How Many Official Visits Can A High School Athlete Take?
Official visits are visits prospective student athletes can take to different colleges or universities during the recruiting process that will help assist in making the decision of which school is right for them. During official visits students may have already received, or be extended a scholarship offer to play at that school.
Prospective student athletes can take a maximum of 5 official visits to D1 and D2 schools, and an unlimited number of official visits to D3 schools throughout high school. Official visits are limited at the D1 and D2 levels as they are completely school funded, and may pose an unfair recruiting advantage. Official visits differ from unofficial visits in this sense as unofficial visits are athlete-funded.
Included below is some supplemental information about NCAA guidelines for official visits as well as what activities you may partake in during your visit.
Guidelines For Official Visits
As a prospective student athlete, once you receive an offer to take an official visit to a college or university, know that you are one of the top recruits for that school. Here is what you should know about official visits in general.
When Can You Take An Official Visit: The standard date that prospective student athletes are allowed to begin taking official visits is September 1st of their junior year of high school. While this date is typical for most all collegiate sports, this rule excludes basketball and football which have their own start date for official visits. More specifically, football players are allowed to take official visits starting April 1st until the last Wednesday of June during their junior year. Men’s basketball recruits are allowed to take official visits beginning January 1st of their junior year and Women’s basketball recruits can take them following the conclusion of the Women’s NCAA Championship game their junior year. Prior to a few years ago, student athletes couldn’t take official visits until the beginning of their senior year, but since this new rule change, all prospective D1 players can take official visits during their junior year.
Multiple Official Visits To One School: The NCAA prevents prospective student athletes from taking more than one official visit to any school. Recruits are allowed to take as many unofficial visits as they like. Another important part of this rule is that even if you are a multi-sport athlete and are being recruited to play both sports collegiately, you are still allowed only one official visit to that school. Make sure to make the most out of it, and evaluate whether or not you think you would be a good fit there.
Do My Parents Come On An Official Visit: They are more than welcome to! According to the NCAA rules, the college or university at which you are taking an official visit will provide lodging, transportation, and food costs for you and your parents or guardians. Besides just being granted the option to go without paying much, it’s important that your parents go for other reasons. If a coach offers you a scholarship over the course of your visit, be sure to handle it carefully. With a decision of the magnitude of this one, it’s important to talk it over with your loved ones and friends to make sure you have thought about it and are sure that you are making the right decision.
Are Official Visits Paid For: The NCAA has strict regulations on what can and cannot be paid for on official visits, but for the most part it’s all expenses paid. The school will pay for transportation to and from the school for a student-athlete first and foremost. This is hugely helpful because many athletes and their families would not be able to pay for these travel expenses - especially if you are interested in playing at a school across the country. One additional side note is that schools are only permitted to pay for parents’ transportation if you ride in the same car; separate plane or train tickets cannot be purchased by schools for parents or guardians. Besides just transportation, schools are permitted to pay for lodging and three meals per day for both you and your parents or guardians as well as a budgeted entertainment expense that includes three tickets to a home sporting event. In essence, colleges and universities give student athletes the opportunity to visit their school, without any cost, in an effort to sell the recruits on their school.
How Long Are Official Visits: Official visits can be no longer than 48 hours. This is a very important NCAA regulation as visits that extend past two days may put other schools, with less of a recruiting budget, at a severe disadvantage to other universities. Typically, schools divide these 48 hours across the three days of the weekend. Athletes arrive on campus just after noon on Friday and depart just before noon on Sunday.
Be sure to make the most out of your official visits and learn as much as possible. Every campus you visit has the potential to be your home in the near future.
What Happens During An Official Visit
While you are taking an official visit as a “recruit” for a collegiate athletic program, you will also be shown the academic side of being a student athlete. Official visits entail a lot more than simply being given tours of the athletic facility and talking to different coaches.
Campus Tour: When taking an official visit you should expect to be taken on an official tour of the campus. Throughout the course of this tour you will be taken to see different residence halls, academic buildings, libraries, dining halls, and more. Be sure to pay close attention on this tour. Get a feel for how much you like the campus of the school and imagine what life will be like living there.
Meet Different People: First and foremost, dependent upon when you take your official visit, you will meet some of or all of the coaching staff. Additionally, the coaches will probably introduce you to a few of the current players. During this time feel free to ask any questions you have. Make sure you are prepared for this part of your visit by coming up with questions beforehand.
Sit In On A Class: This won’t happen on all official visits, but some schools may give you the option to sit in on a class. To you, this may seem unimportant, but to some it’s a great way to grasp an idea of what the school as a whole is really like.
Attend A Sporting Event: When prospective student athletes take official visits, you and your parents will usually attend a sporting event. For example, if you are a football recruit and take an official visit the fall of your senior year, you and your parents will be given three tickets, and you will get to watch the game in good seats, a nice suite or even on the field. This scenario applies to other sports as well. If your official visit is during the season of the sport you're being recruited for, you will likely get to attend a game.
These are just a few general activities you may be participating in on an official visit. Visits will be different at every school. Colleges use official visits as a way to differentiate themselves from other schools, so expect a bit of variation.
Things To Keep In Mind
Official Visits Aren’t Endless: Remember, each prospective student athlete is only allowed five official visits. If you are a very highly ranked recruit, you need to be selective about where you take official visits. Narrow down your list of potential college choices before you jump straight into an official visit.
Don’t Jump The Gun: This is a very important thing to remember when taking an official visit. When taking an all-expenses paid tour of a beautiful campus, it may be hard not to act impulsively when offered a scholarship. This is exactly what many coaches will try to do. If a coach offers you a scholarship over the course of your visit, unless you are dead set on that school, take some time to think it over with your family.
Finish The Year: As you are taking official visits, remember that you are still in high school. Just because you may be taking tours to colleges, you still need to perform well throughout the rest of high school. Make sure to keep your grades up and don’t let all of the recruiting hoopla go to your head. You have put in a lot of hard work to enjoy the glamour of being a high-level recruit, so keep it up.