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Report: NCAA recruiting dead period ending on June 1

tyler calvaruso
·2 min read

The NCAA’s historically long recruiting dead period is on the verge of being lifted.

According to CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd, June 1 has been set as the date the dead period will be lifted. Coaches and recruits have not been able to engage face to face for the last 13 months because of the COVID-19 pandemic-inflicted dead period.

“The NCAA Council this week is expected to set an end date of June 1 for the long-standing recruiting dead period, multiple sources told CBS Sports,” Dodd said. “The dead period was imposed in March 2020 after COVID-19 shut down college sports. It was extended eight times over the past year as the global pandemic raged, the last time in February.

“With widespread distribution of the coronavirus vaccine, it has become easier to envision more in-person contact, including football camps and official visits, beginning in June. For more than a year, college football coaches have been able to do little more in recruiting than hold Zoom calls with prospects.”

If the NCAA does indeed lift its dead period and transitions into a quiet period, college football programs could once again host recruits on campus and host camps — something they have not been able to do since last March.

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“During a dead period a college coach may not have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents, and may not watch student-athletes compete or visit their high schools,” the NCAA website says. “Coaches may write and telephone student-athletes or their parents during a dead period.

The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing NCAA dead period have had a profound impact on college recruiting — especially in basketball and football. Many 2021 football and basketball recruits were left with no choice but to sign with the school of their choosing without having ever visited their campus or facilities in person. With in-person restrictions in place, coaches and recruits have been limited to FaceTime and Zoom calls.