The NCAA Division I council announced Wednesday it was extending the recruiting dead period for all sports through May 31, continuing a ban on in-person recruiting that has been in place since the coronavirus pandemic began last March.
The council said it will provide an update on a potential return to in-person recruiting no later than April 15, meaning there’s a chance coaches will be able to attend events during the June and July live periods in men’s and women’s basketball.
With the dead period potentially ending in June, it will have been at least 14 months since there were official campus visits for prospects or in-person evaluations by coaches.
“After careful consideration of all available information, the Council agreed that an extension of the dead period through May 31 was necessary,” council chair and Penn athletic director M. Grace Calhoun said. “However, there is a strong commitment to use the next several weeks to outline the transition plan back to recruiting activities post June 1 and to provide those plans to prospective student-athletes, their families and the NCAA membership no later than April 15.”
For basketball, the announcement means there will be no in-person evaluation during the two scheduled April live periods. On the football side, the evaluation period from April 15 through May 31 will be off-limits to coaches.
In Wednesday’s announcement, the council also increased the number of hours football teams can spend on out-of-season activities from eight to 10 hours per week, including up to four hours per week for meetings and walk-throughs, and up to six hours per week of physical activities.