NCAA Football Recruiting Calendars 2025-2026 (Simplified)

2025-2026 NCAA Football Recruiting Calendars poster. AI generated image of a Black football player on the sidelined being kissed by a cheerleader. — **Football: It’s More Than a Game**. **It’s a Life-Changing Journey**. Beyond the game, football forges a life of passion, purpose, and unforgettable bonds. *To learn more about why we chose this Google Imagen AI-generated image to represent the poster for this year’s NCAA Football Recruiting Calendars, click the following link:* **2025-2026 NCAA Football Recruiting Calendars Updated**.

Last updated on August 21, 2025.

The 2025-2026 NCAA Football Recruiting Calendar

Navigating the college football recruiting landscape can be complex, but understanding the NCAA recruiting calendar is a crucial step for prospective student-athletes and their families. Our simplified 2025-2026 calendar breaks down the key recruiting dates for the FBS (Division I). It provides links to the official NCAA FBS, FCS (Division I-AA), and Division II programs, helping you stay informed about all the critical recruiting dates and rules.

The NCAA football recruiting calendar is divided into four main periods: Contact, Evaluation, Quiet, and Dead. A Contact Period allows coaches to have in-person, off-campus interactions with recruits. During an Evaluation Period, coaches can watch you play or visit your high school, but they can’t have off-campus, in-person contact with you. A Quiet Period limits recruiting to on-campus interactions only, while a Dead Period prohibits all in-person contact between coaches and recruits. You can find a more detailed description of these NCAA football recruiting periods at the end of this article and the official versions by visiting the links presented throughout this article.

The information presented herein is a simplified overview of important dates and terms commonly encountered during the college football recruiting process. The official class of 2025/2026 NCAA football recruiting calendars can be viewed by clicking on the PDF links below:

OTHER IMPORTANT LINKS:

Class of 2026 NCAA FBS Recruiting Calendar Dates (Simplified)

For more detailed explanations of terms used in this article, see the NCAA FOOTBALL RECRUITING DEFINITIONS section at the end of this article.

August 1, 2025, through August 31, 2025: This is a Dead Period except for forty-eight hours before a home contest (on the institution’s campus or in a facility commonly 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 30, 2025, 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 this period, college staff members may conduct off-campus activities to assess a student-athlete’s academic and playing abilities. However, no in-person off-campus recruiting contacts with the student-athlete are allowed during this period.

December 1-7, 2025: This is a Dead Period, except for the NCAA Football Early Signing Period, which takes place from December 3-5, 2025.

December 8-21, 2025: This is a Quiet Period.

December 22, 2025, through January 4, 2026: This is a Dead Period except for the following dates:

December 31, 2025, through January 4, 2026, is a Quiet period for two and four-year college transfer prospective student-athletes who intend to enroll midyear.

January 5 through 31, 2026: This is a Contact Period except as noted below:

January 11, 2026: This is a Quiet Period.
January 12-14, 2026: This is a Dead Period

February 1, 2026: This is a Quiet Period.

Note: February 4, 2026, is National Signing Day for NCAA Football and runs through August 1, 2026.

The Hunt is On: The Chase for Elite 2027 Football Prospects Heats Up

February 2 through March 1, 2026: This is a Dead Period except for National Service Academies, where February 6 through March 1, 2026, is a Quiet Period.

March 2 through April 14, 2026: This is a Quiet Period.

April 15 through May 23, 2026: This is a Contact Period. Colleges are allowed 140 (180 for U.S. service academies) recruiting-person days during the spring contact period.

May 24-27, 2026: This is a Dead Period.

May 28 through June 21, 2026: This is a Quiet Period.

June 22 through July 31, 2026: This is a Dead 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 are permitted to make only one visit per week to individual recruits and may make one phone call per week to a recruit during this period.

Quiet Period—Recruits can visit with college coaches but only at those campuses. Also, during September, October, or November, coaches are permitted to make one in-person off-campus visit to a recruit (at their high schools or 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 to permit official or unofficial visits by recruits, or to 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, 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 31 of their junior year. Additional calls to the prospect and/or their parent/guardian or relatives may not be made until September 1st of their senior year.

Beginning September 1 of a prospect’s senior year, college coaches can start calling a recruit, but they are forbidden to call a single recruit more than once per week. Coaches are prohibited from making 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 1 of the recruit’s junior year.

WHEN CAN A PROSPECT OR PARENT/GUARDIAN CONTACT COLLEGE COACHES?

Recruiting prospects and/or their parents/guardians are allowed to make phone calls or send correspondence to college coaches at any time.

WHEN IS THE FIRST TIME an 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