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baseball - My son went to a JUCO, so it was a LOI, not NLI.

Anyway, we had a huge group at his school. His college coach couldn't be there as they had games that day. However, the retired college coach that had referred him to the school attended. Former youth coaches, current coaches, teammates and a few parents came. The HS AD and principal came as well as a couple of his favorite teachers. This is fairly standard at our HS in that signings are celebrated with some fanfare. His was the typical with cake and punch. I believe it will always be a fond memory for him. Smile
Last edited by lafmom
Just got done reading the NLI - just for kicks(lol)
It sounds like it is written totally in favor of the school to protect them from losing you to another school. Sounds liike there is no protection for you, the athlete, to be summarily released from your NLI, if the school feels the need.
So you agree to stop being recruited, you agree to attend one year at their institution and they agree to give you some money. They hold the right to release you. What if they find someone better who they can get for less money?
Just make sure you understand what you are signing in November.
grandslam - As far as I know, you are pretty much right. However, the disincentive for a school to arbitrarily back out is huge! Bad reputation for them to have in future years. Don't want to be an "HM" college program. Red Face

Scholarships are pulled for academic and/or behavior reasons. I have heard of one being pulled due to injury...but I don't believe that to be common.
Last edited by justbaseball
Grandslam......The school cannot "release" you from the NLI (if by "releasing" you mean pull your scholarship and give it to someone else) for at least the first year. The NLI is only a 1-yr. deal. After that time, yes, a school could reduce or take away your scholarship. The only way that I see the school can not honor the NLI is if the player is not admitted to the school.
Grandslam & Justbaseball....I will not pretend to be an expert on the rules but I do know that the NLI, once signed, is a binding agreement between the student-athlete and the institution (school) where the student-athlete agrees to attend the institution for one academic year and in return the institution agrees to provide athletic aid for one year. As a matter of fact, the NLI must be accompanied by a financial aid agreement from the school. The only requirements the student-athlete has to meet after signing is gaining admission to the school and meeting NCAA eligibility rules. Here is a question and answer from this website's NLI FAQ:

"Question: Am I required to sign a National Letter of Intent?


Answer: No. You are not required to sign a National Letter of Intent but many student-athletes sign a National Letter of Intent because they want to create certainty in the recruiting process. Specifically, by signing a National Letter of Intent, you agree to attend the institution for one year in exchange for the institution's promise, in writing, to provide you athletic financial aid for the entire academic year. Simply, by signing a National Letter of Intent you are given an award including athletics aid for the upcoming academic year provided you are admitted to the institution and you are eligible for athletics aid under NCAA rules. Furthermore, by signing a National Letter of Intent you effectively end the recruiting process. Once you sign a National Letter of Intent, a recruiting ban goes into effect and you can no longer be recruited by any other National Letter of Intent school which leaves you free to enjoy your final year at your current institution."

If there is a coach or athletic director that reads this message board maybe they could give us the scoop on what the NLI means and whether or not it can be unilaterally withdrawn from by the institution.
pumpin_gas -
Not true about being unable to pull your scholarship the first year. Your NLI financial aid can be pulled by the school under these conditions:
quote:
Student-athletes may not lose their financial aid during the period of the award unless they:
  • render themselves ineligible for intercollegiate competition;
  • fraudulently misrepresent themselves on an application, letter of intent or financial aid agreement
  • engage in serious misconduct;
  • voluntarily withdraw from the sport for personal reasons.
Student-athletes have a right to a hearing if the institution decides not to renew or reduces athletics aid at any time.
Div I - NLI guidelines

You are correct about not being admitted to the school. There is a statement on my son's NLI that says " ... effective only upon certification that the awardee is eligible to compete in intercollegiate athletics according to the criteria established by the NCAA and (school name)". * Meaning that if for some reason you do not qualify thru the NCAA clearinghouse OR you do not meet the qualifications for the schools admission (required classes, etc.), the NLI can be revoked.
Last edited by RHP05Parent
College coach cannot be present at your signing, it's a dead period, contact is forbidden. I do believe this is for all schools under NCAA.
The NLI is a letter of intent to attend, not necessary to sign again after the first year, though you do have to sign your scholarhip award every semester. And that can change year to year, but not ususally. One does have to ask for a release after a year, so in a sense, the intent letter becomes a 4 year commitment. You have to ask, they don't.
NLI is not a requirement for you to sign to play at a school. However, since is created solely for protection for the school so you won't go anywhere else, why would they recruit you if you are not going to sign. The NLI can be recended anytime by the school for any or no reason before one steps foot on campus. But coaches don't make this a practice.It's a business and that is bad for business. Mostly you hear about it because the player was ineligible, not awarded status by the clearinghouse. That's why they are nuts about you making sure final transcripts get there asap.
Last edited by TPM
RHP05....You are correct that a scholly can be pulled during the first year for various reasons you listed. Those things really don't have anything to do with the coach deciding he doesn't want to honor the school's agreement with the student-athlete (prior to enrollment) because "they find someone better that they can get for less money" (this is what Grandslam stated above and is the point I'm trying to address).

