NCAA Recruiting Calendar 2026-27: Contact, Evaluation, Quiet, and Dead Periods by Sport, and a Grade-by-Grade Timeline
By Rona Aydin
What Is the NCAA Recruiting Calendar?
A recruiting calendar is a sport-by-sport list of dates in the NCAA Division I Manual that classifies every day of the year as one of a handful of period types, each with its own rules about what a coach may do in person. The calendars sit in Bylaw 13.17, which the NCAA amends almost every year: the cross country and track and field dead periods were revised on June 23, 2026, and the women’s gymnastics shutdown and quiet period were adopted on June 10, 2026. The NCAA publishes the resulting 2026-27 calendars as one PDF per sport on its recruiting page, and this article reads them from the bylaw text as it stood in the legislative database in September 2026.
The calendar governs one thing: in-person recruiting by the institution. It does not set the dates on which a coach may first email, call, or meet a recruit; those come from separate bylaws that the guide to when college coaches can contact you sets out by sport. The two systems stack. A Division I lacrosse coach may not call a sophomore before the sport’s call date whatever the calendar says, and may not meet a senior off campus during a dead period however long the two have been talking. Families who understand the NCAA recruiting calendar know why a coach who was on the sideline every weekend in October is absent for a week in November, and why a coach who cannot visit can still text.
What Can a Coach Do in Each Recruiting Period?
Bylaw 13.02.5 defines the periods, and the definitions are what the sport calendars refer to. The table gives the bylaw language in plain terms; the full text is in Bylaw 13.02.5, Periods of Recruiting Activities.
| Period | What the coach may do in person | What continues | Bylaw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact period | In-person, off-campus recruiting contacts and evaluations | Calls, messages, campus visits | 13.02.5.1 |
| Evaluation period | Off-campus activities to assess academic qualifications and playing ability, such as watching a game or visiting the school; no in-person, off-campus contact | Calls, messages, campus visits | 13.02.5.2 |
| Recruiting period (men’s basketball only) | In-person, off-campus recruiting contacts and evaluations | Calls, messages, campus visits | 13.02.5.3 |
| Quiet period | In-person contact only on the institution’s campus; no off-campus contact or evaluation | Calls, messages, campus visits | 13.02.5.4 |
| Dead period | No in-person contact or evaluation on or off campus, and no official or unofficial visits | Communication other than in person, such as calls and messages | 13.02.5.5 |
| Recruiting shutdown | Nothing: no contacts, evaluations, official or unofficial visits, correspondence, or telephone calls made or received | Nothing | 13.02.5.6 |
Two details in the definitions matter more than the labels. First, a dead period stops visits as well as contact: under Bylaw 13.02.5.5 an institution may not permit official or unofficial visits by prospects during a dead period, so a family cannot schedule an official or unofficial visit into signing week or the days after Thanksgiving in a sport that goes dead then. Second, under Bylaw 13.02.5.5.1 a prospect is no longer subject to a dead period once the prospect has signed the institution’s written offer of admission or financial aid, or the institution has received a deposit on an offer of admission; the one exception is the football dead period from late November through early January, which applies even to signed recruits. A recruiting shutdown is stricter than a dead period: during a shutdown coaches may not even call or write.
Which Sports Have Their Own Division I Recruiting Calendar?
Twelve. Bylaw 13.17 sets full calendars for baseball (13.17.1), men’s basketball (13.17.2), women’s basketball (13.17.3), women’s beach volleyball (13.17.4), field hockey (13.17.5), football in both the Bowl and Championship Subdivisions (13.17.6), men’s golf (13.17.7), women’s golf (13.17.8), men’s lacrosse (13.17.9), women’s lacrosse (13.17.10), softball (13.17.11), and women’s volleyball (13.17.12). For every other sport, Bylaw 13.17.14 states that there are no specified recruiting periods, except for the recruiting shutdowns, dead periods, and quiet periods it lists, which cover women’s gymnastics, swimming and diving, women’s rowing, men’s wrestling, cross country and track and field, ice hockey, soccer, and the signing week in every sport.
That split matters for the families Oriel Admissions advises. Rowing, squash, fencing, sailing, tennis, swimming, and track have no calendar, so a coach in those sports may watch a regatta or a tournament on any weekend of the year outside the short shutdowns and dead periods below, and may meet the family off campus on any day after the sport’s off-campus contact date. Lacrosse and golf have full calendars, and a lacrosse family that does not know the calendar will misread the November quiet weeks as lost interest. The sport spokes, including the guides to lacrosse recruiting, rowing recruiting, and squash recruiting, place each sport on this calendar.
