholarships.
Eligibility Requirements
To qualify for a football scholarship, incoming freshman must have completed 16 core courses. The courses are four years of English, three years of math (algebra one or higher), two years of natural/physical science (one of those years must be a lab course), one year of an additional math, English or natural/physical science course, two years of social science and four years of any additional courses from the following areas: foreign language, doctrinal religion or philosophy.
The student must have a minimum grade point average of 2.0. Depending on the student athletes GPA, the student must score between 420 and 1,010 on the SAT or 37 to 86 on the ACT.
The Recruiting Calendar
The NCAA divides the recruiting calendar into these phases: a quiet period, contact period and dead period. The NCAA closely monitors all coach's activities with recruits.
Aug. 1 through Nov. 29 is a quiet period. Recruits can only make on-campus visits. This period is also known as the evaluation period. This is when recruiters can visit recruits during a 42-day period in September, October and November. The schools athletic director must designated these visits in writing to the NCAA. The recruiter is limited to one visit per recruit.
Nov. 30 through Jan. 31 is called the contact period. The coach is permitted to visit the recruit.
Dec. 21 through Jan. 1 is a dead period when coaches and recruiters cannot contact recruits.
Rules Governing Visits and Contacts.
The college football coach can make six in-person contacts per recruit.
The length of time a coach can spend with a recruit is 48 hours.
The college or university can only pay for one official visit to the campus.
The coach is limited to one visit per week to the student's school during the contact period.
The coach cannot call a recruit before July 1. The coach cannot contact the athlete before the completion of the junior year in high school and the coach cannot call more than once per week.
Football National Signing Day
Feb. 4 is national signing day for college football players. This is day when the recruit signs the national letter of intent. Before this day, recruits can only make oral commitments to the schools.
This letter is a legal contract between the recruit and the college. This states that student will be obligated to attend the college for one academic year.
The college in turn will give the student a scholarship provided the student meets the conditions set forth in the NCAA rules.
Once a player signs a national letter of intent, all other colleges must stop recruiting him.
Gifts and other Restrictions
The scholarship covers the cost of the student's tuition, books, plus room and board.
The college or university is prohibited from giving the athletes benefits such as the use of cars, cash, promises of employment, gifts and clothes.
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