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NCAA Announces Significant Change to Official Visit Rules for Recruits

• Author: Mike McDaniel

The NCAA’s Division I Council met this week and tackled a host of topics, including one wide-sweeping change that affects recruiting across college athletics.

Effective July 1, there will be new recruiting rules for official and unofficial visits. Prospects will no longer have a limit on the number of schools they can visit on official visits. However, prospects will be limited to one official visit per school. The only time that prospects will be allowed a second official visit is if there is a coaching change that takes place after the first official visit has been taken.

In men’s basketball, prospects will still be able to take a second official visit as they usually have, but the visits can not occur within the same academic year.

In addition, official visits may last “no longer than a two-night stay” per the updated rules. Schools are permitted to cover travel costs, transportation and meals, as well as “reasonable entertainment” for up to two family members who accompany the prospect on a visit.

“For young people considering where to go to college, visits to campus - both official and unofficial - are an integral part of the decision-making process,” said Lynda Tealer, the chair of the Division I Council. “This was an opportunity to modernize NCAA rules in a way that provides greater and more meaningful opportunities for prospects going through the recruitment process.”

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NCAA approves rule allowing prospects to take an unlimited number of official recruiting visits

Prospects were previously limited to official visits at five schools.

High school athletes will be able to take an unlimited number of official visits as part of their recruiting process starting July 1, according to new rules passed by the NCAA Division I Council on Thursday . Recruits will be limited to one official visit per school, unless there is a coaching change. 

Official visits allow schools to pay for transportation, a two-night stay, meals and "reasonable entertainment" for an athlete and up to two family members. Previously, prospective athletes were limited to five total official visits as part of their recruitment process. 

"For young people considering where to go to college, visits to campus -- both official and unofficial -- are an integral part of the decision-making process," said Lynda Tealer, chair of the Division I Council. "This was an opportunity to modernize NCAA rules in a way that provides greater and more meaningful opportunities for prospects going through the recruitment process."

The decision could provide a significant victory for schools outside of the recruiting hotbeds who often struggle to get athletes on campus. For example, 15 of Oregon's 29 high school recruits came from outside the Pacific Time Zone. With the new rules, it will be easier for Dan Lanning and his staff to bring more players to campus. 

Additionally, non-power programs could more easily treat local prospects to official visits without costing blue-chip recruits one of their visits. However, it also gives an advantage to well-monied programs that can afford to hand out numerous official visits. Georgia, for example, spent 30% more on recruiting than any other program in college football over the past three years. 

The new rule is part of a sweeping transformation to college recruiting instituted by the NCAA in April. The NCAA has shifted the recruiting calendar to allow coaches to contact recruits starting June 15 after a recruit's sophomore year of high school, moved up from Sept. 1 of their junior year. Additionally, coaches will be able to have in-person contact with recruits after Jan. 1 of their junior year, vastly increasing the number of days available, but cutting the amount of total allowable total recruiting days by 37 between the spring and fall contact periods. 

Updating the recruiting calendar has become a major priority for coaches as recruiting becomes essentially a non-stop activity . Staffs in December often deal with bowl prep, high school recruiting and navigating the transfer portal at the same time. Many of these new rules are focused at trying to ease the demands on staffs later in the year by opening the process up earlier in the year. 

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NCAA rules relating to recruiting visits

Types of visits – official and unofficial.

A visit to ASU is considered an official visit if any part of the visit (other than complimentary admissions to a home athletics event) is financed by ASU.  An unofficial visit is any visit to ASU that is made at a prospective student-athlete’s own expense. 

Rules for official and unofficial visits.

There are numerous NCAA rules that govern the conduct of an official visit to a member institution, like ASU.  Those rules have been incorporated into ASU’s official visit policy and process.  Click  here  to review ASU’s official visit policy.

The only expenses that NCAA rules allow ASU to provide a prospective student-athlete on an unofficial visit are three complimentary admissions to a home athletics contest through the use of a pass list (not hard tickets).  Those admissions are for the exclusive use of the prospective student-athlete and those accompanying the prospective student-athlete on the visit. Please note that in all sports except basketball and football, an individual cannot make an unofficial visit to any NCAA Division I institution until September 1 of his or her junior year in high school.

Third party payment of visit expenses. 

