Signing Day Without The National Letter of Intent

Beginning with the 2024-25 academic year, NCAA Division I and II institutions are using a new signing model that's tied to the signing of an athletic scholarship. This new signing model removes the former National Letter of Intent from the signing process at the NCAA D-I and D-II levels.

The National Letter of Intent was used for decades and was the binding agreement between a recruit and a college.

By signing, the student-athlete officially committed to that school for one year. And in return, the school agreed to provide athletic financial aid for one academic year. Before its recent elimination, the purpose of the NLI was to prevent other colleges from recruiting the athlete and to provide clear terms to both parties on the athlete’s participation in the school’s athletic program.

Even without the NLI, the signing experience for recruits feels largely the same.

Eliminating something that's been used for more than 60 years might sound like a big deal, but in reality, not much changes – just the paperwork recruits sign.

From now on, recruits sign written offers of athletics aid to officially commit to colleges. These written agreements encompass both financial aid and scholarship aid.

Plus, if you play at a D-I school that's opted into the House settlement, the paperwork will also include your agreed-upon revenue share with the school.

Per the NCAA, once a prospect has signed a written offer of athletic aid, other schools will be "prohibited from recruiting communications."

There could also be an NIL (not NLI) contract that you need to review if you're playing at the D-I level. But that's a whole different topic of discussion.

Heck yes! Landing a scholarship at the NCAA level is a significant achievement and should be celebrated.

No. NCAA coaches may not have in-person on or off-campus contact with a recruit the day an athletic scholarship is signed. However, coaches may still communicate with recruits on the day of signing (phone calls, text messages, etc.). After a recruit signs an athletic scholarship, the institution that signed the recruit is no longer subject to contact limitations.

No. Once a recruit signs an athletic scholarship, a contact prohibition goes into effect.

As a result, coaches from other NCAA institutions must stop recruiting contact with the signed recruit and individuals associated with them (family members, scholastics or club coach, advisor).

A recruit who signs with a Division I or Division II school may not sign an athletic scholarship offer from another institution unless, upon request, the institution with which they initially signed releases them from the contact prohibition.

If a recruit changes their mind after signing an athletic scholarship agreement, they must request in writing to be released from the contact prohibition that is in effect.

If the release is provided, the current school will update the player's signed status in their institutional request list or the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Requesting a release from the contact prohibition does not automatically cancel the athletic scholarship.

Don't forget, if you signed an NIL contract, you would need to also review what legal ramifications you could incur if you change your mind.

After signing an athletic scholarship, a player may request to have recruiting conversations with other schools. Such a request must be made in writing to the school.

If the school provides the release from the contact prohibition, the school will update the player's status in the appropriate NCAA application within two business days in Division I or seven business days in Division II.

Once updated, coaches at other schools will be permitted to have recruiting contact with the released player.

This release only lifts the contact prohibition and does not automatically cancel the athletic scholarship signed by the prospective student-athlete.

Division III schools do not offer athletic scholarships, so you would not be signing anything associated with the athletic department.

Division III schools can use a standard, NCAA-provided, non binding celebratory signing form. A recruit is permitted to sign the celebratory signing form at any point, including high school signing events, after the student-athlete has been accepted to the institution.

The NAIA does not have a letter-of-intent program. Student-athletes may sign letters-of-intent with an individual NAIA school. However, they aren’t obligated to attend that institution.

Some NAIA conferences require their member schools to recognize letters-of-intent signed with other institutions within the conference. Check with your prospective school to see if any conference programs apply.

Recruits who commit to an NJCAA program may be asked to sign a letter-of-intent for one academic year. If a student-athlete is receiving an athletic scholarship, it will be outlined in the letter-of-intent. Not all NJCAA programs will require a student-athlete to sign a letter-of-intent. Many NJCAA recruits will celebrate their commitment during NCAA D-I signing periods.

As outlined earlier, a financial agreement with a school is a binding document. You should only sign it if you're 100% sure you want to attend that school.

Here are a few things to consider before you sign:

• Understanding financial factors: Review the agreement thoroughly to understand what could cause you to lose or affect your financial aid package.

You and your family must review the agreement to determine if there will be any leftover costs that you will need to cover as a family.

If anything in the agreement is unclear, contact your recruiter or the person who sent you the documentation from the athletic department.

It would also not be a bad idea to engage your high school coach to help get clarification.