When Is the NCAA Dead Period?
There is no single NCAA dead period; each sport has its own, and the one date almost every sport shares is the signing week. Under Bylaw 13.17.14.2.1, Monday through Thursday of the week that includes the fall or spring signing date is a dead period in the applicable sport, and the sport calendars repeat the same rule. Under Bylaw 13.02.13.1 the initial signing date for most sports is the second Wednesday in November, which in 2026 is November 11, so the dead period runs November 9 through 12, 2026. The guide to college athletic commitments explains what is signed that week now that the National Letter of Intent is gone. The table lists the 2026-27 dead periods that fall on fixed calendar dates or on dates that can be computed from the bylaw formula; periods tied to a championship or a coaches’ convention are described by their formula.
| Sport | 2026-27 dead periods | Source |
|---|---|---|
| All sports with a signing date | November 9 through 12, 2026 (the week of the November 11 signing date); the corresponding week of any spring signing date | Bylaws 13.17.14.2.1 and 13.02.13.1 |
| Football (FBS) | August 1 through 31, 2026; November 30, 2026 through January 3, 2027; Monday through Wednesday of the American Football Coaches Association convention; February 1 through March 7, 2027; May 30 through June 2, 2027; June 28 through July 31, 2027 | Bylaw 13.17.6.1 |
| Men’s basketball | August 1 through 19, 2026; November 9 through 12, 2026; December 24 through 26, 2026; the Thursday before the championship game through the Thursday after; May 9, 2027 (Mother’s Day); May 26 through June 6, 2027 (around Memorial Day); June 19 and June 20, 2027; July 1 through 31, 2027 except two evaluation weekends | Bylaw 13.17.2 |
| Women’s basketball | December 24 through 26, 2026; the Thursday before the championship game through the following Monday; the Thursday before the last full weekend in April for high school and two-year college prospects; the signing weeks | Bylaw 13.17.3 |
| Men’s lacrosse | August 11 through 31, 2026; November 9 through 12, 2026; November 23 through 29, 2026; the coaches’ convention; December 24, 2026 through January 3, 2027; the Friday before the championship to noon on the Tuesday after; July 1 through 10, 2027 | Bylaw 13.17.9 |
| Women’s lacrosse | August 28 through September 3, 2026; November 9 through 12, 2026; the coaches’ convention; the championship weekend; July 2 through 6, 2027; plus shutdowns November 24 through 29, December 22 through 26, and December 31 through January 2 | Bylaw 13.17.10 |
| Men’s golf | November 9 through 12, 2026; November 26 through 29, 2026; the coaches’ convention; December 23, 2026 through January 1, 2027 | Bylaw 13.17.7 |
| Women’s golf | November 9 through 12, 2026; November 26 through 29, 2026; the coaches’ convention; December 24 through 27, 2026 | Bylaw 13.17.8 |
| Baseball | November 9 through 12, 2026; the coaches’ convention; May 31 through June 7, 2027; June 19 through 21, 2027 (around Father’s Day); July 3 through 5, 2027; plus shutdowns November 24 through 29 and December 22 through 27 | Bylaw 13.17.1 |
| Softball | August 28 through September 3, 2026; November 9 through 12, 2026; the coaches’ convention; the Tuesday before the championship through the final game; plus shutdowns November 25 through 29, December 22 through 26, and December 31 through January 2 | Bylaw 13.17.11 |
| Women’s volleyball | November 9 through 12, 2026; the Thursday of the championship through January 1, 2027 | Bylaw 13.17.12 |
| Cross country and track and field | The day of the Division I cross country championships; the first day of the coaches’ association convention through December 26; the indoor championships; the outdoor championships | Bylaw 13.17.14.2.2 |
| Swimming and diving | Shutdowns: August 17 through 23, 2026; December 18, 2026 through January 7, 2027; fourteen days beginning the Sunday 38 days before the women’s championship | Bylaw 13.17.14.1.2 |
| Women’s rowing | Shutdown: December 22, 2026 through January 2, 2027 | Bylaw 13.17.14.1.3 |
| Men’s wrestling | Shutdowns: December 24 through 26; Tuesday through Sunday of the championship. Dead periods listed separately in Bylaw 13.17.14.2.9 | Bylaw 13.17.14.1.4 |
| Soccer | Women: 22 days from the Wednesday after the championship game, and the first preseason practice through the day before the first contest. Men: Friday through Monday of the championship; quiet period December 23 through 25 | Bylaws 13.17.14.2.6, 13.17.14.2.7, 13.17.14.3.3 |
| Ice hockey | Men: the Wednesday before the championship to noon on the Sunday after the final. Women: the day before the championship to noon on the day after the final | Bylaws 13.17.14.2.4 and 13.17.14.2.5 |
Fencing has one exception worth knowing: under Bylaw 13.17.14.2.1.1, when the signing week dead period falls during the North American Cup, coaches may still observe prospects at that event. The equivalent exception for rifle covers the Junior Olympic championships.
