The world of college sports has screeched to a halt over the last three days due to the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, and it isn't limited to actual games and events. The NCAA has instituted a dead period for in-person recruiting through at least April 15. That dead period went into effect Friday.
The NCAA also advised schools to suspend any official and unofficial on-campus visits to campus from prospective student-athletes. Contact between coaches and prospective student-athletes is still allowed through phone calls, text messages and written correspondence. These recruiting restrictions are in effect for all of Division I across every sport.
FBS and FCS college football were in a the recruiting "quiet period" prior to the shutdown. That period, which does allow contact between players and coaches, was scheduled to last until April 15 when the spring "evaluation period" is slated to start.
Basketball is already in a "dead period" that was slated to end on April 1, when its postseason one-day "quiet period" was scheduled to start. It was then scheduled to go back into the "dead period" for a week before the normal recruiting period cranked up on April 9.
Additionally on Friday, the NCAA announced that it will begin the process of providing eligibility relief to spring athletes whose seasons are being affected by the cancellation that came down on Thursday.
"Council leadership agreed that eligibility relief is appropriate for all Division I student-athletes who participated in spring sports," the NCAA said in a statement. "Details of eligibility relief will be finalized at a later time. Additional issues with NCAA rules must be addressed, and appropriate governance bodies will work through those in the coming days and weeks."
A full directory of 2019-20 recruiting calendars for all sports prior to the temporary shutdown can be found here.