The NCAA enforcement staff has indicated its intent to more closely monitor activities of prospective student-athlete unofficial visits to campuses.  With very little exception, NCAA rules do not allow individuals other than family members or legal guardians to finance unofficial visits.  The Compliance Office is happy to answer any questions relating to this topic.  You can email questions to   [email protected] .

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Ncaa division i council modernizes rules for coaching limits.

The Division I Council took steps to modernize a number of rules Wednesday, including approving adjustments to transfer waiver guidelines, modifying personnel rules across several sports and formally eliminating the requirement for standardized test scores in initial eligibility. The Council met as part of the 2023 NCAA Convention in San Antonio.

The Council also received the final report and recommendations from the Division I Transformation Committee, which reports to the Division I Board of Directors. The board is expected to take action on the Transformation Committee's recommendations during its meeting Thursday.

"The Council's actions today for coaching limits reflect the ongoing efforts within Division I to modernize NCAA rules," said Lynda Tealer, executive associate athletics director at Florida and chair of the Division I Council. "These changes will ease the burden on campus compliance staffs and increase the number of coaches who can assist with recruiting activities."

 The Council's actions are not final until the conclusion of the Division I Board of Directors meeting.

Coaching limits

The Council voted to eliminate the voluntary coach designation across Division I, instead including those coaches within a new limit for countable coaches in each of the applicable sports.

By adopting the proposal, the number of countable coaches in baseball, softball and ice hockey increased to four total in each sport. The Council rejected an additional increase to five countable coaches in those sports.

The Council supported an increase of two coaches in men's and women's basketball. These additional coaches may engage in coaching activities but may not recruit off campus. The rules change codified a waiver in those sports that allowed noncoaching staff members to engage in skill instruction. In both Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision football, the Council redefined graduate assistant positions to graduate student coaches and limited individuals to serving three years maximum in that role.

Men's and women's basketball opted not to impose the current seven-year window for manager positions to increase the opportunity for former student-athletes — who often compete professionally overseas immediately after college — to return to campus in pursuit of degree completion and to professionally develop as potential future coaches. In women's basketball specifically, the professional development of the manager position is considered an opportunity to increase the gender and racial diversity of the coaching ranks long-term, which is a specific objective of the sport's strategic plan.

The coaching limits rules take effect July 1.

Transfer waiver guidelines

The Council voted unanimously to update guidelines for the waiver process for undergraduate student-athletes who are transferring for a second time.

Each waiver request will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, but moving forward, student-athletes must meet one of the following criteria to be granted a waiver to compete immediately:

• A demonstrated physical injury or illness or mental health condition that necessitated the student's transfer (supporting documentation, care plans and proximity of the student's support system will be considered), or
• Exigent circumstances that clearly necessitate a student-athlete's immediate departure from the previous school (e.g., physical assault or abuse, sexual assault) unrelated to the student-athlete's athletics participation.

All other guidelines will no longer be used for waiver requests to compete during championship seasons that first occur in 2023-24. 

The Council agreed that athletics reasons (lack of playing time, position presence) and academic preferences should not warrant waiver relief. 

The Council directed the Transfer Advisory Group to recommend changes to the transfer waiver process to manage situations that fall outside these guidelines.

For transfer student-athletes expected to meet the requirements for a limited transfer exception (discontinued sport, or non-scholarship exception) the Council voted to allow student-athletes to enter the Transfer Portal at any time instead of requiring them to use their respective sport's transfer window.

Standardized test requirements for initial eligibility

The Council voted to eliminate test score requirements for immediate eligibility for incoming freshman student-athletes, at the recommendation from the NCAA Standardized Test Score Task Force. The task force was a specialized group charged with reviewing initial eligibility requirements as part of the NCAA's eight-point  plan to advance racial equity .

"As some NCAA member schools shift away from requiring standardized test scores for general student admissions, the Council felt it was appropriate to reflect those admission standards in eligibility requirements for incoming freshman student-athletes," Tealer said.

Since 2020, NCAA Division I has waived standardized test requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the ability of prospects to take the test.

The Council referred a proposal that would add stunt to the Emerging Sports for Women program in Division I back to the Committee on Women's Athletics, which requested an opportunity to conduct additional diligence.

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NCAA Recruiting Rule Changes for Official Visits – What to Know

Last week, the NCAA announced a major change to their recruitment guidelines for official and unofficial visits. Effective July 1st, recruits will no longer have a cap on the number of official visits that they can make to college campuses. They can still only visit each school officially once (with exceptions for when there is a change in head coach at a program) but can now make unlimited official visits to other schools.