What Does the Football Recruiting Calendar Say for 2026-27?
Football is the most restrictive calendar and the one most families have heard of. Bylaw 13.17.6.1 sets these periods for the Bowl Subdivision; the Championship Subdivision calendar in 13.17.6.2 follows a similar shape with its own dates.
| 2026-27 dates (FBS) | Period | Bylaw 13.17.6.1 |
|---|---|---|
| August 1 through 31, 2026 | Dead period, with a quiet period from 48 hours before to 48 hours after a home contest in August or on September 1 or 2 | (a) |
| September 1 through November 29, 2026 | Evaluation period | (b) |
| November 30, 2026 through January 3, 2027 | Dead period, with exceptions for midyear transfers and the service academies | (c) |
| January 4 through February 6, 2027 | Contact period as the bylaw states it, except the Sunday before the coaches’ convention (quiet) and Monday through Wednesday of the convention (dead); the quiet and dead periods in (e) and (f) below cut the contact period short at January 30 | (d) |
| January 31, 2027 | Quiet period (the Sunday before the regular signing date) | (e) |
| February 1 through March 7, 2027 | Dead period (the Monday before the regular signing date through the first Sunday in March) | (f) |
| March 8 through April 14, 2027 | Quiet period | (g) |
| April 15 through May 29, 2027 | Contact period | (h) |
| May 30 through June 2, 2027 | Dead period (around Memorial Day) | (i) |
| June 3 through June 27, 2027 | Quiet period | (j) |
| June 28 through July 31, 2027 | Dead period | (k) |
Read together with the signing dates, the football calendar explains the rhythm of a senior year. The early signing period opens on the Wednesday before the first Saturday in December, December 2, 2026, inside the long dead period; the regular signing date, February 3, 2027, sits inside another. Coaches therefore do their in-person work in January and in the spring, evaluate in the fall, and communicate by phone and message through the dead weeks. Under Bylaw 13.02.5.5.1.1 the November through January dead period binds even a recruit who has already signed.
What Are the Basketball, Lacrosse, and Golf Calendars for 2026-27?
Men’s basketball uses a recruiting period in place of a contact period and spends most of the school year in it. Under Bylaw 13.17.2, August 1 through the Tuesday after Labor Day, September 8, 2026, is a quiet period, with August 1 through 19 dead; the Wednesday after Labor Day, September 9, 2026, through April 30, 2027 is a recruiting period, interrupted by the signing week, December 24 through 26, and the championship dead period; May 1 through June 30 is a quiet period with dead days on Mother’s Day, around Memorial Day, on June 19, and on Father’s Day, and evaluation windows on June 11 through 13 and June 25 through 27 for approved scholastic events; and July is a dead period apart from two evaluation weekends beginning the first and second Thursdays after July 6. Women’s basketball has its own calendar in Bylaw 13.17.3 with a different structure, including an April dead period for high school prospects.
Men’s lacrosse, under Bylaw 13.17.9, runs on a spring season. January 4 through January 18, 2027 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) is a contact period with no lacrosse evaluations; January 19 through February 28 is a quiet period; March 1 through the Thursday before the championship is a contact period; the championship weekend is dead; and from noon on the Tuesday after the championship through the first Monday in August is a contact period except for July 1 through 10, which is dead. The late summer and fall then run: August 4 through 10, 2026 quiet; August 11 through 31 dead; September 1 through October 31 contact with no lacrosse evaluations; November 1 through 22 contact, with the signing week dead; November 23 through 29 dead; November 30 through December 23 quiet, with evaluation allowed at the events held alongside the coaches’ convention; and December 24 through January 3 dead.
