returning phone calls

If he is an underclassmen he cannot call him back at any time--many if not most of the coaches have this message on their answering machine

I'll ask my son if he heard this on the coach's machine. Thank you!!

Until July 1st, the coach cannot call your son. The fact that he might be returning your son's call makes no difference.

That is not true. There is a new NCAA rule that a college coach may call you once in the month of March and that came into effect last year. My son received several calls in march.

TXBaseball

I do believe that they have decided to abandon the March calls this year--at least that was my understanding in talking with coaches

Did you hear about:>

No Clue At All

enough said!

Confirmation:

According to Division I coaches I was with today the March calls of last season are no more-- This years juniors cannot be contacted by phone until July 1

TRhit
Did they say why? I had looked at the rules for this year and it still stated 1 March call allowed. I couldn't find any updates that stated different on the NCAA website.

TR on some of the letters i have been recieving they have said that they can call once during the month of march. thats only on some of them tho..

I can only tell you what they tell me what they were told

This is not the first time I have been told this

In fact the 2004-05 Clearinghosue book has the call situation as such for juniors --"once during May of your Junior Year"

Another reason I think it is so is that one of the coaches I spoke with at length coaches at a University where the President is on the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee

TR, if you say it i beleive it, i was just saying what i was told. I was not trying to prove you wrong. But we will all find out and see on march 1st if juniors get phone calls. I'll let you all know if i get any.

kaymart

Not thinking you are trying to prove me wrong

I just think it is typical NCAA confusion-- sometimes I think they do it on purpose

We are at the same pont in the recruiting process as you Newcomer. We have been told that we can call the colleges as many times as we want, they (the colleges) cannot call or return calls until July 1. You or your son can leave a message for them to call you all day long but they shouldn't be doing that.

Been told by a DII Athletic Director that July 1 is the magical day you truly find out who is interested in you.

What time do they call?
Who is actually calling you? (head coach or an assistant)
Did they call at all?

This is a big day for ball players who aspire to play D1.

I agree with TR, typical confusion. I am awaiting an answer as to the March phone calls for you all which should clear up confusion.

SeedThrower,
July 1 is different for everyone. Since son had been in contact for months with many of the coaches, the calls on July 1 were to us. Our first call was at 9am, HC from Clemson. It was a very long conversation with most of plans for son laid out in that phone call. Asking if we had any specific questions about the program and the school. Funny, looking back then,at the conversation, it was apparent we knew immediately that would be the coach son would go play for.

The calls can be from the recruiting coach, HC, or other coach depending upon position. Also, some early phone calls brought offers, which son said no thank you to immediately.

One school who had been very interested in son, and he them, called a week later, as did many other calls.

Son narrowed down his choices very quickly, so by the third week the phone calls had pretty much ceased.

Tell your son, once school begins, to get his homework done early. A lot of our calls came from 9-11pm leaving little time for anything else in the evening. I presume this was because free minutes on many cell phones start after 9pm, or maybe that's when baseball guys sit down near a phone...after dark when you can't play baseball! My son is a pitcher and many of his calls were from assistants who were pitching coaches.

My son attended "Junior Day" at a local college today and we were told that the March phone calls are no more.

There seems to be LOTS of confusion! Out of curiosity I am going to call the NCAA tomorrow.
One coach says yes, one says no, got to be an answer.

Thank you Tiger Paw Mom. I am most interested in the answer...

Here is the link to the NCAA Division I Coaches Recruiting Guide

http://www.ncaa.org/library/membership/recruiting_guide...ts_recruit_guide.pdf

All telephone rules are on page 3. This is the section related to making phone calls. I don't see anything about March.

3. Telephone Contact
[Note: The definition of a telephone call does not
include a facsimile or other electronically transmitted
correspondence (e.g., electronic mail, instant messenger,
facsimiles, pages, text messaging). However, all
electronically transmitted human voice exchange
(including videoconferencing and videophones) shall
be considered telephone calls. (13.02.14)]
Institutional staff members may not telephone a
prospect (or the prospect’s relatives or legal guardians)
before July 1 following the completion of the prospect’s
junior year in high school. Therefter, institutional staff
members may telephone a prospect once per week
(measured Sunday through Saturday). The once-perweek
limit applies to the entire institution. In the sport of
ice hockey, an institution may make one telephone call
during the month of July to a prospect who is a resident
of a foreign country following the completion of the
prospect’s sophomore year in high school. [13.1.3.1]

I think that is where the confusion lies, that is what it states, was never changed but there is an addendum added somewhere last year.

TPM

Here is what I have found.

There was an amendment last year (NCAA Proposal No. 2005-75) that allowed a HS junior year telephone call in March and one contact in April.

This year the Subcommittee on Recruiting for the NCAA Division I Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet has recommended the Cabinet remove this provision from the rule.

The NCAA rule making Cabinet met on February 16 to vote on this. If they approved it, which is likely, the change is supposed to be effective immediately.

I don't see any confirmation that they approved it. So it's still a good idea to call the NCAA to confirm the change.

Sounds like you new most of this but I had to look for myself. Hope this helps a little.

Update,
recruiting dept does not open until 12noon.

I'm glad I started this discussion. However it has raised another question: with all this confusion about the rules, wouldn't it make sense for a coach to simply WAIT until July? And furthermore, if a coach DOES call in the next few days (and this question is still not fully answered) how would one proceed..with the phone in hand and the coach waiting to speak to my son? Wonder if there is some kind of protocol for handling these situations where the rules aren't quite clear.

