Non committable offers

Just something else to make the process more challenging/difficult than it already is!

Sounds like just another name for a verbal officer.

Reminds me of a line from a Jimmy Buffett song… "Indecision may or may not be my problem."

Sounds like a word a recruiting coach made up for a recruit to let him down easy.

The first mistake was announcing the commitment before telling the coach.  Why would anyone do that?  I really hope the kid also called all the other coaches who had offered (if any) and told them of his decision before posting it on Twitter.  Seems like there may be more to this....I've heard of teams giving kids a timeframe to let them know of their decision.  If they told the kid to let them know by a certain date...and he didn't, then I would consider the offer to be gone. 

In any situation anywhere, an offer that states no specific time for its duration is considered to expire after a "reasonable" time.  There have been litigated cases over what was "reasonable" in any given situation.  In addition, offers can be revoked at any time prior to acceptance; there is no obligation to keep an offer open for some specific period of time.  (Actually you can pay for an option in a business context, but not in the NCAA recruiting context.)

But the general lesson is, don't just assume you have as long as you would like.  Offers can and do expire.  Offers can and sometimes are revoked/withdrawn.

When an offer is received, the player should specifically ask if there is a particular date by which his response is required.  If he fails to do that, then he is presumptuous to believe that the program will just hold that offer open while he takes his sweet time and doesn't communicate.  Put yourself in the coaches' shoes.  They are left twisting in the wind, thinking this kid is not going to commit to us, and then they see another guy who fits the bill for them.  They offer bachelor # 2, he accepts.  Slot filled, no longer any need for the first kid.

This can happen when someone gets a decent offer but leaves it hanging while he pursues another school he prefers.  I've seen this plot device in any number of sitcoms, where the guy loses first girl while he unsuccessfully tries to trade up for another girl.  Same principle.

The solution is not to request an offer if you aren't ready for it.  If you get one unsolicited, ask how much time you have.  Then use that time to call other schools of interest.  "Coach, I have received an offer from XYZ.  I would really love to play for you, but I guess I just need to know if you can tell me where I stand with you at this point.  Much as I'd love to come there, if that's just not going to happen, then I don't want to lose this other opportunity." 

As long as this inquiry is presented respectfully and deferentially, the coach will often respond.  It may not be the news you want to hear, but you'll at least know whether you should take the offer on the table.

5-star post MidloDad.  Solid advice.

Before an NLI is signed, nothing is guaranteed anyway.  Any verbal offer, even with an acceptance, is non binding and a player is totally depending on the coach keeping his word, just as the coach is depending on the kid keeping his word when he accepts.  There really are no consequences to the coach for going back on his word, other than some potential damage to his reputation.

So, in essence, any verbal offer is a "non commitable" offer.  Coach probably just said this to make it sound more legit.

I'm not an expert on the rules by any stretch of the imagination, maybe 3fingeredglove can step in here.  I do believe I remember hearing that written offers for baseball scholarships are not permissible anymore.  Either way, I'm still not sure that that kind of offer would be binding since it is not signed by both parties.  You would have a better case that the coach definitely made the offer, but I don't think it's any more binding than just saying it.  The only binding document for a baseball scholarship is the NLI.  Maybe NAIA is different, but I'm pretty sure that's the case in the NCAA.

Hopefully, someone with intimate knowledge of the rules and their application will step in.

2014Prospect, as I'm sure you know, the NLIs cannot be signed until November of senior year.  So, everyone has to depend on the coach's word prior to that time.  From everything I have read and talking to people over the years, the vast majority of coaches are honorable and will stick to their word.  Unfortunately, there are always things you read about where this does not happen.  I think those situations are in the minority, but they do happen.  All parents and players can do is try to figure out the situation and make the best decision for themselves.  The verbal offer/commitment is something that cannot be avoided as coaches need to make roster and scholarship decisions much in advance of that November timeline.  I think most of the time a player will be fine, but the fact of the matter is, something bad can and sometimes does happen.  This shouldn't let it deter anyone from seeking and committing to an offer.  Some coaches may have more of a reputation of going back on their word and with these coaches you should be extra careful.  This is where doing some homework in advance comes in handy.  Hope this makes sense.

+1 bbman!

I know of very, very few situations where coaches revoked the handshake deals (verbal offers that had been accepted by the players) just because they changed their minds.

Most of those situations that have come to my attention have turned out to have been the result of things like disciplinary missteps by the player (drinking, drugs, other crimes), or a failure of the player to reach the required academic levels or to maintain his academic performance at a level acceptable to the NCAA and the school.

As we see earlier and earlier commitments made, I have had this growing suspicion that we're going to see some trend towards pulling deals from players who "pop the chute" and don't progress adequately.  After all, when a college commits to a freshman, they aren't committing to who he is now, but rather, to who they think he'll become over the next 4 years.  And if he adds fat instead of muscle, fails to work at his craft, etc., then I think that kid may be in for a rude awakening.  Not so long ago, the offers were more commonly made just a handful of months before NLI time, so this didn't happen much if at all.  With 2 or 3 years of time now between many verbals and NLI time, I expect to see this.

But honestly, I haven't seen it yet.

The NLI is very important, of course.  But I would discourage the tendency to talk as if verbals may just evaporate willy nilly until the ink is dry in November of the player's senior year.  It just isn't so.

On the other hand, I have seen more than a few players change their minds.  And for most of them, they can do so with impunity.  Which to me is a reason why college coaches might want to think about putting the brakes on the continued trend towards earlier and earlier commitments.  At some point, it's just too risky for the program to feel like a slot is filled, to pass on all others at that position, and then to find out at the last minute that your guy isn't signing.

Agree MidloDad.

As far back as 2003 with our older son's friends, there was a player who waited for some time (couple months) before walking back into his dream school and trying to commit...which they wouldn't take as they had given his scholly to someone else in the meantime.  The story I heard was the kid was in tears.

He went elsewhere and transferred back to 'dream school' after a year or two.  Not sure the path back would be too easy.

The football commit thing has become a joke IMO.  Players, en masse, flipping in the days just before signing day as a 'better' school comes in to fill out their classes.  Its both sides faults, but it happens a lot in that sport.  More $$, schollies and more at stake for everyone than in baseball, but I agree that with the newer and newer 'commitments,' this trend will further invaded baseball as well.

I am very sorry you had to go through that sort of treatment.  I am glad it had a happy ending for you.  Perhaps it even allowed you to see that first coach's true colors before it was too late; your son may well be better off the way things turned out.

My point was not that this NEVER happens.  My point was that it is exceedingly rare.  In a forum like this one, I want to talk to the norm of what happens and I don't want to see a lot of misunderstandings or needless anxieties.

I will also tell you that when a travel program coach learns of a situation like your son's, that word gets around, and we then advise our players that they should be very wary of that particular coach/program.