Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University - Compliance - Prospect Q&A
Questions and Answers for IU Prospective Student-Athletes
Table of Contents
- How Do I Know If I'm A Prospect?
- What Is Recruiting?
- Who May Recruit Me?
- What/Who Is A Representative Of Indiana's Athletics Interests?
- When Can A Coach And/Or Staff Member Call Me?
- How Often Can A Coach And/Or Staff Member Call Me?
- What Happens If I Call A Coach And He Or She Is Not In?
- What Is Considered A Telephone Call?
- Can IU Faculty Contact Me?
- When Can IU Send Me Printed Recruiting Materials?
- I'm Not A Junior Yet. If I Contact IU, Can Someone Respond?
- I Want To Visit IU, Are There Limits On Visits To Campus?
- I'm Interested in Attending IU. May I Attend an IU Tryout?
- What Is An Extra Benefit?
- What Do I Need To Do To Be Eligible As A Freshman?
- What Are The Rules Regarding High School All-Star Games?
- Where Can I Find More Information About The Rules?
Q. How Do I Know If I'm A Prospect?
A. A prospect is a student in the ninth grade and above, including students in prep schools, junior colleges, and individuals who have officially withdrawn from four-year schools. In addition, a student who has not yet started ninth grade may become a prospect if IU or a booster provides the student, or the student's relatives or friends, with financial assistance or benefits not generally provided to other students.
A. Recruiting is any solicitation of a prospect or the prospect's parent/legal guardian by an IU staff member for the purpose of securing the prospect's enrollment at IU and/or participation in IU's athletics program.
Recruiting activities include sending letters, emails, and faxes, telephone conversations and in-person contacts (both on and off campus).
A. Only coaches and Athletic Department staff may be involved in the recruiting process. The NCAA rules specifically prohibit boosters from engaging in recruiting activities. Boosters may not have any contact (i.e., in-person encounter, telephone call, correspondence) with you or your family, on or off campus.
Boosters may not contact a prospect's coach, principal or counselor for the purpose of evaluating a prospect's athletic ability or academic record.
Q. What/Who Is A Representative Of Indiana's Athletics Interests?
A. A "representative of Indiana's athletics interests" (a.k.a. "booster") is an individual, independent agency, corporate entity (e.g., apparel or equipment manufacturer) or other organization who is known (or who should have been known) by a member of Indiana's executive or athletics administration to:
- Have participated in or to be a member of an agency or organization promoting Indiana's intercollegiate athletics program;
- Have made financial contributions to the athletics department or to an athletics booster organization at Indiana (e.g., Varsity Club, Hoosier Hitters Club, Designated Hitters Club);
- Be assisting or to have been requested (by the athletics department staff) to assist in the recruitment of prospects;
- Be assisting or to have assisted in providing benefits to enrolled student-athletes or their families; or
- Have been involved otherwise in promoting Indiana's athletics program.
Once an individual, independent agency, corporate entity or other organization is identified as a rep/booster, the person, independent agency, corporate entity or other organization retains that identity indefinitely. Boosters are prohibited from making in-person, on- or off-campus recruiting contacts, or written or telephonic communications with a prospect or the prospect's relatives or legal guardians.
Q. When Can A Coach And/Or Staff Member Call Me?
A. IU coaches cannot call you [or your parents or guardian(s)] before July 1 (September 1 in football) after you finish your junior year in high school. Football coaches may make one telephone call during the month of May of your junior year in high school. Basketball may make one telephone call on or after June 21 of the prospect's junior year in high school and then only three telephone calls may be made during the month of July, with no more than one call per week. In all sports, Indiana staff members may call you on the telephone; however, in football, all telephone calls must be made by the head coach or one or more of the full-time assistant coaches or a grad assistant, as long as he or she has passed a test about the NCAA rules.
Q. How Often Can A Coach And/Or Staff Member Call Me?
A. Most of the time, IU coaches can call you only once per week. The exceptions include unlimited calls the five days immediately preceding an official visit, on the initial date for the signing of the National Letter of Intent and during the two days following the initial signing date (football gets unlimited calls during the period 48 hours before and 48 hours after 7 a.m. on the initial date for the NLI), on the day a coach makes a permissible in-person, off-campus contact, and subsequent to the prospect signing an NLI with Indiana.