Newcomer

It isnt "ON" the player if the coach calls erroneously.

You would be surprised how many underclassmen get calls because the the coach "mistakenly" believed the boy was a senior.

Coaches cannot make calls during month of March, but players can call coaches anytime.

I will bet lots of recruits will get text messages or emails, saying, "call me".

Thanks for dogging this to get the right answer.

Anyone interested in finding proposals adopted by NCAA.
Go to website, link to rules and bylaws (LSDBi). There is password needed to access, so not sure who is allowed to access and who is not.
The proposal to do away with March phone calls is in an override period eff Jan 9 -March 12.
Whatever that means actually does means NO calls in March.
The new printing of the manuals is done in August each year I do beleive, so anything you MIGHT hear about any changes this year will not be in that text.
The telelphon number for the NCAA is 317-917-6222 and they will transfer you to the correct department.
The telephone number to make suggestions is 317 917-6762.

Thank you very much TPM for going to all of that trouble... I for one certainly appreciate it!

Thanks for all the updates. I've been waiting for a year to hear who the first schools would be to check in on March 1st! Now, I find the definite answer on this great site and from a couple of assistant coaches who just got memos this week from their compliance office. My bet is that some of the schools will still call, not knowing the old rule is history after just one season.

My understanding is that is was never a rule, never was a rule, just a proposal made last year, was aloud last year, but then was proposed this year not to become a rule.
If this does not make sense blame it on the NCAA.
It is the responsibility of the complaince department to notify coaches of changes in rules. If it happens, would be a minor infraction and the burden is on the school, not the player.

Yeah kinda sucks they can't call anymore in March, I was looking forward to it. I got an email today from a coach informing that it was no more.

Not sure where the confusion was? TR and myself stated exactly what the rules are. Explained very well I might add.

Big East recruiting guy emailed my son last week and said he was looking forward to calling in March until he was informed by his compliance officer that it was no longer allowed. He also added that if any other school calls in March they should be reported. So I guess those who are obeying the rules are keeping an eye out for those who might not.

quote:

Originally posted by SeedThrower:
We are at the same pont in the recruiting process as you Newcomer. We have been told that we can call the colleges as many times as we want, they (the colleges) cannot call or return calls until July 1. You or your son can leave a message for them to call you all day long but they shouldn't be doing that.

Been told by a DII Athletic Director that July 1 is the magical day you truly find out who is interested in you.

What time do they call?
Who is actually calling you? (head coach or an assistant)
Did they call at all?

This is a big day for ball players who aspire to play D1.

Don't overhype to yourself the importance of July 1st Phone call and sit around the house all day. We were at tournament that weekend and did not check messages till we got home. The tournament resulted in a number of school contacts and a couple informal offers. My point is that July 1 is the start not the end of contact keep playing, be seen. Calls from schools did not all come on July 1 and the school my Son eventually signed with was not one that called in July.

Also make sure your Son is being proactive in contacting schools and not waiting for the magical call.

quote:

Originally posted by PopTime:
He also added that if any other school calls in March they should be reported. So I guess those who are obeying the rules are keeping an eye out for those who might not.

I'm not sure the context of the conversation but not sure if I like Coach saying school should be reported...sounds like he was close to having to be reported himself. Just based on this thread it sounds like there was/is a fair amount of confusion on the March call going away and I'm sure some will receive a call accidently. IMO if you do receive a call accidently its no ones business.

"Accidental calls" happen all the time with or without the confusion of the March 1st regulation

As for a coach telling you to "report" any "accidental calls" I would certainly drop that coach low or off my list of players in my recruiting process. He doesn't sound like the kind of guy I would want to play for.

I apologize a thousand times to all the readers, but most of all to the coach in question. He never said anything about reporting anyone, that was a miscommunication between my son and I. The actual comment was: "I was looking forward to speaking with you but we’re going to have to wait until July 1st. Any program that does call you this
March will be violating NCAA compliance rules. I’m looking forward to seeing you play soon, hope all is well and you have a great spring."
See? He never said they should be reported. Again, I apologize.

Thanks Novice, but I really wasn't asking a question, it was more of stating a fact. Just judging from our mail box and emails everyday, we have cleared July 1. There will be a lot of talking going on that day. If the email and mail box weren't enough, lately it is agents that have taken kindly to us. That's right, I said us. See every coach, scout and agent that we have talked to said our son needs to make the right choice with the help of his family. As of this point you know who his agent, advisor, secretary, organizer, travel agent, financer is? We have taken advice from many people who are associated with baseball at the college and pro level. I believe it takes a village to raise a child and we have tried to build a "team" and give my son a support system. I don't want to make it sound like he is babied, far from it. I just want him to be able to go out and think about pitching and the things that go with it. But July 1 should be a proud day for him and his "support sytem" and we will enjoy it. Judging by the stack of 2006 team media guides we have here we'll be getting some calls.
Those things are not cheap to make!
We'll be listening to the pro's on this one.

Word of Warning:

Dont let no calls on July 1 break your heart--- they can mean abosultely nothing even if they come

EXAMPLE: my sons first call on July 1 was from a major Texas school to set up a fall official visit --he took the visit and lo and behold the scholasship offer just about covered what it cost them to bring him down for the official visit. You go figure--the plus side-- it got my sons first official visit out of the way so he knew what he was looking at after that (experience)