For the NCAA, the rule marks further modernization of their recruiting guidelines, which have been criticized in the past for being antiquated.

“For young people considering where to go to college, visits to campus — both official and unofficial — are an integral part of the decision-making process,” said Lynda Tealer , chair of the Division I Council in the NCAA’s press release. “This was an opportunity to modernize NCAA rules in a way that provides greater and more meaningful opportunities for prospects going through the recruitment process.”

In addition to their adjustments on the number of visits, there were modifications to the length of the visits as well as what particular items the school can cover and for whom. Schools are permitted to cover the costs of travel and transportation, meals, and entertainment within a reasonable amount. They can also cover said costs for up to two family members who are joining the recruit on the visit, which can be for a maximum of two nights.

Other non-recruitment rule changes include the development of a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for Division I schools which will give athletes greater say in athletic policy decisions at the schools and league conferences. The council also expressed support for the expansion of mental health services for current and former student-athletes, as well as access to enhanced medical coverage for players who are injured while playing college sports.

Source: NCAA

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Recruiting Visits: What You Need to Know About the New NCAA Rules (2018)

Laurie yogi.

• NCAA Rules , Recruiting , Top Posts

Making sense of the rules for Division 1 college recruiting visits

You’re nearing the phase of your recruiting journey and that means you’re are starting to consider college recruiting visits. If you’re aiming for a D1 school and feeling a little confused, you are not alone!

The NCAA has a big fat rule book  for each division. This manual covers everything from how schools can use scholarship funds to lists of banned substances to dates coaches can hold practices, and everything in between. Every year a few updates are made to the rules, and this year there have several key changes in Division 1.

Their stated goal? To improve the overall recruiting process for student-athletes. 

Like any change, I do see the pros and cons, but I think in the end everyone in the volleyball will learn to adjust.

Of particular importance to you as a potential volleyball recruit will be the new guidelines on recruiting visits for 2018. After all, recruiting visits are an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to you making an informed decision about where you want to spend your next four years.

There are rules for when and how college coaches can interact with you , whether face-to-face, on their campus, on your campus, or at tournaments. There are rules for how many times you can visit a school and interact with the athletic staff. There are even rules for how many meals you can receive and when.

With all of these rules to keep track of, universities create positions, even fully-staffed compliance departments, to make sure they are following regulations in each of their sports. Being found not in compliance is a big deal, and no college athletic director or coach wants their job or their program on the line as a result of a compliance violation.

That being said, you as a college-bound student-athlete should not rely on a coach or his compliance office to make sure you are keeping in line with the rules. You must understand these rules yourself, or risk jeopardizing your eligibility.

A few quick recruiting terms

We should probably clarify what the NCAA means with certain terminology they use surrounding the recruiting process.

These definitions come from the NCAA recruiting info page:

Official visits: Any visit to a college campus by a PSA or his or her parents paid for by the college. Unofficial visits: Visits paid for by the PSA or their parents. Recruiting  happens when a college employee or representative invites a high school student-athlete to play sports for their college  (via a face-to-face meeting, through phone calls, text messaging, mailed or emailed material, or through social media). Contact period:  a coach may have face-to-face contact with a PSA or their parents, watch student-athletes compete or visit their high schools and write or telephone student-athletes or their parents. Evaluation period:  a coach may not have face-to-face contact with a PSA or their parents off the college campus . However, a coach may watch a PSA compete, visit their high school and write or telephone the PSA or their parents. Quiet period:  a coach may only have face-to-face contact with a PSA or their parents on the college campus and may not watch a PSA compete or visit their high schools . Coaches may write or telephone PSAs or their parents during this time. Dead period:  a coach may not have face-to-face contact with a PSA or their parents and may not watch a PSA compete or visit their high schools . Coaches may write and telephone student-athletes or their parents during a dead period.

The rule changes:

Unofficial recruiting visits.

The biggest change to the recruiting rules is with unofficial visits. Coaches or their athletic department staff are no longer allowed to have contact with freshmen or sophomores (including during campus tours), because a potential student-athlete (PSA) is not allowed to participate in what is considered an unofficial visit until September 1st of their junior year in high school. 