Q. What Happens If I Call A Coach And He Or She Is Not In?
A. The best thing to do is to leave a message with the secretary, administrative assistant, or on voicemail. Remember to state exactly what year in school you are in, and give your email address as well. If the rules allow it, the coach will call you back, unless they have already called you once that week. Returning the call counts as the one phone call per week.
Q. What Is Considered A Telephone Call?
A. Faxes are NOT considered telephone calls. Emails are NOT phone calls. After August 1st, 2007, coaches will no longer be able to text message your, or use instant messaging or chat rooms.
A. Faculty are allowed to make on-campus contacts for recruiting purposes, and write to you (including e-mail). Faculty are not permitted to engage in any other recruiting activities. This includes visiting you at home, evaluating a prospect, calling you on the phone, or sharing a meal with you off-campus.
Q. When Can IU Send Me Printed Recruiting Materials?
A. We may not provide recruiting materials (including general correspondence related to athletics) to you until September 1 at the beginning of your junior year in high school. We are permitted to provide only the printed materials listed below to you, your coaches or any other individual responsible for teaching or directing an activity in which you are involved. We are not permitted to provide you with any recruiting materials not listed below (e.g., films, videotapes, original newspaper clippings).
- Correspondence: General correspondence, including letters and postcards issued by the U.S. postal service (i.e., blank cards) and institutional note cards may be sent to a prospect only by mail. Attachments to general correspondence may include materials printed on plain white paper with black ink. In football, the content of all general recruiting correspondence to prospects (or prospects' parents or legal guardians) must be prepared by the head coach or one of the full-time assistant coaches. It is not permissible for Indiana University's chief executive officer or director of athletics to prepare general correspondence to football prospects.
- Business Cards: Business cards may be provided to a prospect.
- Camp Brochures: Camp brochures may be provided to a prospect. Information contained in camp brochures must relate specifically to camp events and activities (as opposed to information that may not be provided to prospects). (Note: These brochures may be provided to a prospect prior to September 1 at the beginning of the prospect's junior year in high school.)
- Electronic Transmissions: Facsimiles and electronic mail may be sent to a prospect. Color attachments may be included with electronic mail correspondence sent to a prospect. Prearranged electronically transmitted correspondence between an authorized institutional staff member and one or more prospects and any electronic correspondence sent by "instant messenger" or similar means shall be considered a telephone call.
- NCAA Educational Information: An institution may provide educational information published by the NCAA (e.g., NCAA Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete). (Note: This information may be provided to a prospect prior to September 1 at the beginning of the prospect's junior year in high school.)
- Pre-enrollment Information: Any necessary pre-enrollment information regarding orientation, conditioning, academics and practice activities may be sent to a prospect, provided the prospect has signed a National Letter of Intent or has been officially accepted for enrollment by the member institution.
- Programs: Game programs (which may not include posters) may be provided to prospects only during official and unofficial recruiting visits and may not be mailed.
- Publications (Athletics): An institution may produce either a recruiting brochure or media guide (but not both) in each sport it sponsors and provide it to a prospect. The publication may have only one color of printing inside the covers. Supplemental media guides may not be provided to prospects. Examples of such publications are a spring prospectus, spring season media guide, spring football practice media guide, or a post-season media guide.
- Publications (Nonathletics): Available to All Students. Official academic, admissions and student-services publications published by the institution and available to all students may be provided to prospects.
- Questionnaires: Questionnaires may be provided to a prospect. (Note: These questionnaires may be provided to a prospect prior to September 1 at the beginning of the prospect's junior year in high school.)
- Schedule Cards: One wallet-size playing schedule card per sport.
- Student-Athlete Handbook: One student-athlete handbook, describing the institution's athletics department policies governing the conduct of student-athletes, may be provided to a prospect during official and unofficial recruiting visits or may be mailed once the prospect has signed a National Letter of Intent or has been accepted for enrollment by the member institution. The handbook may contain only one color of printing throughout the publication, including the cover.
