Iona College Department of Athletics
Recruiting Philosophy and Official Visit Policy
Recruiting Philosophy:
Prospective student athletes and their parents should be afforded the opportunity to fairly and
ethically assess their opportunities for academic and athletic success and integration into the Iona
College experience. Iona College personnel should be afforded the opportunity to fairly and
reasonably evaluate a prospective student-athlete for admission and participation in the College’s
intercollegiate program.
Iona College is committed to operating the Athletics program with the highest standards of
behavior and practices in all areas, including recruiting. All College personnel and students
involved in the recruiting of prospective student-athletes will conduct all recruiting activities in
accordance with this policy and in compliance with all applicable NCAA regulations.
In order to guide the staff, coaches, student hosts, and visiting recruits, Iona College has
established this policy to clearly state the College’s expectations for recruiting visits, to provide a
meaningful framework for a prospect and the College to make an informed decision about the
prospects attendance at the institution and participation in the athletics program. This policy has
also been established to institute a procedure for staff and students to report concerns about
recruiting activities promptly, and to establish education and training in relevant areas to assist
staff and students to adhere to these high standards. Iona Colleges seeks to prevent recruiting
abuses by these actions.
The recruiting process offers an avenue to extend athletic participation beyond high school, but a
more important goal is that prospects selected to be student-athletes at Iona College contribute
constructively to the academic mission of the institution and in turn, benefit by gaining
knowledge and tools through education and athletics participation in preparation for their
vocations and future contributions to society.
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General Rules:
All recruiting personnel at Iona College will adhere to and implement the following rules and
regulations:
 Iona College may finance only one visit to the campus for a prospect.
 A prospect may take a maximum of 5 expense-paid visits, with no more than 1 permitted
to any single institution. This restriction applies regardless of the number of sports in
which the prospect is involved and only for expense-paid visits to Division I or II
institutions.
 The total number of official visits a member institution may provide prospects in the
following sports on an annual basis (August 1 through July 31) shall be limited to:
o Football – 56
Basketball – 12
Baseball – 25
Coaches Responsibilities:
Screening of Recruits:
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Head coaches are responsible for evaluating a recruit’s character and citizenship and for
recruiting individuals who share Iona College’s commitment to the highest standards of
behavior and attitude.
Head coaches are expected to communicate to recruits their expectations in terms of
behavior and attitude prior to the official visit.
If any coach receives information that a recruit has any incidents in his/her background,
such as arrests, citations, or any other incidents indicative of a lack of character, the
coach is to make the Athletics Director aware of those issues so that a joint decision can
be made as to whether or not to continue recruitment.
Institutional Permission for Official Visits (before visit occurs):
1.
Procedure:
a. At least one week prior to the schedule official visit, the head coach is
responsible for completing, in full, Iona College’s Documentation for Official
Visit Form. (Attachment 1)
b. This form must include all requested information, specifically: sport, full name,
legal address, prospect’s educational status (high school or college), arrival and
departure dates and times, and individual(s) accompanying the prospect.
c. In addition to completing the Documentation of Official Visit Form, a coach
must also attach the following information:
i. Prospect (High School): A coach must attach a high school transcript,
SAT, PLAN, or ACT scores (test must be taken on a national testing date
under national testing conditions).
ii. Prospect (2-year or 4-year college): A coach must attach a college
transcript.
*Please note:
 A 2-year transfer who is a non-qualifier may not be provided an
expense-paid visit until he/she has completed an academic year at a
2-year school.
 A 4-year transfer may be provided with one official visit provided
the prospect was granted permission from the institution he/she is
currently attending.
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Activities During an Official Visit:
Coaches Guidelines:
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Coaches must select responsible hosts who will follow the coaches’ instructions and
avoid inappropriate behavior.
Coaches are responsible to instruct their assistant coaches and student hosts about what
types of behavior and activities are appropriate and inappropriate. While good judgment
is expected of student-athletes, and all possible activities cannot be listed, following are
some examples of inappropriate and appropriate activities:
o Inappropriate activities:
 Excessive meals and transportation
 Provision of alcohol to under-aged recruits
 Participation in unethical or illegal activity, that violates criminal law or
NCAA rules such as provision of drugs, or participation in gambling
activities.
o Appropriate activities:
 Take the prospect to the movies
 Take the prospect to an on-campus athletic or student event
 Take the prospect to play pool
Coaches are responsible to ask the host what free time or social activities are planned for
the recruit, and to ask after the visit what activities occurred.