TigerPaw Mom.....The NLI is a binding agreement between the student-athlete and the institution (school). The financial aid offer from the institution, once signed, cannot be rescinded for a frivolous reason by either party. If the student-athlete has met the requirements of the NLI, has been accepted into the school and is eligible per NCAA rules there is no way the NLI "can be rescinded.....for any or no reason before one steps foot on campus." Also, I agree that coaches would not make this a practice even if they could (which they can't...only the AD is authorized to sign the NLI, releases from the NLI, etc.) Can you imagine any player signing with a school that was known for breaching agreements on a regular basis?

If there is someone out there that has first-hand knowledge and details of a school "pulling" a scholarship before the student enrolled and stepped foot on the campus please comment. No names needed (other than the school's name so we can all avoid it!)
I think we have strayed somewhat from the topic of this thread so here is my son's NLI experience:

The actual signing was in the early period last year and was at his grandma's dining room table. Not too much fanfare but many photos were taken of him signing his John Hancock to the letter. He got bored with that pretty quick!

In the Spring his school held a press conference to announce the Winter/Spring signees. All the local TV news affiliates were on hand to film the guys sitting at a long table doing a mock signing of their NLIs and then each one stated his sport and the school he signed with. That was a blast for the boys and a memorable experience.
When my son signed the NLI in 2002 in the high school library, the high school baseball team, the principal, an assortment of students, Mom and Dad, and the TV station was present. He was interviewed by TV and he made a little blip on the evening sports report.

It would behoove all that are facing college to read the NLI website and especially the FAQ portion from the website. One thing to remember the NLI is not part of the NCAA and only applies to D-1 and some D-2 schools.
NLI Website

Couple of interesting points:

Statute of Limitations. This NLI is in full force and effect for a period of four (4) years, commencing with the date you sign the NLI.

The coach MAY be present at the NLI signing if the signing is on the college campus. The coach may NOT attend an NLI signing off-campus.

The National Letter of Intent program is administered by the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA).
The Southeastern Conference handles the daily administrative duties of the National Letter of Intent program on behalf of the CCA.
p-gas, it's not so much for baseball, but in football & basketball it's to protect the player from coersion & pressure

back in the day when coaches could attend, you'd often see the coach smiling with his arm around "grandma" (oh, what a nice family man??)
-but, if ya looked close, he had her arm twisted up behind her back & tears in her eyes till that paper was signed
Last edited by Bee>
Signing periods are during dead periods, I am not sure of the time frame or if one is even allowed on campus during that time anymore.

Rhp is good at finding it in the NCAA rules.
Big Grin
The rule is for all sports, but I am sure it was designed for football signing. We think that baseball recruiting is stressful, I can just imagine football, that's definetly cut throat time! Could you just see the phones ringing off the hooks for one last minute, please don't go there, come here stuff. pull_hair
Last edited by TPM
quote:
13.1.6.7 Letter-of-Intent Signing. Any in-person, off-campus contact made with a prospect for the purpose of signing a letter of intent or other commitment to attend the institution or attendance at activities related to the signing of a letter of intent or other commitment to attend the institution shall be prohibited.

13.1.6.7.1 Delivery of Letter of Intent. In-person, off-campus delivery of a letter of intent by an institutional staff member shall be prohibited. The letter may be delivered by express mail, courier service, regular mail, electronic mail or facsimile machine.

The only NCAA reference to "on-campus" signings was under rules for Media coverage for a NLI signing. It implies that signing your NLI on campus is allowed.
quote:
13.10.8.4 Signings On Campus. An institution is responsible for signings on its campus (whether involving an individual or a group of prospects). Any contact by the media with prospects on campus during the time the prospect signs a National Letter of Intent or tender of financial aid shall be considered to be prima facie evidence of institutional involvement in arranging media involvement and shall be prohibited.

Cool
Last edited by RHP05Parent
We didn't do anything other than sign it at home and fax it in. My son did not want any publicity that's just the way he is. It is most common where we are to have a little fanfare in the library with current school administration and coaches present. It should really up to the player more than anybody else.

In regards to the NLI, if you are worried about it being pulled then you either do not have enough faith in your abilities or chose the wrong school. Once we signed, we never looked back.

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