Those who follow the new rules for college recruiting for the NCAA Division I schools know that there were new rules for the Class of 2019 and so on going forward on both the Boys and Girls side. We thought it would be a good idea to focus today on the new rules and sort of recap them and their impact as this weekend plays out.
First article will be about the new rules themselves. as put out by the NCAA.
After a somewhat difficult search I finally found what looks like the actual NCAA final rules:
https://web3.ncaa.org/lsdbi/search/proposalView?id=100629
Here’s an easy PDF printout, but note that the last section has hyperlinks that are not available on the PDF:
2017 NCAA Lacrosse Ruling
It is important for the family, the coaches, etc. to click on the hyperlinks to see the specifics discussed. TRUST ME, there’s a lot of small print detail stuff about admissions and meals, etc., on an UNOFFICIAL VISIT that you need to know about!
By the way, where this might really get interesting is if the student visiting is being recruited as an athlete in a sport where the rules have not been changed but the athlete is also being recruited by the lacrosse program. I am reading further to see if that is an issue.
Note: It is very important for the family to understand the LEGAL difference between an OFFICIAL visit and an UNOFFICIAL visit and what can be done by the host school for each! In general an OFFICIAL visit is one that the SCHOOL pays for and an UNOFFICIAL visit is one the FAMILY pays for. There are some nuances so prospective recruits should read up on what is allowed and what isn’t. Frankly, if the school/coaching staff is willing to break these rules I wouldn’t want to trust my child to them. I’ll never forget the first time I heard someone say the definition of character is doing the right thing when no one is looking.
Here are a couple of lacrosse-specific rules that are part of the new rulings:
13.1.3.2.2.1 Telephone Calls From a Prospective Student-Athlete — Lacrosse. In lacrosse, institutional staff members may not receive telephone calls from an individual (or his or her relatives or legal guardians) before September 1 at the beginning of his or her junior year in high school.
(Adopted: 4/14/17)
13.7.1.3 Exception — Women’s Gymnastics, Lacrosse and Wrestling. In women’s gymnastics, lacrosse and wrestling, an unofficial visit with athletics department involvement (e.g., contact with athletics department staff, athletics-specific tour, complimentary admission) shall not occur with an individual (or his or her relatives or legal guardians) before September 1 at the beginning of his or her junior year in high school.
(Adopted: 4/14/17, Revised: 4/26/17 effective 8/1/17)
Both of these are pretty easy to understand.
We’ll get further into the new rules as I read up on and interpret them. The most important thing to remember is that, REGARDLESS of the rules, picking a school should be about picking THE SCHOOL, not the LACROSSE PROGRAM.
