During the recruiting process, there are certain dates and time periods you must keep in mind. These dates are set by the NCAA to limit the contact between the coach and prospective student-athlete during the recruiting process. Here is a list of the different time periods and what they mean in terms of coach-player contact:

Contact: When a coach and prospective student-athlete and his/her parents converse face-to-face off-campus exchanging more words than mere greetings.

Contact Period: The time when a college coach is permitted to contact prospective student-athletes or their parents either face-to-face or via email or telephone. This is also the time when a coach can watch potential athletes compete and visit their high schools.

Evaluation Period: A coach is permitted to watch prospective athletes play, visit their high schools, and speak over the telephone, but may not have face-to-face contact with a student-athlete or their parents off-campus.

Quiet Period: Face-to-face contact is permitted only on the college's campus; a coach may not visit the prospective athlete's high school and may only watch a student-athlete compete if it's on the college's campus. However, the coach may write or speak to the student-athlete on the telephone.

Dead Period: A coach is not permitted to watch a student-athlete compete or have face-to-face contact with an athlete or their parents. Coaches may write or telephone student-athletes during this period.

Each division has a different recruiting schedule, and within each division, certain sports have different recruiting calendars. These calendars can be found here on the NCAA website: http://www.ncaa.org/student-athletes/resources/recruiting-calendars.

Updated on 8/1/19 by Joe Pounders

* Originally published on March 30, 2016, by Keirsten Sires