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Recruiting Guidelines
Guidelines for Prospects and Their Families
Compliance with NCAA rules is a never-ending process that requires
diligence on the part of both the Department of Athletics and
Tennessee Tech as a whole. Below is a brief summary of the basic
issues that you may be faced with as a prospective
student-athlete.
1. You become a prospective student-athlete if
you have started classes for the ninth grade. Before the ninth
grade, you become a prospective student-athlete if the college
provides you (or your relatives or friends) any financial aid or
other benefits that the college does not provide to prospective
students generally. In the sport of men's basketball, you
become a prospective student-athlete if you have started classes
for seventh grade.
2. A "representative of an institution's athletics
interests" (commonly referred to as a
booster) is defined by the NCAA as anyone who:
* Is now, or previously been, a member of any organization
promoting the institution's intercollegiate athletics program;
* Has made a financial contribution to the athletics program or an
athletics booster organization;
* Has helped arrange any employment for a student-athlete;
* Has been involved, in any way, in the promotion of the athletics
program.
* Assisted or has been requested by an Athletics staff member to
assist in recruitment.
3. Please be aware that any former Tennessee Tech
student is automatically considered a representative of
Tennessee Tech's athletics interests (booster). According to NCAA
rules, once an individual is identified as a booster, he/she
retains that status forever.
4. You become a "recruited" prospective
student-athlete at a particular college if any coach or
booster solicits you or your family for the purpose of securing
your enrollment and participation in intercollegiate athletics.
Activities by coaches or boosters that trigger recruited status
are:
* Paying some or all of your expenses during a visit to campus
(known as an "official" visit);
* Arranging an in-person, off-campus encounter with you or your
parent(s) or legal guardian; or
* Initiating or arranging a telephone contact with you, your
family or guardian on more than one occasion for the purpose of
recruitment.
5. A booster may not solicit your enrollment in
any manner (no phone calls, letters or in-person encounters).
6. You (or your family) may not receive any benefit,
inducement or arrangement such as cash, clothing, cars,
improper expenses, transportation, gifts or loans to encourage you
to sign a National Letter of Intent or to attend an NCAA
school.
7. A "contact" is any face-to-face encounter
between you or your parent(s) or legal guardian and an
institutional staff member or athletic representative during which
any dialogue occurs in excess of an exchange of greeting.
8. Phone calls to you from faculty members and
coaches (but not boosters) are permitted beginning July 1 (Sept. 1
for football) after completion of your junior year. In addition,
football coaches may call a prospect or the prospect's family once
during the month of May during the prospect's junior year. A
college coach or faculty member is limited to one telephone call
per week to you (or your parents or legal guardians). Unlimited
calls to you (or your parents or legal guardians) may be made under
the following circumstances:
* During the five days immediately before your official visit by
the university you will be visiting;
* On the day of a coach's off-campus contact with you;
* During the time beginning with the initial National Letter of
Intent signing date in your sport through the two days after the
signing date; and
* In the sport of football only, during the
permissible off-campus contact periods and during the 48 hours
prior to and 24 hours after 5 a.m. on the initial signing date for
the National Letter of Intent. Coaches also may accept collect
calls, and universities are permitted to utilize a toll-free number
to receive telephone calls from you (or your parents or legal
guardians) on or after July 1 after completion of your junior
year.
* In the sport of men's basketball, one call per
month after June 15 following sophomore year; two times per week
after July 31 preceding senior year.
* In the sport of women's basketball, the
following limits apply:
During junior
year:
One call in April after completion of Women's Final
Four
One call in May
One call June 1 through 20
One call June 21 through 30
Three calls in July following junior year.
9. Letters to you from coaches and faculty
members (but not boosters) are permitted beginning Sept. 1 at the
beginning of your junior year in high school. A Division I
university may provide you with the following printed
materials:
* General correspondence, including letters, U.S. Postal Service
postcards and institutional note cards;
* Game programs which may not include posters and one
Student-Athlete Handbook;
* NCAA educational information;
* Pre-enrollment information subsequent to signing a National
Letter of Intent with the university;
* One athletic publication (media guide or recruiting
brochure);
* Official academic, admissions and student services publications
published or videotapes produced by the institution and available
to all students;
* Schedule and business cards;
* Questionnaires which may be provided prior to your junior
year; and
* Camp brochures which may be provided prior to your junior
year.
* In the sport of men's basketball, general
correspondance begins July 15 following sophomore year.
10. An "evaluation" is any off-campus activity
designed to assess your academic qualifications or athletic
ability, including any visit to your high school (during which no
contact occurs) or the observation of any practice or competition
in which you participate.
This page was developed as a quick-reference guide to provide a
basic understanding of NCAA rules. It is not all-inclusive, but
rather a tool to help you avoid inadvertent involvement in a
violation of NCAA legislation. We encourage you to always ASK
BEFORE YOU ACT.
Please contact Frank Harrell, the Tennessee Tech Compliance
Coordinator, if you have any questions at (931) 372-3939.
The Role of Boosters in the
Recruiting of Student-Athletes
Per NCAA regulations, only coaches and athletics department staff
members are permitted to be directly involved in the recruiting
process. Boosters are not permitted to contact a prospect or
his/her family by telephone, letter or in person (on- or
off-campus) for the purpose of encouraging participation in the
Tech athletics program. These regulations apply to Athletic
Foundation members, alumni, season-ticket holders (past or current)
and anyone who has ever donated money to the Tech athletics
program.
If you find yourself in a conversation with a prospect or his/her
relative(s) and the topic turns to the Tech athletics program,
politely explain that NCAA regulations don't permit you to discuss
this with them, and direct their questions to the Tech coach in
that sport or another staff member.
NCAA Regulations DO permit the following:
* Contacting a Tech coach regarding any prospect that you feel
would be a worthy addition to the university and its athletics
program.
* Attendance at public functions where prospects may be (such as
high school banquets).
* Forwarding newspaper articles regarding prospects to Tech
coaches.
* Continuing existing relationships with families that include
children of prospect age.
NCAA Regulations DO NOT permit the following:
* Providing a prospect, his/her family or friends with any benefit
or special arrangement, including (but not limited to):
- transportation;
- meals;
- admission to an athletics event;
- costs incurred to attend Tech camp;
- entertainment;
- costs incurred to visit campus;
- free services or discounts;
- gifts or awards.
* Contacting a prospect's coach, principal or counselor for the
purpose of evaluating the prospect; picking up films or transcripts
from the prospect's high school, prep school or junior college.
* Assisting in arrangements for a prospect's future financial
aid.
* Entertaining or providing tickets to a high school, prep school
or junior college coach.
Remember that this is not an all-inclusive list, so please
ASK BEFORE YOU ACT
Please contact Frank Harrell, the Tennessee Tech Compliance
Coordinator, if you have any questions at (931) 372-3939.
If you are interested in becoming a student-athlete at Tennessee
Tech, please visit the Prospective Student Athlete Information page
located on each individual sport, and tell us about yourself.
