The Division I Council on Tuesday approved a rule change adopted by the Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision oversight committees to allow any staff member to provide technical and tactical instruction to student-athletes. The decision is not final until the end of the meeting on Wednesday.
The change would take effect immediately. In the future, any staff member will be able to provide technical and tactical instruction to student-athletes during practices and competitions.
The proposal does not change the number of off-campus recruiters. FBS teams remain limited to 11 staff members and FCS teams remain limited to 13 staff members who may participate in off-campus recruiting activities. National Service Academies are allowed four additional off-campus recruiters. Both subdivisions must include the head coach as an off-campus recruiter, and only staff members who regularly engage in on-campus coaching activities with student-athletes may be counted as off-campus recruiters.
FBS programs may also have up to four graduate student coaches and no more than five strength and conditioning coaches. The limits for student assistant coaches will be the same as the number of off-campus recruiters allowed for a football program.
“NCAA members continue their efforts to modernize support for student-athletes, and removing restrictions on skill instruction in football will provide these student-athletes with increased resources to reach their greatest potential on the field ” said Josh Whitman, President of Council and Athletics. director at Illinois. “At the same time, the board determined that maintaining limits on recruiting personnel would preserve competitive balance in recruiting while localizing decision-making on how best to maximize support for student-athletes.”
Cannabis testing
The board voted to remove cannabinoids from the class of drugs prohibited for championship and football playoff participation, effective immediately.
“The NCAA drug testing program is intended to focus on competitive integrity, and cannabis products do not provide a competitive advantage,” Whitman said. “The council is focused on policies centered on the health and well-being of student-athletes rather than punishing cannabis use.”
All sanctions currently being served by student-athletes who have previously tested positive for cannabinoids will be removed.
Official visits in basketball and baseball
The board approved a change made by the men’s and women’s basketball oversight committees and the Division I Student-Athlete Experience Committee that removes school restrictions on official visits, effective immediately.
Previously, men’s basketball programs were limited to 28 official visits in a rolling two-year period, although in the last two academic years a blanket waiver was granted to allow 35 visits per school. In women’s basketball, the previous limit was 24 official visits over a two-year rolling average, with a blanket waiver in place in recent years with a limit of 30 official visits. Baseball programs were limited to 25 official visits per year; however, they have also operated under a blanket waiver for the past four academic years, allowing 40 official visits per year.
In April 2023, the NCAA membership voted to allow prospects to take an unlimited number of official visits to NCAA schools, but limited them to one official visit per school unless there is a change of head coach after an official visit, in which case prospects can take a second one. official visit to the same school.
Following recent changes to transfer rules, in addition to the change allowing unlimited visits for prospects, the Basketball and Student-Athlete Experience Oversight Committees agreed that programs should be able to ‘offer as many official visits as they need to maintain the lists each year. from one year to the next and avoid staff burnout.
Overseas basketball tours
A rule change adopted by the men’s and women’s basketball oversight committees and approved by the council will allow student-athletes to participate in more than one overseas tour with the same school. Basketball programs are still limited to one overseas tour every four years.
Additionally, the board approved a change adopted by the Women’s Basketball Oversight Committee that allows women’s basketball programs to compete against another Division I program in a game during a tour ‘stranger. This will provide the opportunity for exciting confrontations and structured, guaranteed play during a tour, which may generate additional international interest in the development of women’s basketball.
FBS, FCS recruiting calendars
The board approved additional changes to the recruiting schedule recommended by the FBS and FCS oversight committees. Some of the recommendations were made to accommodate the decision by the Collegiate Commissioners Association, which has authority over the national letter of intent program, to move football’s early signing date to the first week of December.
In FBS football, changes include:
- Extension of the July dead period. A 31 calendar day dead period beginning July 1 is intended to allow coaches to prepare for the upcoming season without focusing on recruiting.
- Added a quiet period in December, intended to allow teams to focus on the football postseason and allow recruiting activities on campus.
- Extension of the January contact period, intended to allow schools to recruit high school students and four-year university transfers.
- Added a quiet period on the Sunday before the American Football Coaches Association convention, to allow coaches to complete their campus visits before the AFCA convention dead period.
In FCS football, changes include:
- Allow a 14 calendar day contact period in December beginning the Friday following the early signing period, allowing FCS programs to conduct recruiting activities on and off campus before the regular signing period and before the transfer portal closes the NCAA.
- Added a three-day quiet period at the end of the December contact period to allow FCS schools to continue to conduct on-campus recruiting activities at the same time as FBS schools.