Saint Joseph's University

When do I become a prospective student-athlete? 
The NCAA defines a prospective student-athlete (PSA) as any student who has started classes for the ninth grade. In addition, any student who has not started classes for the ninth grade becomes a prospective student-athlete if the institution or a representative of the institution's athletics interests provides such a student (or a student's family or friends) with any financial assistance or other benefit(s) that the institution does not provide to prospective students generally.

What activities consider me to be a recruited student-athlete?  
The coach provides you with an official visit, places more than one telephone call to you or any member of your family or visits you (or any member of your family) anywhere other than the institution's campus.

When am I able to talk with a coach? 
Restrictions are put in place by the NCAA and all coaches are to follow the rules. You as a prospective student-athlete may call or write a coaching staff member at any time.

Can I call coaches collect or toll free? When? 
Yes, as long as the call is not placed before September 1 of the beginning of your  junior year in high school.   When can I call coaches at my own expense? 
Institutional coaching staff members may receive telephone calls placed by a prospective student-athlete at the prospective student-athlete's own expense at any time, including before September 1 prior to the prospective student-athlete's junior year in high school.  

Can I e-mail or text message a coach? 
Yes. Electronic correspondence (e.g., electronic mail, Instant Messenger, facsimiles, text messages) may be sent to a prospective student-athlete (or the prospective student-athlete’s parents or legal guardians). Before a prospective student-athlete has signed a National Letter of Intent or the institution’s written offer of admission and/or financial aid, or the institution has received his or her financial deposit in response to its offer of admission, the correspondence must be sent directly to the prospective student-athlete (or his or her parents or legal guardians) and must be private between only the sender and recipient (e.g., no use of chat rooms, message boards or posts to “walls”).

Who can call me on the phone? When and how often? 
Faculty members and coaches are permitted to call you. Telephone calls to an individual (or his or her relatives or legal guardians) may not be made before September 1 at the beginning of his or her junior year in high school (subject to the exceptions below). If an individual attends an educational institution that uses a nontraditional academic calendar (e.g., Southern Hemisphere), telephone calls to the individual (or his or her relatives or legal guardians) may not be made before the opening day of classes of his or her junior year in high school. Thereafter, an institution may make telephone calls to the prospective student-athlete at its discretion.  

What is considered a contact? 
A contact is any face-to-face encounter between a prospective student-athlete or the prospective student-athlete's parents, relatives or legal guardian(s) and an institution staff member or athletics representative during which any dialogue occurs in excess of an exchange of a greeting.

What is an evaluation? 
Evaluation is any off-campus activity designed to assess the academic qualifications or athletic ability of a prospective student-athlete, including any visit to a prospective student-athlete's educational institution (during which no contact occurs) or the observation of a prospective student-athlete participating in any practice or competition at any site.

Official Visits  
An official visit to a member institution by a prospective student-athlete is a visit financed in whole or in part by the member institution.

How many official visits am I allowed to take? Beginning when? 
Each prospective student athlete is limited to five official visits (one per institution) that may be taken following the opening day of classes of your senior year in high school.

What do I need to do before going on an official visit? 
The recruiting institution must have a high school or college transcript, ACT/SAT scores on file, and you must be registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center. Unofficial Visits  
An unofficial visit to a member institution by a prospective student-athlete is a visit made at the prospective student-athlete's own expense. The provision of any expenses or entertainment by the institution or representatives of its athletics interests shall require the visit to become an official visit.

Can I pay my own way to visit a college campus? Starting when? 
You may visit an institution's campus at your own expense an unlimited number of times beginning before your senior year of high school and continuing in your senior year. This is considered an unofficial visit.

What can the school give me when I go on an unofficial visit? 
A maximum of three (3) complimentary admissions to a campus athletic event in which that institution's team is competing, provided it is done through a gate pass list. The prospective student athlete and those persons accompanying the prospective student athlete can only use such complementary admissions. They can only be issued on an individual game basis. If a prospective student-athlete is a member of a nontraditional family (e.g., divorce, separation), the institution may provide up to two additional complimentary admissions to the prospective student-athlete in order to accommodate the parents accompanying the prospective student-athlete (e.g., stepparents) to attend a home athletics event.