Updated Athletic Recruiting Definitions for Parents and Athletes

When talking about the recruiting process, there are a number of different terms and phrases that I use.  While it is something that I assume most people know, I do realize that for people new to the athletic recruiting process, some of these terms may go over your head.  So with that in mind, I have decided to start an article that has different definitions of athletic recruiting terminology.

This definitions article will hopefully be updated every few weeks or months as to help families throughout the recruiting process.  So if there is anything that you have questions about, please let us know so that we can get it added.  The list is in alphabetical order and has a quick definition on each term.  Also see the related articles on each definition as well.

Deadline (Article #1 | Article #2)
When a player receives a deadline, the college coach is telling them that they have until a certain day to commit or the school is going to offer another prospect.  For example, your son Jim has until November 1st to commit or we will offer another point guard.  This applies in all sports but the smaller the scholarship number, the more often it happens.

Division I Eyes
This is a recruit that will only look at Division I schools in the sport of his or her choice.  Having Division I eyes is a terrible decision because it limits the amount of schools that you will look into.

Four in Five Year Scholarships (Article #1)
A four in five year scholarship is when a college coach offers an athlete a four year scholarship after they pay their own way in year one.  The recruit is redshirted in that first year and then put on scholarship the following four years.  This is a handshake agreement that is not binding and the coaches can change their mind at any time.

Grayshirt (Article #1)
Grayshirting happens when a school is full in the current scholarship year but they want to bring an athlete in on scholarship.  If you were in the Class of 2008 and accepted a scholarship, you would not sign any paperwork.  You then would take classes part time in the fall of 2008 and workout on your own.  In December of 2008, you would sign a National Letter of Intent with the school and be enrolled full time in the spring of 2009.  This is usually a numbers issue when grayshirting happens.

Interest (Article #1)
Colleges are showing interest by sending you mail.  They have not done anything else outside of showing basic interest.

Official (Article #1 | Article #2)
An official visit is one that the school recruiting you pays for.  They will either fly the athlete in or reimburse them for mileage driven to the school.

Redshirt (Article #1)
This is when a recruit take a year to adjust to college, get bigger, and learn the system.  They have five years to play four seasons so a redshirt will not take any of their eligible years away.

Scholarships breed scholarships (Article #1)
This phrase has been mentioned a lot but it shows the importance of marketing yourself in the athletic recruiting process.  If you have a scholarship offer, more college coaches will take a longer look at you during the recruiting process if they know.  That could lead to more scholarship offers, and thus the phrase, scholarships breed scholarships.

Signed
A player being signed and being a verbal commitment are often confused.  What signed means is that the athlete has signed a National Letter of Intent.  These can only be signed during Signing periods, which vary by sport.  If a football player picks a school in the summer, he is not signed until he completes his National Letter of Intent during the February Signing period.  This is a binding contract between you and the school and it is very difficult to get out of without having to sit out.

Unofficial (Article #1 | Article #2)
An unofficial visit is when a prospect visits a college on their own dime.  They pay all the expenses to get there.

Verbal Commitment
This happens when a player pledges verbally that he or she will be attending a school.  They usually call the coaches from the school and then speak with media after to get the word out.  Verbal commitments are 100% not binding.  If you have ten scholarship offers, you could actually make a verbal commitment to all of them during that time.

Verbal Offer (Article #1)
A verbal offer is when a college coach verbally tells an athletic recruit that they have an offer.  I personally don’t believe a verbal offer until…..

Written Offer (Article #1)
This is when a college coach puts the offer in writing.  If they really want you, they will put the scholarship offer in writing.

Last Update: October 10th, 2008

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