The writing was on the wall, but now it is official. The NCAA’s D1 Council announced the decision to extend the recruiting dead period for all sports through April 15 because of ongoing concerns with the coronavirus pandemic.
“The COVID-19 numbers are not trending in the right direction for the Council to allow in-person recruiting and the associated long-distance travel for coaches, prospective student-athletes and their families,” said Chair of the D1 Council, M. Grace Calhoun. “We acknowledge the impact the restrictions are having on prospective student-athletes and coaches alike, and we will continue to assess how to best balance health and safety concerns with the desire to support the prospectives and coaches in the recruiting process.”
It must be noted that just because the dead period has been extended does not mean that there cannot be any contact at all. Coaches and players can text, call, email, and communicate otherwise, they just cannot meet up in person.
DI Council extends recruiting dead period for all sports through April 15: https://t.co/znkRinZ2CQ pic.twitter.com/36C4JP5cip
— Inside the NCAA (@InsidetheNCAA) November 18, 2020
That hasn’t stopped some recruits from taking matters into their own hands and visiting campuses on their own dime and time, like the Buckeye Bash, but even with that, there cannot be any contact from the coaching staff or administration.
Hopefully tax day in April there will be a vaccine for this thing and we’ll be headed out of the woods on this thing. Until then, everyone remain safe and vigilant.
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