So my friend's dd (really) is getting wooed by a D1 coach. She will be a sophomore. Can someone please explain the finer points of timing a verbal commitment? Specifically, when exactly does a D1 school make a specific scholarship offer in writing? Before a girl verbals? Same time? Only after her Junior year? It seems like a catch-22 as far as who can say and do and commit to what. Thanks!
recruiting/verbal question
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- Dec 20, 2012
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It is a verbal commitment until her senior year of hs. Here are dates for early and normal signing periods.NLI Signing Dates for Prospective Student-Athletes Signing 2015-16 and Enrolling 2016-17
Verbal commitments mean nothing under NCAA rules and are not enforceable by either side.
A player can "verbal" at any time, but it is non-binding until she signs a NLI her senior year. I would also be VERY surprised if any school would make your friends DD an offer in writing - it is typically a conversation or a power point presentation. If they gave her something in writing and later reneged on the deal, anything they provided could be grounds for a lawsuit. It is essentially a "handshake agreement" so I would advise your friends to do their homework and only verbal to a college coach with high integrity.
Thanks JAD. So at the time a girl verbals, if it is before her senior year, financial terms are usually discussed but not binding. I assume there are countless stories about girls who were promised full rides when they verballed as 9th graders and then at signing time were offered something less?
Verbaling 9th graders is relatively new trend, so stories of last minute "modifications" to offers are just now starting to trickle out. When an offer is reduced or pulled, it is rarely discussed in open forums because the college coach does not want negative publicity, and the player is scrambling to find a new school and does not want to be labeled a "problem recruit". If you look at goldfastpitch you will see that some schools have 9 incoming freshman and only 2 seniors on their rosters, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out....
Just want to emphasize verbals are with the coach, not the school. If the coach leaves the school to take another position, they may offer verbals to go with them (e.g. Wallace when Myers went from ASU to Auburn). Their replacement usually decides the fate of the original verbal - accept, decline or renegotiate.
Verbals are with coach. Not school. If the coach leaves... any financial agreement can go also. In my limited experience I've seen the new coach honor those seniors who might be about to sign NLI (summer before NLI). But if its a younger commit, the coach may want to evaluate before keeping or renegotiating the offer.
Younger players who commit would have usually been offered some sort of financial offer verbally. Nothing is in writing and I'm guessing most work out as coaches don't want to have a reputation for not honoring what they agreed to. Once the word gets out that they don't honor what they initially promised I'm sure it makes it harder for them to recruit.
Younger players who commit would have usually been offered some sort of financial offer verbally. Nothing is in writing and I'm guessing most work out as coaches don't want to have a reputation for not honoring what they agreed to. Once the word gets out that they don't honor what they initially promised I'm sure it makes it harder for them to recruit.
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