Social Media in Recruiting for Prospective Student-Athletes (PSAs) Tip Sheet
Rules In Effect After August 1, 2014
Key Points:
1. Communication Prior to NLI Signing
Prior to a PSA signing an NLI or Institution’s Written Offer of Admission and/or Financial Aid, electronic
correspondence may be used ONLY if the PSA has reached the permissible age to receive written
communication.
2. Electronic Correspondence-General Rule
a. Electronic correspondence (e.g., electronic mail, Instant Messenger, facsimiles, text messages)
restrictions apply both to the PSA and the PSA’s parents/legal guardians. Before a PSA has signed an
NLI or the institution’s written offer of admission and/or financial aid, or the institution has received
his or her financial deposit in response to its offer of admission, the correspondence must be sent
directly to the prospective student-athlete (or his or her parents or legal guardians) and must be
private between only the sender and recipient (e.g., no use of chat rooms, message boards or posts
to “walls”). There are no content restrictions on attachments to electronic correspondence, except
that video and audio materials may not be for recruiting purposes and may not be personalized to
include a PSA’s name, picture, or likeness.
b. Electronic Correspondence for men’s basketball and men’s ice hockey may not be sent until June 15
at the conclusion of the PSA’s sophomore year in high school. In sports other than men’s basketball
and men’s ice hockey, electronic correspondence may not be sent until September 1 at the beginning
of the junior year in high school.
3. Electronic Transmitted Correspondence in Basketball and Men’s Ice Hockey
In basketball and men's ice hockey, any type of electronically transmitted correspondence (e.g., e-mail,
facsimile, instant message, text message, Snapchat, etc.) may be sent to a PSA, provided the correspondence
is sent directly to the PSA (or his or her parents or legal guardians) and is private between the sender and
recipient. Once a PSA signs an NLI or an institution's written offer of admission and/or financial aid or after
the institution receives a financial deposit from the prospective student-athlete in response to the
institution's offer of admission, the institution may communicate publicly with that PSA. Electronic
correspondence may be sent beginning June 15 at the conclusion of the PSA’s sophomore year.
4. Electronic Correspondence in Cross Country/Track and Field, Football, Swimming and Diving
a. Electronically transmitted correspondence sent to a PSA is limited to electronic mail and facsimiles.
b. All other forms of electronically transmitted correspondence are prohibited until after the PSA signs
an NLI or the institution’s written offer of admission and/or financial aid or after the institution has
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received a financial deposit in response to the institution’s offer of admission. Examples of prohibited
electronic correspondence include, but are not limited to text messages, instant messages, Snapchat
and comments on a PSA’s wall or page.
5. Electronic Transmitted Correspondence in Sports Other Than Basketball, Men’s Ice Hockey, Cross
Country/Track and Field, Football and Swimming and Diving
In sports other than basketball, men’s ice hockey, cross country/track and field, football and swimming and
diving, any type of electronically transmitted correspondence (e.g., e-mail, facsimile, instant message, text
message, Snapchat, etc.) may be sent to a PSA, provided the correspondence is sent directly to the prospective
student-athlete (or his or her parents or legal guardians) and is private between the sender and recipient. Once
a PSA signs an NLI or an institution's written offer of admission and/or financial aid or after the institution
receives a financial deposit from the prospective student-athlete in response to the institution's offer of
admission, the institution may communicate publicly with that PSA.
6. Timing
Once a PSA has signed an NLI or written offer of admission and/or financial aid, or the institution has
received a financial deposit in response to an offer of admission, there are no restrictions on electronic
communication.
7. Coach Initiation or Acceptance of a Request
Coaches are permitted to initiate or accept a “friend” or “follow” request to a PSA (or his/her parents)
through social networking sites at any time, including prior to the first permissible date to send electronic
correspondence, even if the social networking site sends an automatically-generated electronic notification
and no additional communication is included.
8. General Information Videos
It is permissible for general informational video content related to an institution’s athletics programs to
appear on institutional Web sites and personal Web sites of athletics department staff members, provided
such content is generally accessible to the general public (e.g., not included in a separate recruiting section)
and is not created for recruiting purposes.
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Facebook/Google + (Social Networking Websites)
TIMING: Prior to the PSA signing an NLI or Institution’s Written Offer of Admission and/or Financial Aid:
Permissible
A coach may email PSA (inbox to inbox) provided the
PSA is of age to receive an electronic correspondence.
A coach may post general content not created for a
recruiting purpose such as game scores, team updates,
facility updates or generic updates regarding the
coaching staff and/or team to the extent they do not
mention a specific PSA.