This change will likely affect some schools more than others. The larger more sought-after schools who have been known almost be in an unspoken race to recruit athletes at early ages will probably have the most adjustments to make.

The rationale for having this “hands off until junior year” approach is to help let high school student-athletes and their families know that they don’t have to rush, they can take some time to make a good decision on what school is really going to be the right fit.

What it means for you

(if you just want the quick and dirty facts, click here for a downloadable cheat sheet)

Because freshmen and sophomores won’t be able to make unofficial visits, that means unless you are a post-September 1st junior, you will not have access to seeing the training facilities or talking to coaches (even messages relayed through club coaches are restricted) or players. It also means a coach can no longer leave tickets for you and your family to watch their games (at least not for free – you can still BUY tickets). 🙂

Travel tournaments and (unofficial) campus tours

College coaches at schools located in cities close to where big tournaments are held often receive requests from traveling teams who would like a tour of their campus and its facilities while they are in town. If the players on those teams are freshmen or sophomores, under the new rule they cannot participate .

That said, there is nothing preventing college-bound athletes from visiting a campus outside of an athletic capacity, as long as someone affiliated with the athletic program isn’t involved. A “self-guided” campus tour still has its merits, and if the student-athlete is still interested by the time he/she becomes a junior, they’ll just have to try to come back again after September 1.

Other stuff that can and cannot happen on unofficial recruiting visits

• Coaches may still write and telephone prospective student-athletes or their parents during a “dead period”, but that athlete still must be a junior in high school and it has to be after September 1st.
• Recruiting conversations are also restricted during a school’s camp or clinic . Again, this is only if it’s before Sept. 1 of the junior year.

Official visits

So what has changed as far as  official visits ? Perhaps the biggest change is the age, which, like unofficial visits, is September 1 of the athlete’s junior year.

Previous to this change, a recruit could only take an official visit after the first day of classes in their senior year of high school. Now that a junior is eligible, this opens up earlier opportunities for a student-athlete to explore their options.

Because an official visit is one where the school is footing the bill, navigating this rule change may get interesting for some programs, as they will now have to decide at what stage of the recruiting process they invite a recruit to campus. Basically, where they used to have just the senior class to think about, now they have to stretch their strategy (and their dollars) out across two years.

The incoming class

Currently, many coaches enjoy building camaraderie among each freshmen class by bringing in all of their committed incoming recruits to campus together on the same weekend to watch a big match and start getting to know each other. Now that official visits will be spread out over two years, coaches will have to decide not only how to make the best use of their time and resources, but what methods will work best to build their team culture.

You might be thinking, why not just bring in a recruit for a visit in both their junior and senior years? Well, there is a rule for that, too (and this rule hasn’t changed).  A prospective student-athlete may only (officially) visit each school once. The total number of officials taken may not exceed 5 visits to all schools. There is a new exception, which is another rule change, and this is only if a head coaching change happens after a recruit has been signed. That recruit may have one additional expense-paid visit to that school.

Other rules governing the official visit

Assuming an athlete is at least a junior (and it is past September 1), the following rules also apply to official recruiting visits:

• An official visit may last no longer than 48 hrs (clock starts when PSA arrives on campus or receives a sit-down meal)
• Lodging, entertainment and meals must all take place within 30 miles of campus
• Transportation to and from campus can be covered by the school
• The school cannot pay for anyone accompanying the PSA (i.e. parents, friend, relative)
• A maximum of 3 complimentary admissions to a home event can be provided  (nontraditional families are provided an additional 2 tickets)
• A student host may receive $40/day to cover expenses of entertaining the PSA
• The school can provide 3 meals + 1 snack for the prospect and the parents/legal guardians
• The PSA may only meet with current student-athletes, institutional employees and spouses ( no contact w/boosters, but they are allowed to meet alumni )
• The PSA may not engage in any workout activities or tryouts

Relationship building

If you’ve been invited to go on a visit, I encourage you to go! It’s amazing how much with each trip you will learn and grow. In some cases, relationships built with players, families, and coaches over a weekend recruiting visit can last years. Even if a player chooses a different school or a coach decides not to extend an offer, it’s nice that we can stay connected through the sport we love.

With each of my kids’ recruiting visits, they learned a little more. They learned what they wanted in a school, in a volleyball program, and they got to see “behind the scenes” with the coaches and players so that they could make informed decisions. And yes, it’s true that not every visit results in an offer, but the experience was a valuable one in every case.

