Division I lifts some restrictions on countable coaches in football

The Division I Council on Tuesday approved a rule change adopted by the Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision Oversight Committees to allow any staff member to provide technical and tactical instruction to student-athletes. The decision will not be final until the meeting closes on Wednesday.

The change would take effect immediately. In the future, any staff member may provide technical and tactical instructions to student-athletes during practices and competitions.

The proposal does not change the number of off-campus recruiters. FBS teams will be limited to a maximum of 11 personnel and FCS teams will be limited to 13 personnel who may participate in off-campus recruiting activities. National service academies may add four additional off-campus recruiters. Both subsections require the head coach to be included as an off-campus recruiter, and only staff members who regularly conduct on-campus coaching activities with student-athletes can be counted as off-campus recruiters.

FBS programs can also have up to four graduate student coaches and no more than five strength and conditioning coaches. The limits for student assistant coaches are the same as the number of outside recruiters allowed for a football program.

“NCAA members continue their efforts to modernize support for student-athletes, and removing restrictions on skills instruction in football will provide those student-athletes with more resources to reach their greatest potential on the field,” said Josh Whitman, president of the council and athletics director at Illinois. “At the same time, the council has determined that maintaining restrictions on recruiting staff will preserve the competitive balance in recruiting while localizing decision-making on how to best maximize support for student-athletes.”

Cannabis testing

The council voted to remove cannabinoids from the banned drug class for championship and post-season football participation, effective immediately.

“The NCAA drug testing program is intended to focus on competitive integrity, and cannabis products do not provide a competitive advantage,” Whitman said. “The council's focus is on policies that address the health and well-being of students and athletes, rather than punishing cannabis use.”

All sentences currently being served by student-athletes who previously tested positive for cannabinoids will be halted.

Official visits in basketball and baseball

The council approved a change to the men's and women's basketball oversight committees and the Division I Student-Athlete Experience Committee, which will immediately lift the school's restrictions on official visits.

Previously, men's basketball programs were limited to 28 official visits over a two-year period, although a blanket waiver was issued over the past two academic years to provide 35 visits per school. In women's basketball, the previous limit was 24 official visits over a two-year rolling average with a blanket waiver in recent years with a limit of 30 official visits. Baseball programs were limited to 25 official visits per year; however, they have also operated under a blanket waiver for the past four academic years that allowed 40 official visits per year.

In April 2023, NCAA members voted to allow prospects to make unlimited official visits to NCAA schools, but limited them to one official visit per school unless there is a change in head coach following an official visit, in which case prospects can make a second complete. official visit to the same school.

Due to recent transfer rule changes, in addition to the change allowing unlimited visits for prospects, the Basketball Oversight and Student-Athlete Experience Committees agree that programs should be able to provide as many official visits as they need to keep schedules updated year-round hold. per year and prevent exhaustion of the schedule.

Basketball foreign tours

A rule change passed by the Men's and Women's Basketball Oversight Committees and approved by the council allows student-athletes to participate in more than one overseas tour with the same school. Basketball programs are still limited to one overseas tour every four years.

In addition, the council approved an amendment adopted by the Women's Basketball Oversight Committee that would allow women's basketball programs to compete against another Division I program in a single game during an overseas tour. This provides the opportunity for compelling matchups and structured, guaranteed play on tour, which could generate additional international interest in growing the game of women's basketball.

Recruitment calendars FBS and FCS

The council approved additional changes to the recruiting calendar recommended by the FBS and FCS oversight committees. Some recommendations were made to take into account the decision by the Collegiate Commissioners Association, which controls the National Letter of Intent program, to move up football's early signing date. until the first week of December.

In FBS football, the changes include:

• Extension of the July dead period. A 31 calendar day dead period beginning July 1 is intended to allow coaches to prepare for the upcoming season without focusing on recruiting.
• A quiet period will be added in December, intended to allow teams to focus on the football postseason and allow for on-campus recruiting activities.
• Extending the contact period in January to give schools the opportunity to recruit third-year secondary school students and students transitioning to higher education.
• Adding a quiet period on the Sunday before the American Football Coaches Association Convention to allow coaches to complete their campus visits before the AFCA Convention dead period.

In FCS football, the changes include:

• Allowing a 14 calendar day contact period in December, beginning on the Friday following the early signing period, allowing FCS programs to conduct on- and off-campus recruiting activities before the regular signing period and before the NCAA Transfer Portal closes.
• Adding a three-day quiet period at the end of the December contact period so that FCS schools can continue to conduct on-campus recruiting activities at the same time as FBS schools.