A member institution may comment publicly only to
the extent of confirming its recruitment of the PSA.
Not Permissible
A coach may not Facebook Chat, Google + “Huddle”
or any other form of Instant Message in the sports of
cross country/track and field, football, and swimming
and diving.
A coach may not post a link to a permissible
recruiting item per Bylaw 13.4.1-Recruiting Materials,
on the “wall” of a PSA (Facebook), or post messages
on the “wall” of a PSA’s page, Google+ “Stream” prior
to the PSA’s signing of a NLI.
A coach or institutional staff member may not
comment generally about the PSA’s ability or the
contribution that the PSA might make to the
institution’s team.
Facebook/Google + (Social Networking Websites)
TIMING: The calendar day the PSA signs an NLI or Institution’s Written Offer of Admission and/or Financial Aid, or
the institution has received a financial deposit in response to an offer of Admission:
Permissible
A coach or institutional staff member may write on the
“wall” of a PSA’s page.
A coach or institutional staff member may comment
about the PSA’s ability or contribution that the PSA
might make to the institution’s team.
Not Permissible
N/A
N/A
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Twitter/Tumblr (Microblogs)
TIMING: Prior to the PSA signing an NLI or Institution’s Written Offer of Admission and/or Financial Aid:
Permissible
A coach may publicly microblog (Tweet) or post on a
social networking website, about generic information
including locations visited (e.g., visit to a high school or
town, attending a contest).
N/A
A coach or institutional staff member may make
general comments regarding recruiting (e.g., “Verbal
commitments are rolling in every day”).
A coach or institutional staff member may send a
“Direct Message” to a PSA provided the PSA is of age
to receive an email.
A coach or institutional staff member may talk about
personal daily activities (e.g., “Reading the paper then
heading out to work.”)
A coach or institutional staff member may insert a
hyperlink on a page which connects to most website
(e.g., institutional athletic website).
Not Permissible
A coach may not publicize the recruitment of a
particular PSA in a manner inconsistent with the
legislation (e.g., post the name, nickname or other
personally identifiable information of the PSA) unless
it is in response to an inquiry by the media to confirm
recruitment of a PSA.
A coach or institutional staff member may not use
the “@Reply” function on a PSA’s page. This includes
“mentions,” and wall-to-wall Facebook
Communication.
A coach or institutional staff member may not
mention a PSA’s name or comment on the PSA’s
athletic or academic performance.
A coach or institutional staff member may not post or
retweet a link to an article that mentions PSA’s in a
manner not consistent with publicity legislation (e.g.,
article announcing PSA’s verbal commitment).
A coach or institutional staff member may not
instruct a PSA to sign-up for updates via textmessage.
A coach or institutional staff member may not insert
a hyperlink on a page which connects to a website
involving recruiting/scouting service, high school
publication or website designed for recruiting.
Twitter/Tumblr (Microblogs)
TIMING: The calendar day the PSA signs an NLI or Institution’s Written Offer of Admission and/or Financial Aid, or
the institution has received a financial deposit in response to an offer of Admission:
Permissible
A coach or institutional staff member may use the
“@Reply” function.
A coach or institutional staff member may mention a
PSA’s name or comment on the PSA’s athletic or
academic performance. “@Reply”
Not Permissible
N/A
N/A
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Instagram
TIMING: Prior to the PSA signing an NLI or Institution’s Written Offer of Admission and/or Financial Aid:
Permissible
A coach or institutional staff member may post a
photo on Instagram.
N/A
There are no age restrictions on PSA’s following
coaches.
Not Permissible
A coach or institutional staff member may not alter
the content of photos (this may include, but is not
limited to, adding the name of a recruit to the back of
a jersey). This does not include Instagram’s filters as
content alteration.
A coach or institutional staff member may not repost
a PSA’s Instagram photo, comment, or “like” a picture
from a PSA.
N/A
Instagram
TIMING: The calendar day the PSA signs an NLI or Institution’s Written Offer of Admission and/or Financial Aid, or
the institution has received a financial deposit in response to an offer of Admission:
Permissible
A coach or institutional staff member may repost a
PSA’s Instagram photo, comment, or “like” a picture
from the PSA.
Not Permissible
N/A
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All Social Networking Websites and Microblogs
TIMING: Prior to the PSA signing an NLI or Institution’s Written Offer of Admission and/or Financial Aid:
Permissible
Institutions may photograph a PSA during a campus
visit but may not use the photograph of an individual
PSA until the PSA has signed an NLI or the institution’s
written offer of admission and/or financial aid. It is
permissible to post a photograph that includes PSA’s
as long as none of the PSA’s are identifiable (e.g.,
wide-view photo of soccer field with campers in action
but faces and names are not clearly visible).
