Last updated on November 13, 2023.
The information herein is a simplified presentation of important dates and terms encountered during the college football recruiting process. The official class of 2023/2024 NCAA football calendars can be viewed by clicking on the PDF links below:
- NCAA FBS (Division I) Football Recruiting Calendar for the Class of 2023/2024
- NCAA FCS (Division IAA) Football Recruiting Calendar for the Class of 2023/2024
- NCAA Division II Football Recruiting Calendar for the Class of 2023/2024
- NCAA Recruiting Calendars for All Sports and Divisions
OTHER IMPORTANT LINKS:
- 2024 NCAA FBS Shake-Up: Unveiling the Game-Changing Conference Realignment and Its Impact on College Football
- 2023-2024 NCAA FBS Head Coaching Changes
- Contact College Football Coaches: Contact info for every college team in America: mailing address | phone | fax| email
Class of 2024 NCAA FBS Recruiting Calendar Dates (Simplified)
For more detailed explanations of terms used in this article, see the NCAA FOOTBALL RECRUITING DEFINITIONS section below.
August 1, 2023, through August 31, 2023: This is a Dead Period except for forty-eight hours before a home contest (on the institution’s campus or in a facility normally used for its home games) that occurs in August or on September 1 or 2 through 48 hours after the conclusion of the contest:
September 1 through November 26, 2023, is a Quiet Period except for the Evaluation Period noted below:
The NCAA allows colleges 33 evaluation days (42 for U.S. service academies) during the fall evaluation period. During the evaluation period, it’s permissible for college staff members to conduct off-campus activities to assess a student athlete’s academic and playing ability of However, no in-person off-campus recruiting contacts with the student-athlete are allowed during this period.
November 27 through November 30, 2023: This is a Dead Period.
December 1-16, 2023: This is a Contact Period.
December 17, 2023: This is a Quiet Period.
December 18 through January 11, 2024: This is a Dead Period except for the following dates:
Note: December 20-22 is Early Football Signing Day
January 3-7, 2024: This is a Quiet Period for two- and four-year college transfer student-athletes who intend to enroll midyear.
January 5-7, 2024: This is a Quiet Period for national service academies.
January 12 through February 3, 2024: This is a Contact Period.
February 4, 2024: This is a Quiet Period
February 5 through March 3, 2024: This is a Dead Period.
Note: February 7, 2024, is National Letter of Intent Day for NCAA Football
Recruiting Heats Up for the Class of 2025 High School Football Recruits
March 4 through April 14, 2024: This is a Quiet Period.
April 15 through May 25: This is a Contact Period:
Colleges are allowed one hundred forty (180 for U.S. service academies) recruiting-person days during the spring contact period.
May 26-29, 2024: This is a Dead Period.
May 30 through June 23, 2024: This is a Quiet Period.
June 24 through July 24, 2024: This is a Dead Period.
July 25-31, 2024: This is a Quiet Period.
NCAA FOOTBALL RECRUITING DEFINITIONS
Contact Period — It’s permissible for authorized athletic department staff members to make in-person and off-campus recruiting contacts and evaluations. College coaches are allowed to visit recruits off campus (at their high school or home). Coaches can make only one visit per week to individual recruits and are permitted to make one phone call per week to a recruit during this period.
Quiet Period — Recruits can visit with college coaches but only at those college campuses. Also, during the month of September, October, or November, coaches are permitted to make one in-person off-campus visit to a recruit (at their high schools or at an athletic event) (colleges are allowed a total of 42 days of evaluation time during this period).
Dead Period — Coaches are not permitted to make in-person recruiting contacts or evaluations on or off-campus or permit official or unofficial visits by recruits, or make phone calls to recruits.
Evaluation Period — It’s permissible for authorized athletics department staff to be involved in off-campus activities to assess academic qualifications and playing abilities. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts with a prospect are permitted during these evaluations: the college coaches are only allowed to attend athletic events and/or the prospect’s school and talk to the high school coaches and school administrators, but they are not allowed to speak to the recruit during one of these visits except to say “hello.” Colleges are allowed a total of approximately 168 days each year to conduct evaluations for all of their prospective recruits.
Early Signing Period — A short period of time, in mid-December, when the NCAA allows senior high school student-athletes to sign their Letter of Intent earlier than the beginning of the National Letter of Intent Signing Day in February.
Answers to FAQ
When Can a College Football Coach Start Calling Recruits and How Many Times?
PHONE CALLS
First Permitted Phone Call to a Recruit: FBS (D1 ) football coaches can make one phone call to a prospect from April 15 through May 31st of his junior year. Additional calls to the prospect and/or to his parent/guardian or relatives may not be made until September 1st of his senior year.
Beginning September 1 of a prospect’s senior year, college coaches can begin calling a recruit, but they are forbidden to call a single recruit more than once per week. Coaches can make no calls to recruits during dead periods.
WHEN CAN A COLLEGE FOOTBALL COACH START SENDING LETTERS AND EMAILS?
Correspondence
Colleges can send prospects’ non-athletic program information, such as college summer camp brochures, newsletters, recruiting questionnaires, and educational information about their schools at any time. However, college coaches cannot begin sending personal correspondence to a recruit until September 1st of his junior year.
WHEN CAN A PROSPECT OR PARENT/GUARDIAN CONTACT COLLEGE COACHES?
Recruiting prospects and/or their parent/guardian are allowed to make phone calls or send correspondence to college coaches at any time.
For the Official NCAA Recruiting Definitions, click the following link NCAA Recruiting Definitions and Terms: Contact | Contact Period | Quiet period |Dead Period | Evaluation Period | Prospective student-athlete | Unofficial visit | Official visit |Verbal commitment | National Letter of Intent.
WHEN IS THE FIRST TIME A NCAA FOOTBALL PROGRAM CAN MAKE AN OFFICIAL SCHOLARSHIP OFFER TO A PROSPECT?
NCAA schools cannot make an official offer to a prospect until June 15—after his sophomore year—or on (or anytime after) September 1 of his junior year.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FOOTBALL RECRUITING PROCESS, VIEW THE LINKS BELOW:
How to Manage the College Football Recruiting Process
Do I Need to Make a Highlight Video?
Odds of Playing College Football