Coaches are responsible to inform the host that providing alcohol to anyone under the age
of 21 is prohibited by New York State laws and will not be tolerated.
Student-Host Guidelines:
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A student host must be either a current student-athlete or a student designated in a
manner consistent with Iona College’s policy for providing campus visits or tours to
prospective students in general. All student hosts and recruits must read and sign the Iona
College Official Visit Code of Proper Conduct form, prior to the start of the visit.
1. Procedure:
a. Student-Athlete who wishes to be a student host must attend the orientation
session that will be administered by the Athletic Department. This orientation
provides each host with vital information including a copy of the Iona College
Official Visit Code of Proper Conduct, which he/she will be required to sign
prior to hosting a Prospect.
2. Acting as a student host for a prospect on an official visit to Iona College is an important
responsibility. Appropriate conduct is required of you by Iona College, MAAC
Conference and NCAA guidelines:
a. You must be enrolled as a full-time student at Iona College. If you are a
freshman, you must currently be eligible to practice with your team.
b. Only you will be provided money to entertain the prospect, the prospect’s
parents/legal guardians and spouse (if applicable), yourself and other student
hosts who are assigned to host the prospect. Other students may assist in
entertaining the prospect but must pay for their own entertainment.
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c. You may not pay for entertainment of a prospect’s friends, siblings or other
relatives.
d. A maximum of $30 per day of the prospect’s visit (not to exceed two days) may
be provided to cover the entertainment of the above-mentioned persons. You
may be provided with an additional $15 per day for each additional prospect for
whom you are designated as the student host. Three meals per day may be
provided to a prospect, the cost of which does not have to be deducted from the
student host money. Any other snacks or meals purchased, however, must be
purchased from the host allowance.
e. No cash may be given to the prospect or the prospect’s parents/ legal guardians,
relatives or friends.
f. You may not use the host allowance to purchase or provide the prospect or the
prospect’s parents/legal guardians, relatives or friends with gifts of value (e.g.,
souvenirs, t-shirts, etc.).
g. You may not use vehicles provided for or arranged by any Iona College staff
member or athletic booster.
h. You may transport only the prospect, the prospect’s parents/legal guardians and
the prospect’s spouse within 30-miles of Iona College. You may not provide
transportation to any other relative or friend of the prospect.
i. You must not allow recruiting conversations to occur (on- or off-campus)
between the prospect/parents/legal guardians/spouse and an Iona College athletic
booster. If an unplanned meeting occurs, only an exchange of greetings is
permissible.
j. The prospect must not participate in any athletic activity that is observed by a
coaching staff member or is designed to test the athletic ability of the prospect.
The prospect may participate in recreational activities while on-campus.
k. A student host must submit all receipts documenting expenses for the official
visit. Any remaining cash from the funds allocated must be returned to the
coach at the conclusion of the official visit.
Complimentary Admission for Prospective Student-Athlete:
During an official visit, a maximum of three (3) complimentary admissions to a campus athletics
event in which an Iona College team participates may be provided to a prospect.
1. Procedure:
a. The coach is responsible for completing an Iona College Pass List and
forwarding it to the Ticket Office. The pass list must include the name(s) of the
prospect(s), name of the prospect’s educational institution, and number of tickets
needed.
i. Completed pass lists are due to the Ticket Office one (1) day prior to the
day or night of the event.
ii. No complimentary admissions will be available at an event without prior
notice.
iii. Complimentary admissions cannot be provided to a prospect during a
recruiting “dead period.”
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Complimentary Admission for Prep/High School, 2-Year College Coaches:
Entertainment of a high school, college preparatory school or two-year college coach or any other
individual responsible for teaching or directing an activity in which a prospect is involved shall
be confined to Iona College’s campus and shall be limited to providing a maximum of two (2)
complimentary admissions (issued only through a pass list) to home athletics contests.
1. Procedure:
a. The coach is responsible for completing an Iona College Pass List and
forwarding it to the Ticket Office. The pass list must include the name(s) of the
high school, college preparatory school or two-year college coach (es), name of
the coach’s educational institution, and number of tickets.
i. Completed pass lists are due to the Ticket Office one (1) day prior to the
day or night of the event.
ii. No complimentary admissions will be available at an event without prior
notice.