No visit? You can still connect!

No matter at what age the NCAA decides it will allow you to visit schools,  you don’t have to wait for an invitation to start building a relationship. Continue emailing, sending your highlight footage, and inviting coaches to see you play at tournaments. And of course, keep improving your game. Remember, just because they may not be able to respond to you just yet doesn’t mean they aren’t watching!

All the best for your recruiting journey!

Not sure how to connect with coaches? These resources can help!

Tips for what to say in your emails (free download) How to create a highlight video that coaches actually want to watch Highlight video editing service Done-for-you website service Up to date NCAA information at NCAA.org

Looking to  start connecting with coaches  but have  NO TIME to do all the research  on just which schools in which states offer which level of program? I’ve got you covered! Grab the FREE  Volleyball Schools Mega-List  and get the links to every volleyball school and the contact info of EVERY DI, DII, DIII, and NAIA coach in the country – men’s AND women’s programs! If your goal is to play in college, THIS is where you need to start!  << Get the Mega-List here. >>

Ready to take it to the next level? Together we can help can connect you to more coaches with a personalized strategy to expand your exposure! 

P.S. Be sure to grab your FREE Volleyball Schools Database, and stay connected to Student Athlete Connections for new updates, articles, and my best tips for earning a spot on the team!  Get it here.

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This information is reprinted "word for word" from the official NCAA web site In all sports other than Division I men’s basketball, you can have one expense-paid (official) visit to a particular campus beginning on the opening day of classes of your senior year. In Division I men’s basketball, you may have official visits beginning on January 1 of your junior year in high school. You may receive no more than five such visits. This restriction applies even if you are being recruited in more than one sport. You can’t have an official visit unless you have given the college your high-school (or college) academic transcript and a score from a PSAT, an SAT, a PACT Plus or an ACT taken on a national test date under national testing conditions. Your academic transcript may be a photocopy of your official high-school (or college) transcript. [Note: In this instance, the Division I school may use the services of the Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse to validate your credentials.] During your official visit (which may not exceed 48 hours), you may receive round-trip transportation between your home (or high school) and the campus, and you (and your parents) may receive meals, lodging and complimentary admissions to campus athletics events. A coach may only accompany you on your official visit when the transportation occurs by automobile and all transportation occurs within the 48-hour period. Meals provided to you (and/or your parents) on an official visit may be provided either on or off the institution's campus. The complimentary admissions you receive may provide you seating only in the facility's general seating area. You may not be given special seating (e.g., press box, bench area). In addition, a student host may help you (and your family) become acquainted with campus life. The host may spend $30 per day to cover all costs of entertaining you (and your parents, legal guardians or spouse); however, the money can't be used to purchase souvenirs such as T-shirts or other college mementos. Additionally, during a campus visit, the school may provide you with a student-athlete handbook.

High school student admits to racial harassment of Utah women’s NCAA basketball team

Alissa Pili #35 and Jenna Johnson #22 of the Utah Utes react after a basket against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the second round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament in Spokane, Wash. on March 25, 2024. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Steph Chambers / Getty Images

Prosecutors in Idaho say they won’t bring charges against a man who was accused of shouting a racial slur at players on the University of Utah women’s basketball team.

The incident outside the team's hotel during the NCAA women's basketball tournament in March drew national headlines as it also occurred in a region long associated with white supremacist groups.

The harassment first surfaced during a tournament press conference where University of Utah Women’s Head Coach Lynne Rogers said men in pickups revving their engines shouted the N-word at her players outside a team dinner where they were staying in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho — about a thirty minute drive from Spokane, Washington where the team played Gonzaga in the tournament.

Members of the team told police that someone in a truck displaying a confederate flag yelled racial slurs as they and staff walked to dinner. They said that truck and a second were waiting as the team returned from dinner and followed them back to their hotel.

"It was really upsetting," said Rogers at the March press conference. "And for our players and staff to not feel safe in an NCAA Tournament environment, that's messed up."

Now, after two months of an investigation that included FBI assistance and reviewing CCTV footage, authorities say they questioned a local high school student who admitted to yelling the racial slur. Police said they contacted up to 100 people who they believed may have witnessed the incident.

But in a charging document, the Coeur d’ Alene city attorney concludes there is insufficient evidence and that the student’s use of the epithet “could not meet the legal requirements for any of the narrow categories of unprotected speech.”