Athletics department staff can send electronically
transmitted correspondence to a PSA using a service
that permits a private message to be sent between the
sender and recipient in a manner comparable to
traditional email (e.g., Twitter Direct Message, Google
+Messenger, Facebook email feature).
N/A
Traditional video calls are considered phone calls and
are subject to phone call legislation for all PSA’s.
N/A
In Basketball and Men's Ice Hockey only, it is
permissible for institutional staff members to use a
service or software that converts electronic mail (e.g.,
email) sent to an institutional staff member into a text
message when received by the PSA after the first
permissible date for electronic communication. The
correspondence must be private between the sender
and recipient (e.g., no chat rooms, message boards, or
wall posts).
A coach and other athletics department staff member
may not promote or endorse any PSA’s coach or team,
or an athletics facility that is primarily used by PSAs.
It is permissible to “friend”, “follow” or “like” a
recruiting/scouting service on a social networking site.
Not Permissible
Institutions may not use the PSA’s name or
photograph in any promotional items that involve the
purchase or receipt of commercial advertising (e.g.,
season-ticket advertisement in newspaper or on a
billboard or website). An institutional staff member
may not post a photo of PSA taken during an
institutional camp to the staff member’s microblog,
personal website or institutional website.
All other electronically transmitted correspondence
through other services or applications remain
impermissible, including those that may be publicly
directed to a specific individual and are accessible to
other users of the service or application (e.g., Twitter
@Replies, or “mentions,” Facebook wall-to-wall
feature). This also would include @replies on pictures
on Instagram.
A coach or institutional staff member may not use a
service or software to convert email into a text
message when received by a PSA.
Texting services with video capabilities such as Glide,
present opportunities for delayed send and response.
This application would fall under 13.4.1.2 (Electronic
Transmissions) which is a prohibited electronically
transmitted correspondence.
A coach or institutional staff member may not tweet
or post about a PSA that may be seen by followers or
members of the public.
N/A
N/A
It is not be permissible to directly reference the
profile of a recruiting/scouting service, “share”,
“post” or “retweet” without violating the prohibition
against endorsing a recruiting/scouting service.
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All Social Networking Websites and Microblogs
TIMING: The calendar day the PSA signs an NLI or Institution’s Written Offer of Admission and/or Financial Aid, or
the institution has received a financial deposit in response to an offer of Admission:
Permissible
If a PSA signs an NLI with another institution it is
permissible to call or send a note to congratulate the
PSA for signing his or her NLI with the other institution.
This exchange must be timely, but no sooner than the
day after the PSA signs the NLI, and must not be more
than the congratulatory dialogue.
A coach or institutional staff member may Tweet or
post about a PSA that may be seen by followers or
members of the public.
A coach or institutional staff member may send
electronically transmitted correspondence to a PSA or
his/her parents or legal guardians.
Not Permissible
If a PSA signs an NLI with another institution, any
contact in excess of an exchange of a greeting would
result in an NLI Recruiting Ban Violation regardless of
the conversation.
N/A
N/A
Please reference ALL applicable NCAA legislation posted on LSDBi including, but not limited to:
13.1.6.2 (f)- Contact at Practice or Competition Site
13.4.1 Recruiting Materials- General Rule
13.4.1.1 Exception-Men’s Basketball
13.4.1.4 Electronic Transmissions
13.4.1.4.1 Exception—Basketball and Men’s Ice Hockey
13.4.1.4.2 Exception-Electronic Transmissions After Commitment
13.10.2.1 Comments Before Commitment
13.10.2.4 Prospective Student-Athlete’s Visit
March 14, 2007 Official Interp- Content of Athletics Department Staff Members’ Personal Web Sites and
Nonathletics Institutional Web Sites
December 12, 2012 Educational Column- Recruiting-Electronic Transmissions-Social Networking Websites
and Microblogs
December 5, 2013 Staff Interpretation- “Friend” or “Follow” Requests on a Social Networking Site
February 10, 2014 Educational Column- Electronic Transmissions, Social Media Platforms and Recruiting
Proposal 2013-25-A Recruiting—Initial Date for Communication and In-Person Contact
Proposal 2013-26 Recruiting- Initial Date for Communication-No Limits on Communication- Sports Other than
Basketball, Cross Country/Track and Field, Football, and Swimming and Diving
Proposal 2013-27- Recruiting Materials and Electronic Correspondence
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