The Road To Playing Collegiate Football

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College football coaches and recruiters review potential recruits through analysis of game footage, attendance at high school games, and assessment of their athletic abilities, skills, and future potential.  They take into account multiple aspects including speed, strength, agility, technique, football IQ, character, academic achievements, and additional factors.

After identifying promising prospects, coaches initiate contact typically via letters, emails, phone calls, or social media to establish a connection.  This communication serves to gauge a student athlete's interest in their program and initiate the process of building a relationship. 

Prospective student athletes frequently receive invitations to visit college campuses, providing them with an immersive experience of the program and University.  These visits commonly entail campus tours, meetings with coaches and players, academic conversations, and occasionally involve participating in practice sessions or attending games.

During the quiet period, it is permissible to make in person recruiting contacts on an  NCAA campus.  During the quiet period, no in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts or evaluations may be conducted.

The dead period is a time of no contact.  During this period, it is not permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts or evaluations on or off campus or to take official or unofficial visits.

During the evaluation period, it is permissible for collegiate coaches to conduct off-campus activities geared towards assessing the academic qualifications and athletic talent of a prospective student-athlete.  No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts can be made during this time.

During the contact period, it is permissible for coaches to make in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts and evaluations.

When a college football program is impressed with the talent and potential of a student athlete, they may extend a scholarship offer.  The scholarship offer provides financial aid to the student athlete, covering tuition, fees, and additional benefits.  Scholarships are limited in number and competition is fierce to secure one. 

After receiving scholarship offers, recruits face the decision of selecting a program to commit to.  They have the option to verbally pledge to a college prior to signing a National Letter of Intent (NLI), a legally binding agreement between the student athlete and the University.  The NLI solidifies the recruit's commitment to playing for that particular college and prohibits other institutions from continuing their recruitment efforts.  

 A student athlete who is not initially recruited or offered a scholarship but joins the team through open tryouts or by expressing an interest in participating.  Walk-ons often join the team voluntarily and may not receive athletic scholarships but they do have the opportunity to compete and contribute to the team.  Walk-ons may eventually earn a scholarship based on their performance and contributions.

  A student athlete who is not initially offered a scholarship but is recruited by a team.  While preferred walk-ons may not receive an athletic scholarship initially, they are given the assurance they are wanted on the team.  Preferred walk-ons often earn a scholarship based on their performance and contributions.

  The NCAA has allocated distinct signing periods for recruits to formalize their NLIs. The most well-known signing day is National Signing Day, which typically occurs on the first Wednesday of February. However, there are also signing periods in December and April. Once a recruit signs their NLI, they officially become a member of the college football program.

• Division I FBS teams have a maximum of 85 full-ride scholarships to offer athletes.  The 85 FBS scholarships are headcount scholarships, meaning that every athlete who receives a scholarship at the DI FBS level receives a full-ride scholarship. 
• Division I FCS programs have a maximum of 63 total scholarships. The 63 FCS scholarships are equivalency scholarships. This means a coach can divide these scholarships up, giving more athletes partial scholarships. 

• NCAA DII schools are limited to 36 full or partial scholarships. Since a college football team’s roster size is much larger than 36, most DII programs will decide to divide up the sum of scholarship money so more players can receive athletic aid.   

• DIII colleges and universities do not provide any athletic scholarships.
• NAIA football scholarships can be awarded by any fully funded member college or university. The NAIA does have its own set of academic eligibility criteria that student-athletes must meet, but they don’t have set recruiting rules like the NCAA. The recruiting process is less scripted, and it’s up to the individual schools to determine their own recruiting rules and calendar.