The NCAA says it worked with the Utah team and tournament site host Gonzaga University to get it extra security, as well as the University of California-Irvine women's team which was also staying in Coeur d'Alene. Utah's team was relocated to a hotel in Spokane the next day. UC-Irvine's team returned home after being eliminated from competition.

"I strongly condemn the appalling treatment of the female college athletes who are visiting Coeur d'Alene prior to the beginning of the basketball tournament in Spokane," said Coeur d'Alene Mayor Jim Hammond at a hastily called press conference in March.

Coeur D'Alene and northern Idaho became known as a haven for extremism and racist groups in the 1970s and '80s when the Aryan Nations relocated its headquarters there. Skinheads held parades in the 1990s. Activity declined following a lawsuit that largely dissolved the organization. But two summers ago 31 members of the white nationalist group Patriot Front were arrested there, with plans to disrupt a queer pride event.

Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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PWBA Tour set to kick off 2024 season in Eagan

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EAGAN, Minn. - The ninth season of the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour since its relaunch in 2015 is set to get underway as the PWBA GoBowling! Twin Cities Open starts May 2 at Cedarvale Lanes with a pre-tournament qualifier at 9 a.m. Eastern. The PTQ will have 38 bowlers competing for 10 spots into the main field of 75, where all competitors will bowl 12 games of qualifying on May 3, before a cut to the top third for a third round of qualifying on May 4. After 18 games, one more cut to the top 12 will occur for the final six games of qualifying to determine the top five for the stepladder finals that night. The event will be live streamed from start to finish on BowlTV with the stepladder finals set to begin at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on Saturday night. Spectators and viewers on BowlTV will be in for some great bowling all season long as 2023 PWBA Player of the Year Jordan Richard of Tipton, Michigan, and 2023 PWBA Rookie of the Year Hope Gramly of Quincy, Michigan, will look to continue their success from last season. Major champions from last year such as 2023 United States Bowling Congress Queens champion Lindsay Boomershine of Brigham City, Utah; 2023 U.S. Women’s Open champion Bryanna Coté of Tucson, Arizona; and 2023 PWBA Tour Championship winner Maria José Rodriguez of Colombia will also be in Eagan to kick off their seasons, and all will be eyeing more titles in 2024.  USBC Hall of Famers Liz Johnson of Niagara Falls, New York, and Kelly Kulick of Union, New Jersey, are both looking to add to their already impressive career resumes as well. Johnson also will be celebrating her birthday on May 2, as she turns 50 years old and becomes eligible to bowl senior events. That’s just the main field. The PTQ field is loaded with up-and-coming talent as well: 2024 U.S. Amateur champion and a key part of the Jacksonville State collegiate team that won the 2024 NCAA National Championship, Crystal Elliott of Palm Bay, Florida; 2023 U18 Girls Junior Gold champion Gianna Brandolino of Channahon, Illinois; 2024 National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association Rookie of the Year Brooke Salzman of Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, and more will compete for a spot into the main field. Due to the high demand for all standard PWBA stops, PTQs were added to the PWBA GoBowling Twin Cities Open, the PWBA Bowlers Journal Rockford Open in Rockford, Illinois, and the PWBA Southern Indiana Open in Clarksville, Indiana, providing more competition than ever since the relaunch of the PWBA Tour. The 2024 season features 13 events, including the inaugural PBA/PBA50/PWBA Trios event in Jonesboro, Arkansas. That event features two rounds of qualifying from PWBA, Professional Bowlers Association and PBA50 competitors after which the top 16 from each division will be put on a trios Baker team for match play and the stepladder finals. Included in the event schedule will be three majors: the USBC Queens, U.S. Women’s Open and the season-ending PWBA Tour Championship. The stepladder finals for all three major events will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.

For the full 2024 National Tour schedule, visit PWBA.com/NationalTour.

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WEATHER ALERT

8 warnings and an advisory in effect for 15 regions in the area

‘holy moly’: couple welcomes identical quadruplet girls born at texas children’s hospital 🩷👶.

Rachel Abrahamson, TODAY , NBC NEWS

HOUSTON – Doctors put the odds of having identical quadruplets at about one in 15 million — which makes Mercedes and Jonathan Sandhu VERY special.

The couple in Texas welcomed four identical girls on May 1.

