NCAA Extends Recruiting Dead Period For All Sports Through August 31

The NCAA’s Division I Council voted Thursday to extend the in-person recruiting dead period through Aug. 31.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Once the fall semester begins at the University of Illinois, athletics coaches still won’t be able to leave campus to recruit or have on-campus visitors.

On Thursday, the NCAA Division I Council extended the recruiting dead period in all sports through Aug. 31. The dead period, which was going to expire on July 31, has been in effect since late March because of the coronavirus epidemic. The first dead period, which doesn’t allow for any in-person contact between coaches and prospects was first put in place on March 13 (a day after the NCAA shut down all winter and spring sports, and was set to expire on April 15. The NCAA has extended this recruiting period two more times (through May 31 and through July 31) and was expected to be lifted when the NCAA started to allow preseason practices for football in August.

The Division I Council has extended the recruiting dead period: https://t.co/cGExRdbLrl pic.twitter.com/se3BFgg8wY

— NCAA News (@NCAA_PR) June 25, 2020

During this 14-day period from July 23 to Aug. 5, football players are required to get at least two days off. Under this approved preseason model, Illinois football can open preseason camps on Aug. 6. For teams opening their season on Saturday, Sept. 5, preseason practices can begin on Aug. 7 but Illinois will be allowed to start these preseason activities a day earlier than the published date by the NCAA because the Illini are slated to open the 2020 schedule on the night of Friday, Sept. 4 against Illinois State.

In Thursday’s official release by the NCAA, the Division 1 Council and the Council Coordination Committee say they both will continue to review the recruiting dead periods on a regular basis.

Additionally, the NCAA announced the Men’s and Women’s Basketball Oversight Committees indicated they are not planning to recommend any changes to the summer access model that was adopted last week, which allows for schools to begin preseason practices on July 20 and may include up to eight hours per week of weight training, conditioning and skill instruction, with not more than four hours of coach-player skill instruction.

The NCAA Division 1 Council members also granted a waiver to modifying the start date for preseason practice in sports other than football. Since June 1, numerous Division I football programs, including 23 at Clemson, 13 at Texas and two at Kansas State, have reported positive COVID-19 tests following the beginning of voluntary summer workouts.