Q. I'm Not A Junior Yet. If I Contact IU, Can Someone Respond?
A. Indiana staff members (including athletics staff members) may respond to a prospect's letter requesting information from our athletics department prior to September 1 at the beginning of the prospect's junior year in high school, provided the written response does not include information that would initiate the recruitment of the prospect or information related to Indiana's athletics program (e.g., the reply contains an explanation of current NCAA legislation or a referral to the admissions department).
Q. I Want To Visit IU, Are There Limits On Visits To Campus?
A. There are no limits on unofficial visits, except they cannot occur during a sport's dead period (no in-person, on- or off-campus recruiting contact can occur during a dead period). Each prospect is allowed five expense-paid visits during his or her senior year (beginning with the opening day of classes of the prospect's senior year in high school), but only one expense-paid visit to our campus.
Q. I'm Interested In Attending IU, May I Attend An IU Tryout?
A. No. IU is prohibited from conducting any tryouts with prospects.
A. An extra benefit is any special arrangement to provide a student-athlete or the student-athlete's relatives or friends with a benefit not authorized by the NCAA rules. The NCAA allows IU to provide student-athletes with scholarships to cover tuition, fees, room, board and books. We can also provide complimentary admissions to IU athletic events, practice or competition-related apparel, equipment and medical treatment. It is a violation of NCAA rules for a student-athlete to receive any other benefit UNLESS the same benefit is normally available to all IU students or their parents/guardians.
Examples Of Extra Benefits A Coach, Staff Member Or Booster CANNOT Provide To A Student-Athlete Or Use As An Offer Or Inducement For A Prospective Student-Athlete:
- Cash or gifts.
- The use of personal property (e.g., boats, summer houses/condos, automobiles, SUVs).
- A special discount arrangement or credit on a purchase (e.g., airline tickets, clothing, shoes).
- Arranging, providing or co-signing a loan.
- Providing any kind of transportation or the use of a car.
- Gifts of food, clothing or equipment.
- Arranging or providing free or reduced cost professional services (e.g., free dental or medical services, haircuts, automotive services, laundry, dry cleaning).
- The use of a telephone or telephone credit card for free long distance calls.
- Entertainment or the purchase of meals or services at commercial establishments.
- An invitation to play on your country club's golf course or to eat a meal there.
- A benefit connected with off-campus housing (e.g., television sets, electronic equipment, room furnishings, specialized recreational facilities).
- Room, board, or transportation costs (including a stay in your home or transportation to or from a job).
- Typing or incurring other costs associated with school projects, reports, or resumes.
- Financial rewards for athletic performance.
- An honorarium or fee for a speaking engagement or other appearance.
- A guarantee of a bond.
- Giving tickets to a student-athlete to an IU or community athletic event (e.g., state high school basketball tournament tickets; high school games, collegiate, professional or any sporting event).
- A benefit derived by a student-athlete who sells complimentary tickets to an IU event.
- Arranging or providing free or reduced cost housing.
- Arranging or providing employment for a student-athlete's parents, guardians or friends.
Q. What Do I Need To Do To Be Eligible As A Freshman?
A. Following your junior year, you should register with the NCAA Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse. The Clearinghouse certifies all incoming freshman as eligible to compete and recieve financial aid if they do three things:
- You must fill out a questionnare which certifies that you are an amatuer athlete, and have not done anything which might make you a professional.
- You must complete 16 credits of college-prep core courses.
- You must get a minimum 2.000 GPA in the 16 core courses, and then you must meet or beat a matching SAT or ACT score on a sliding scale. The higher your GPA, the lower your SAT or ACT score needs to be to qualify.
Q. What Are The Rules Regarding High School All-Star Games?
A. You are allowed to compete in no more than 2 all-star football or basketball contests in the time period after the completion of your high school eligibility and prior to your high school graduation. If you compete in more than 2 all-star games during this time period you will lose your first year of intercollegiate eligibility.
Q. Where Can I Find More Information About The Rules?
A. A great resource is the NCAA's Guide For The College-Bound Student-Athlete (PDF). In it is more detailed information about establishing eligibility, recruiting regulations, questions to ask colleges, and information for your parents or guardian(s). You can also contact the compliance office at IU and we can answer questions you have about NCAA rules.