College Recruiting 101

1. College Recruiting 101 Essential Information for Prospective College Lacrosse Players

2. Contents • Terms to Know • Recruiting Contact Timeline • Div I, Div II, & Div III • National Letter of Intent • Verbal Commitment • NCAA Eligibility Requirements • Initial Requirements • Core Class Requirements • GPA/Test Scores • Recruiting Checklist • Additional Resources • Bibliography

3. Terms to Know • Contact • Occurs any time a college coach says more than hello during a face-to-face contact with a college-bound student-athlete (or his or her parents) off the college’s campus. • Contact period • Acollege coach may have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes/their parents, watch student-athletes compete, visit their high schools, and write or telephone student-athletes/their parents.

4. Terms to Know cont. • Official visit vs. unofficial • Any visit to a college campus by a college-bound student-athlete or his/her parents that is paid for by the college is an official visit. • During an official visit the college can pay for transportation to and from the college for the prospect, lodging and three meals per day for both the prospect and the parent or guardian, as well as reasonable entertainment expenses including three tickets to a home sports event.  • Visits paid for by college-bound student-athletes or their parents are unofficial visits. • The only expenses a college-bound student-athlete may receive from a college during an unofficial visit are three tickets to a home sports event. • Evaluation • A college coach may watch college-bound student-athletes compete, visit their high schools, and write or telephone student-athletes or their parents. However, a college coach may not have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents off the college’s campus during an evaluation period.

5. Recruiting Contact Timeline

6. Recruiting Contact Timeline

7. Recruiting Contact Timeline

8. National Letter of Intent • Is signed by a college-bound student-athlete when the student-athlete agrees to attend a Division I or II college or university for one academic year. • Participating institutions agree to provide financial aid for one academic year to the student-athlete as long as the student-athlete is admitted to the school and is eligible for financial aid under NCAA rules. Other forms of financial aid do not guarantee the student-athlete financial aid. • The National Letter of Intent is voluntary and not required for a student-athlete to receive financial aid or participate in sports. • Signing an National Letter of Intent ends the recruiting process since participating schools are prohibited from recruiting student-athletes who have already signed letters with other participating schools. • A student-athlete who has signed a National Letter of Intent may request a release from his or her contract with the school. If a student-athlete signs a National Letter of Intent with one school but attends a different school, he or she will lose one full year of eligibility and must complete a full academic year at their new school before being eligible to compete.

9. Verbal Commitment • This phrase is used to describe a college bound student-athlete's commitment to a school before he or she signs (or is able to sign) a National Letter of Intent. • A college coach may or may not ask you to do this prior to signing • A college bound student-athlete can announce a verbal commitment at any time. • While verbal commitments have become very popular for both college-bound student-athletes and coaches, this "commitment" is NOT binding on either the college-bound student-athlete or the college or university. • Only the signing of the National Letter of Intent accompanied by a financial aid agreement is binding on both parties.

10. NCAA Eligibility The NCAA membership creates rules in three separate divisions that determine an individual’s eligibility to participate in intercollegiate athletics. Prospective student-athletes must meet minimum academic standards and amateurism criteria in order to play college sports. The NCAA Eligibility Center administers the process for prospects seeking initial eligibility. NCAA membership committees composed of faculty members, administrators and other higher education professionals create and apply eligibility standards.

11. NCAA Div. I & II Initial Eligibility Requirements Core Courses • NCAA Division I requires 16 core courses. NCAA Division II currently requires 14 core courses. Division II will require 16 core courses for students enrolling on or after August 1, 2013(see next slide). • NCAA Division I will require 10 core courses to be completed prior to the seventh semester (seven of the 10 must be a combination of English, math or natural or physical science that meet the distribution requirements below). These 10 courses become "locked in" at the seventh semester and cannot be retaken for grade improvement. • Beginning August 1, 2016, it will be possible for a Division I college-bound student-athlete to still receive athletics aid and the ability to practice with the team if he or she fails to meet the 10 course requirement, but would not be able to compete

