Latest expectations during official visits.

A related question would be what is the expectation when on a visit where the player is paying for airfare, but staying with the team overnight?  Is that an official or unofficial visit?  Would the expectation be the same?

Recruits will know when they are invited on an official visit. How?  Coach will say that. He will also ask for transcripts, NCAA Clearinghouse info, SS#, copy of SAT score sheet..............and your preferred travel itinerary.  He will also pick up the tab.

Recruits may not take more than 5 official visits. Coaches know this. They know recruits have to keep records of this. If there is any doubt what kind of visit it is after reading the paragraph above, the kid should just ask the coach. After all, the kid might play for this coach someday, there's gotta be some basic communication between the two

What is the expectation on whether the recruit would have to commit during an unofficial visit?  I think that is a little presumptuous. On official visits, and even more so on unofficial visits, the school is evaluating the recruit as much as the recruit is evaluating the school.

Even the hint of an attitude that an offer is locked up can't be positive........unless the kid is a superstar, and in that case the original question wouldn't apply.

Aleebaba,

My son has hosted a number of OV recruits that have come to his school every year including a few on this board.  He's kept me updated on future recruits, and I don't get the sense this pressure tactic (you describe) is a general trend at least at his school.   I think it has more to do with the individual recruit, leverage, timing, desirability, and supply vs demand. 

At this time of year, I think it is reasonable & normal to host an OV and present them with an offer at the end of the OV.   The offer would be time bound (72 hours or a week) to discuss with parents, etc...   The recruit could further negotiate that he wants to visit another school's OV before making a final decision.  That is his choice, and decision to roll the dice with the offering coach.  Having a plan before all this happens is a great idea!   I think it is a good idea to discuss these scenarios with your son before any OV or un-OVs.

Good luck!

Thanks for the reply Green Light!  Our son is going to a school for a "recruit day" soon.  He will stay overnight with a player, work-out with the team (D2), meet with admissions and financial aid.  All meals are provided in the cafeteria, so we were not sure if this is official or unofficial.  Thanks for your help!  This is all new for us!

2014Prospect,

My son attended two "junior day" events in early March his junior year.  Both involved an overnight with a baseball team member, attend classes, watch baseball games, and it also included a lot of academic events hosted by Deans and others.  So, in his case, it was looked at as an academic recruiting event which the baseball team leveraged to include baseball recruiting.  My understanding was that it was not considered an OV or un-OV in NCAA terms because of the academic programs.  Could this be something similar?

Fenway,

It could be, because he will meet with admissions and financial aid.  There is also a campus tour and opportunity to talk with professors built in to the schedule (I just went back and reread the itinerary) as well as team practice and the overnight with a team member.  It is called a "recruit day" so that term could apply for academics or baseball.

This slice of experience relates to a non-athletic scholarship school, correct? I think the time pressure ratchets up at scholarship schools and the closer in time the visit occurs to the November signing period.

Affirmative, and I agree the time pressure is ratcheted up a little bit because of money and available slots (higher demand/lower supply) at this time of year.  It is late for D1 recruiting right now.  The offeror can dictates terms much more easily.  

When my son was given a final $$ offer at a D1 mid-major he was given an early August weekend (72 hours) to consider it.  My son eventually turned the offer down to pursue other schools (yes, that was a difficult weekend) that were more suitable for him.  The offering coach had another recruit in CT they were considering, and he told us this.  There were no secrets to the coaches credit.  They were moving forward with or without us. 

I think one lesson might be that recruits going on official visits in this time frame should prepare for how they would respond to the pressure of a tight deadline. After all, a kid really doesn't need to feel pressure, right now, to figure out his response to a loose deadline.

If a kid has anticipated his response to the possibility of a tight deadline offer, then he doesn't have to spend time wondering or speculating if it will, in fact, come. He'll be ready.

I think most D1 schools will offer on an official visit as they have likely already identified the player as someone they want.  An official D1 visit is very expensive to the school and involves a lot of effort on their part. They can't just say here's the airline ticket see you Saturday, they have to go through due diligence steps and have the trip approved by their own compliance department.

I am not sure that any recruit should believe that official visit = offer. (unless he got the offer before the visit) I think an official visit is kinda like making the finals of a tournament. And we all know that some people and teams lose in the finals.

An official visit gives the school and the prospective teammates an opportunity to evaluate the recruit. Recruits should comport themselves accordingly. An overconfident attitude could be just the thing that throws a wrench in the works.

And no one should conclude from this that your kid did anything wrong or failed to impress.

It should not come as a surprise that in most cases the number of official visits exceeds the number of eventual offers. The reason is that some kids may not accept an offer. So if a coach wants to fill 7 slots he might give out 10 visits, anticipating that he might whiff on 3 recruits. If he only whiffs on 1, then two official visit kids are left out.