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Hannah Grace, Lucy Marie, Rebecca Claire, and Petra Anne were delivered via cesarean section at 29 weeks gestation. The smallest was Petra, who weighed in at 2 pounds, 7 ounces, while Hannah, the largest, was born at 2 pounds, 13 ounces.

Mercedes, 34, and Jonathan, 37, who are both engineers, are also parents of Luke, 3, and Aaron, 18 months.

For full story, visit NBCNews.com.

Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.

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2023-24 NCAA Football Recruiting Rules and Calendar

The NCAA football recruiting rules and calendar outline when and how college coaches can reach out to athletes. These rules are in place to protect elite athletes from getting overwhelming amounts of contact from college coaches. However, they can be a little misleading as they don’t accurately represent when recruiting really starts for football. When student-athletes start the recruiting process, one of their first questions is: “When can college coaches contact high school athletes?” For Division 1 football, the NCAA recently updated the recruiting rules to allow college coaches to start reaching out to recruits June 15 of before the start of their junior year of high school via all electronic communications, which includes texting, emailing and social media direct messages.

D2 coaches can reach out to recruits starting June 15 after the athlete’s sophomore year via electronic communications, recruiting materials, phone calls and in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts. D3 and NAIA coaches don’t have any restrictions on when they can begin contacting recruits, but they generally wait until around junior year unless a recruit is reaching out to them and showing interest in their school. 

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How can you use the ncaa football recruiting rules and calendar in your recruiting.

Families can use the NCAA football recruiting rules and NCAA football recruiting calendar to make sure they’re on track in their recruiting. For example, if it’s June 15 of the athlete’s junior year of high school, they can receive emails, texts and DMs from D1, D2, D3 and NAIA coaches. If they haven’t heard from any coaches at this point, they know you have some work to do to get on their radar! The recruiting calendar is also a good way for athletes and their coaches to organize their recruiting efforts for the year. For example, if an athlete is a senior in high school during a contact period, they should arrange campus visits and maximize coach contact during this time.

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• Read about the NCAA’s name, image, likeness rules
• When is college football signing day ?
• What are the benefits of high school football rankings ?

NCAA Division 1 football recruiting rules

D1 football coaches can send athletes  recruiting questionnaires,  camp brochures and non-athletic institutional publications freshman and sophomore year. Effective for the 2023-24 school year, the NCAA now allows contact between coaches and athletes to begin June 15 of the athlete’s junior year.

Junior Year:

• June 15 before junior year: Athletes can receive any form of private, electronic communication. This includes emails, recruiting materials, texts and direct messages on social media.
• April 1 through the Sunday before the last Wednesday in June: A college may pay for a prospective student-athlete and two family members to visit campus. After this date, a college may offer an expense-paid visit after Sept. 1 of senior year.

Senior Year:

• July 1 before senior year: Coaches can contact athletes off-campus, but only during the contact periods. Coaches are only allowed six off-campus contacts with each student-athlete.
• First day of classes: Athletes can take unlimited official visits. Only one per school.
• September 1: Coaches can call athletes once a week after this time, and they can call recruits unlimited times during the contact period.

Evaluation days: Coaches can evaluate each recruit three times. They can take one evaluation per recruit in the fall, and then two evaluations from April 15 to May 31.

NCAA Division 2 football recruiting rules

The NCAA football recruiting rules for Division 2 are the same across all sports. For football, the rules are slightly more relaxed than those for Division 1:

• Any time : Athletes can receive brochures for camps, recruiting questionnaires, NCAA materials and non-athletic recruiting publications.
• June 15 after sophomore year: Athletes can begin taking official visits. Coaches can also communicate with recruits electronically (via private texts, social media DMs, instant messages, etc.). Athletes are able to receive calls from coaches, and coaches can conduct in-person, off-campus recruiting contact. Finally, after this date, coaches can approach a recruit’s coach at a competition (game, camp, etc.) throughout the contact periods.
• Evaluations : Coaches are not restricted in how many times they can evaluate a student-athlete at the D2 level. Coaches just have to make sure that they don’t communicate with the recruits until their practice/competition has ended and they’ve been released by their coach or the proper authority.

NCAA Division 3 and NAIA football recruiting rules

D3 and NAIA colleges are generally left to create their own recruiting rules and schedules. They don’t have limits on when coaches can contact recruits. The only standardized rule for D3 schools is that coaches are not allowed to meet with recruits or their families off-campus until the athlete has completed their sophomore year of high school.