Transportation, Housing & Meal Accommodations:
The following regulations will be followed in regard to transportation, housing, and meal
accommodations for all prospective student-athletes visiting Iona College.
1. Procedure:
a. If a prospect requires on-campus housing, it will the
responsibility of the coach to make the proper arrangements.
*All coaches, student hosts & prospects must adhere to the policies &
procedures of the Office of Residential Life.
b. If a prospect requires off-campus housing, it will be the
responsibility of the coach to make the proper arrangements.
*All arrangements should be approved by the Associate
Athletics Director / External Affairs.
c. If a prospect requires transportation to campus, the coach is
required to make the proper arrangements with the
Associate Athletics Director / External Affairs. This will ensure that
the form of transportation is not excessive ( ex. private jet, limousine).
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If Iona College is providing air transportation to a prospect for his/her official visit, only
commercial transportation at coach-class airfare may be utilized.
If a coach will be transporting a prospect (and those accompanying a prospect) around
campus during the official visit, only institutional vehicles normally used to transport
prospective students may be utilized. In addition, a coach or student host may use their
own personal vehicle to transport a prospect if necessary.
If a prospect requires housing during an official visit, lodging may not include special
accommodations (ex. jacuzzi, suite) that is not available generally to all guests residing
at the establishment.
When providing meals to the prospect on an official visit, the cost of actual meals is not
to exceed three per day. Meals must also be comparable to those provided to studentathletes during the academic year. A reasonable snack (ex. pizza, hamburger) may be
provided in addition to the three meals.
A coach may not arrange miscellaneous, personalized recruiting aids (ex. personalized
jerseys, personalized audio/video scoreboard presentations) and may not permit a
prospect to engage in any game-day simulations (ex. running onto the field with the team
during a pre-game introductions) during an official visit.
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Monitoring and Enforcement of the Official Visit Policy:
While the control of the Athletics program rests with the President and the Director of Athletics,
others at Iona College play important roles in preventing and reporting recruiting abuses and
violations.
 The responsibilities of the head coach are clearly listed above.
 Athletic Department Administrators are responsible for monitoring recruiting activities to
be sure the coach is fulfilling his/her responsibilities as noted above.
 The Compliance Office will assure that the following documentation is submitted at the
conclusion of the visit: Prospect Visit Record, signed Student-Host and Prospect
Affirmation Form, Itinerary, Reconciliation of Monies form, and Copies of all receipts.
 Any concerns about the recruiting process should be reported to the Associate Athletics
Director for Compliance, who in turn will inform the Director of Athletics, so that the
appropriate action can be taken. In cases of potential NCAA infractions, institutional
investigative and enforcement policies will be followed, including informing the Faculty
Athletic Representative (FAR). If circumstances warrant further action, appropriate
campus and/or law enforcement authorities will be informed. If as a result of
investigations it is determined that a violation(s) has occurred, swift and appropriate
action will be taken along with self-report of the violation(s) submitted to the MAAC
and/or NCAA. An annual report of all recruiting violations shall be filed with the
MAAC.
 Administrators, Coaches, and Student-Athletes found to be in violation of any rules or
regulations set forth in this policy will face disciplinary action, which may include
termination of employment or cancellation of athletics aid.
Education:
In order for these guidelines to be effective, they must be well understood and widely distributed
through the following methodologies:
 The Director of Athletics will reinforce these policies with the coaching staff periodically
throughout the year.
 The Associate Athletics Director for Compliance will arrange for an annual recruiting
policy review for all coaches and administrators.
 The Associate Athletics Director for Compliance will review the expectations and
obligations with student-athletes at the annual fall athletic meeting.
 This recruiting policy will be included in the annual NCAA rules review sessions for all
coaches, in the Student-Athlete Handbook, and in the compliance section of the Athletics
Department website.
Iona College Official Visit Policy
Recruiting Policy Review Procedures:
The above procedures & policies have been reviewed and approved by the President of Iona
College, the Acting Director of Athletics and the Associate Athletics Director for
Compliance. It will also be submitted to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Office
prior to December 1, 2004.
In addition, these procedures & policies will under go an annual review each academic year
by the Acting Director of Athletics and the Associate Athletics Director for Compliance.
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