(Yes, coaches can try to stagger official visit invitations so that #8 in the example above does not go out until he has already lost one of his top choices. But there is not always time to do that between Sept 1 and the November signing period)

As stated by Green Light if he had to submit all of the above it is an official, plus they pay for transportation to and from.  I believe that the recruit has to sign a statement that he is aware of the rules for official visits from the NCAA as well as the school.

Coaches try to get in as many unofficials as they can, it costs them less. They often save the officials for the actual commits. They have a budget and reserve that $$ for those they really want  in their program.

If you are not sure you must ask.

My son was given offers on his officials and encouraged to go home to think about it and given a time frame.  I understand that there is a lot of pressure these days but don't let anyone pressure your son into a decision unless you are sure this is the right place and program.

No meals can be provided during an athletic UNofficial visit (D1), per my understanding.  (Can stay with a player, see an athletic event, etc...where no "money" is spent.)  Keewartson chipped in with the players for pizza for dinner and McD's in the morning for breakfast. 

And for many colleges that have completed their recruiting for 2014s, official visits are just a formality in the fall.

Keewart,

Green Light and TPM mentioned earlier that it would be a good idea to ask the coach since this could end up being his future coach, I think this is a good idea.  My best guess right now is that the visit is unofficial since we are paying for travel, but the itinerary does imply that the meals are paid for by the school.  He is going to have to ask. 

This is a great thread!  Lots of good information!

A high school player may take a maximum of 5 official visits to D1 colleges, but may also take an unlimited number of official visits to D2 and D3 schools.  In all divisions a high school  player may only take 1 official visit to any particular college, even if he is a recruit in multiple sports.  However, no penalty is listed for a player if he takes too many official visits.

Generally a college can not offer free meals to players on an unofficial visit, but there are exceptions. 13.5 lists the restrictions on transportation, and 13.7 covers unofficial visits generally.  In D1, the actual distinction between official and unofficial visits is defined in 13.02.16, which says in part:

The provision of any expenses or entertainment valued at more than $100 by the institution or representatives of its athletics interests shall require the visit to become an official visit, except as permitted in Bylaws 13.5 and 13.7.  I suppose that this allows schools a small amount of leeway regarding e.g. snacks.

IMO, a player needn't worry much about these rules.  He should be able to rely on the coaches to comply with the rules.  

Originally Posted by Aleebaba:  I just heard from a dad of a highly recruited pitcher that said he has been told by schools that if there is an official visit they want a decision by the end. 

 

Don't believe everything that you hear from parents!

 

In this case the parent is highly trustworthy, and has no reason to lie.  The kid is one of the most highly recruited kids in the country.  

What a great post.  In son's case offer has already been extended, but it is very helpful to know that (a) son needs to be prepared to give exact timeline on when decision will be made, and (b) this time of year the school expects an answer very quickly.  It is also helpful to realize that discussions need to be had with other possibly interested schools prior to OV to obtain timeline from them on when, or if, offer will be extended.  We are starting to realize that this is a very delicate process.

2104.  That is awesome.   Yes, kid is 2014, and most highly recruited, but that does not mean program will wait forever as they need to go to next kid if it does not work out.  I am aware of another highly recruited kid that was recruited by everybody down here, that lost out on going to a major SEC program because he would not meet their timeline.  He verbally committed 6 weeks later to another major SEC school.  Tough business for all.

Typically there is not any pressure at all to commit during an official visit these days, because typically by the time we get to fall of senior year, the official visit is more of a fun time for people who have already committed.  As you have noted, the player you're dealing with is kind of unusual under today's time line. 

I don't see how anyone could think that the kid is absolutely coming there to commit.  If he were that dead set, he could just commit before coming and then accept his place with the other 2014 recruits at their fall "official visit" shindig tour. 

To me, if he hasn't committed ahead of time, then it only stands to reason that he is still trying to decide from among his options.  And it may also be that the program hasn't fully decided on him yet, either; maybe they want to see more of him in person and gauge the kind of young man he is.

I do think he should go there expecting to be given a short deadline to, as they say, do his business or get off the pot.  You can't hem and haw and keep people waiting forever.  At some point they have to move on.  So, at some point, not deciding = deciding not to.  Because you know that if you don't commit, they are moving on without you and it won't be there later.

Aleebaba,

Thanks and congrats on the offer.  

In a perfect world, I've seen that it is best to setup your OVs or un-OVs in the recruits order of preference #1,#2,#3, #4 but it doesn't work out that way which is why you have to play the "what if game".   You have to have a clear plan at crunch time.  You never know what is going to happen and it is not a perfect world.  If you have a clear plan of colleges #1,#2,#3,# 4, if 4 makes a squeeze play on you, call #1 and see where you stand in their lineup. If #1 is ambivalent, call #2 and so on. Sometimes you can be comfortable letting #4 let them know they're not #1 and they may wait for you....but you never know.  As you said, it is an extremely delicate process as coaches and recruits can have different expectations when an offer is made.

Good luck!