12. High School Core RequirementsProspective college bound athletes must complete the following courses during their high school career DII Requirements • 16 Core Courses (2013 and After) • 3 years of English. • 2 years of math • 2 years of natural/physical • 3 years of additional English, mathematics or natural/physical science. • 2 years of social science. • 4 years of additional courses (from any area above, foreign language or comparative religion/philosophy). DI Requirements • 16 Core Courses • 4 Years English • 3 years math • 2 years natural/physical science • 1 additional year (math, science, English) • 2 years of social science • 4 years of extra core courses • Meet minimums on GPA and ACT scale Current DII Requirements • 14 Core Courses • 3 years English • 2 years math • 2 years science • 2 additional years • 2 years social science • 3 years of extra core courses • Minimum 2.0 GPA DIII eligibility requirements • No NCAA eligibility required. Standards set by the University admissions.

13. Grade-Point Average Be sure to look at your high school’s List of NCAA Courses on the NCAA Eligibility Center's website (www.eligibilitycenter.org). Only courses that appear on your school's List of NCAA Courses will be used in the calculation of the core GPA. Use the list as a guide. Division I students enrolling full time before August 1, 2016, should use Sliding Scale A to determine eligibility to receive athletics aid, practice and competition during the first year. Division I GPA required to receive athletics aid and practiceon or after August 1, 2016, is 2.000 (corresponding test-score requirements are listed on Sliding Scale B see below). Division I GPA required to be eligible for competitionon or after August 1, 2016, is 2.300 (corresponding test-score requirements are listed on Sliding Scale B (see below) The Division II core GPA requirement is a minimum of 2.000. Remember, the NCAA GPA is calculated using NCAA core courses only.

14. Test Scores Division I uses a sliding scale to match test scores and core grade-point averages (GPA). The sliding scale for those requirements is shown on Page No. 2 of this sheet. Division II requires a minimum SAT score of 820 or an ACT sum score of 68. The SAT score used for NCAA purposes includes only the critical reading and math sections. The writing section of the SAT is not used. The ACT score used for NCAA purposes is a sum of the following four sections: English, mathematics, reading and science. When you register for the SAT or ACT, use the NCAA Eligibility Center code of 9999 to ensure all SAT and ACT scores are reported directly to the NCAA Eligibility Center from the testing agency. Test scores that appear on transcripts will not be used.

15. Grade Scale A Core GPA SAT ACT

16. ACT Sum GPA For Competition GPA For aid and practice SAT Grade Scale B

22. Additional Resources Below are some helpful resources that will help prospective lacrosse student-athletes understand collegiate lacrosse, navigate the recruiting process, and find the best possible college to fit their athletic and academic profile Article: Behind the Blue Disk - How Do Athletic Scholarships Work? NCAA Eligibility Center - 2012/2013 Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete NCAA Eligibility Center LacrosseRecruits.com Nearly every NCAA lacrosse coach is registered on this site. Allows you to build a student-athlete profile and upload game footage/highlight film to send that you can send to coaches. The site also offers a service where they will edit game footage for you and highlight you in the video, so that coaches can easily distinguish who you are. Lacrossecoaches.org The Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IMLCA) Recruiting Resource was developed exclusively for the IMLCA by IMLCA coaches in response to the overwhelming need for a lacrosse recruiting resource that enables student athletes to leverage their athletic advantage in the collegiate admission process. USlacrosse.com – College NCAA Lacrosse website MCLA website The MCLA features teams from around the country and many of the top programs play truly national schedules. The MCLA, which includes roughly 300 teams, concludes its season with national championships at the Division I and II levels NCLL website The NCLL is primarily based along the Eastern Seaboard and features more than 100 teams. The NCLL celebrated its 20th season in 2010.

23. Bibliography • Most of the information in this presentation was gathered from www.ncaa.org • Additional information gathered from: • NCAA Eligibility Center - Quick Reference Guide • NCAA Eligibility Center - 2012/2013 Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete • uslacrosse.org – College • Checklists: • College Athlete 101 handout • Article: Bleacher Report - Summer Checklist for the Junior Prospective Student-Athlete