2023–2024 NCAA Division 1 and Division 2 football recruiting calendar

Throughout the school year, specific types of contact with college coaches are permitted during certain times at the D1 and D2 level. Layer the 2023-24 NCAA recruiting calendar on top of the recruiting rules to determine what type of contact to expect based on your age and the time of year.

Dead period : During the dead period, coaches may not have any in-person contact with recruits and/or their parents. They are not allowed to talk to recruits at their college campus, the athlete’s school, an athletic camp or even the grocery store.

Division 1 FBS

• Except for: the 48 hours prior to a home game during August and September 1–2 through the 48 hours after the game. This is a quiet period.
• Except for: the seven days before the first day of classes. This is a quiet period for student-athletes enrolling midyear.
• Feb. 4 – Mar. 3, 2024
• May 26 – 29, 2024
• Jun. 25 – Jul. 24, 2024

Division 1 FCS

• Nov. 27–30, 2023
• Dec. 18 (7 am) – Dec. 20 (7 am), 2023 (only for two-year prospective athletes who intend to enroll midyear)
• Jan. 8 – 10, 2024
• Feb. 5 ( 7 am) – Feb. 7 (7 am) 2024

Quiet period : The quiet period is a time you can talk to college coaches in-person on their college campus. However, the coach is not allowed to watch athletes compete in-person, visit their school, talk to them at their home—or talk to them anywhere outside of the college campus.

• Dec. 17, 2023
• Mar. 4 – Apr. 14, 2024
• Jun. 1–23, 2024
• Jul. 25-31, 2024
• During August and September 1–2, 2023: the 48 hours prior to a home game through the 48 hours after the game. This is a quiet period.
• Except for: coaches can take 56 evaluation days during September, October and November.
• The seven days immediately before the first day of classes of the institution’s second academic term.
• Jan. 3 – 7, 2024 for midyear enrollees only
• All days in April and May not used for an athletic or academic evaluation are quiet periods.
• May 30 – Jul. 31, 2024

 Division 2

• Jun. 1 through the start of recruit’s first regularly scheduled football practice
• Mar. 12 – May 31, 2024 (except for the four weeks treated as part of the evaluation period)

Evaluation period : This is a specific time of year when college coaches are allowed to watch an athlete compete in person or visit their school. However, coaches are not allowed to communicate with that athlete (or their parents) off the college campus. 

Division 1 FBS and FCS

• Sep. 1 – Nov. 26, 2023
• During the recruit’s high school or two-year college football season, based on the first regularly scheduled practice before the start of the regular season
• Nov. 1 – Nov. 26, 2023
• Apr. 15 – May 31, 2024 (the four weeks each member school designates as an evaluation period, excluding Memorial Day and Sundays)

Contact period : The NCAA contact period is exactly what it sounds like—all communication between athletes and coaches is fair game. In other words, the communication floodgates are open, so take advantage of this opportunity to get unlimited access to coaches.

• Dec. 1 – 16, 2023
• Jan. 12 – Feb 3, 2024 (National Service Academies only)
• Apr. 15 – May 25, 2024
• For two-year college (junior college) prospects, the period from the conclusion of their last college football game through Nov. 26, 2023 is a contact period
• Except for: the dates part of the dead period

Insider tip : While it’s always helpful to be familiar with the NCAA recruiting rules and calendar, it’s really up to the college coaches to comply with the rules. As an athlete, you can email, call or DM a coach at any time. It’s the coach’s responsibility to check the rules before they respond.

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An early peek at oddsmakers’ projections for Michigan football in 2024

• Updated: May. 07, 2024, 8:31 a.m. |
• Published: May. 07, 2024, 8:30 a.m.

Michigan offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore, center, watches as his team plays against Bowling Green during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez) AP

• Aaron McMann | [email protected]

If Michigan football wants to repeat as college football national champions, they have some work to do according to the oddsmakers.

The Sherrone Moore-led Wolverines have the eighth-best odds to win the College Football Playoff following the 2024 season at +2000 (20/1), putting them well behind several of their Big Ten and SEC counterparts.

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• Wolverine Confidential: Michigan football roster activity, spring sports update
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• Former Michigan linebacker, Grand Rapids Catholic star, dies at 36

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