Women’s lacrosse, under Bylaw 13.17.10, is structured around evaluation. January 3 through the Thursday before the championship is a contact period; the championship weekend is dead with one nearby event permitted for evaluation; the Monday after the championship through June 10, 2027 is a contact period; June 11 through July 31 is an evaluation period with July 2 through 6 dead; August 1 through 14 is a recruiting shutdown; August 15 through 27 is quiet; August 28 through September 3 is dead; September 4 through November 30 is a contact period with the signing week dead, the three weekends before Thanksgiving limited to evaluation at specified events, the convention dead, and November 24 through 29 a shutdown; December 1 through 30 is a contact period with a shutdown December 22 through 26; and December 31 through January 2 is a shutdown.
Golf is simpler. Under Bylaws 13.17.7 and 13.17.8, both men’s and women’s golf are in a contact period from August 1 through November 25, 2026, with the signing week dead, then dead from Thanksgiving, November 26, through November 29. Men’s golf is quiet from November 30 through December 22 apart from the convention showcase and combine, dead from December 23 through January 1, and in a contact period from January 2 through July 31, 2027. Women’s golf stays in a contact period from November 30 through December 23 apart from the convention, goes dead December 24 through 27, and is in a contact period from December 28 through July 31.
What Are the Baseball, Softball, and Volleyball Calendars for 2026-27?
| Sport | 2026-27 structure | Bylaw |
|---|---|---|
| Baseball | Quiet August 17 through September 10, 2026; contact September 11 through October 11; quiet October 12 through February 28, 2027 with the signing week and the coaches’ convention dead and shutdowns November 24 through 29 and December 22 through 27; contact March 1 through August 15, 2027 except May 31 through June 7, June 19 through 21, and July 3 through 5, which are dead | 13.17.1 |
| Softball | Contact from August 1 through the tenth Sunday after the championship; evaluation from the tenth Monday after the championship through November 22, 2026, with August 28 through September 3 and the signing week dead and nonscholastic evaluations limited to the six weekends before Thanksgiving; quiet November 23 through January 2 with shutdowns November 25 through 29, December 22 through 26, and December 31 through January 2 and the convention dead; evaluation January 3 through the Monday before the championship with no nonscholastic evaluations; dead from the Tuesday before the championship through the final; contact from the day after the championship through July 31 | 13.17.11 |
| Women’s volleyball | Quiet August 1 through 31, 2026; contact September 1 through November 30 with the signing week dead; quiet December 1, 2026 through January 14, 2027 with a dead period from the Thursday of the championship through January 1; contact January 15 through July 31, 2027, except Monday through Thursday from March 1 through April 8 and all of May 1 through June 3, which are quiet | 13.17.12 |
Softball’s calendar carries a rule that families in other sports would not expect: during much of the evaluation period, evaluations at nonscholastic practice or competition are prohibited or limited to weekends, which means a college coach may watch a high school game freely but a travel-ball tournament only within the windows the bylaw allows. Baseball’s long quiet period from mid-October through February keeps coaches on campus through the winter, which is why unofficial visits cluster in those months.
What Rules Apply in Sports Without a Calendar?
Under Bylaw 13.17.14 there are no specified recruiting periods in a sport without a calendar, apart from the listed shutdowns, dead periods, and quiet periods. In practice that means a rowing, squash, fencing, sailing, tennis, or track coach in Division I is bound by the contact and correspondence dates rather than by periods: no recruiting correspondence or calls before June 15 after sophomore year, no off-campus contact before August 1 of junior year, one official visit per school beginning August 1 of junior year, and the signing week dead period, all set out in the guides to when coaches can contact you and official and unofficial visits. Swimming and diving adds three shutdowns a year, women’s rowing one over the holidays, and cross country and track and field four dead periods around its championships and convention.
One provision in Bylaw 13.17 is written for the schools Oriel Admissions’ families care most about. Bylaw 13.17.13 allows an institution that does not offer athletically related financial aid in a sport, and whose official admissions notification date falls after the end of the final contact period of the year, to extend that contact period through 30 days after its notification date, subject to all dead periods. That describes the Ivy League in any sport whose final contact period closes before the league’s spring notification date, since the Ivy League awards no athletic scholarships; it lets an Ivy League coach keep meeting admitted recruits in person after the calendar would otherwise close. The Ivy League then layers its own dates on top, which the likely letter guide sets out: pre-reads from July 1 after junior year and likely letters from October 1 of senior year.
How Do Division II and Division III Differ?
Division II publishes one recruiting calendar for all sports rather than a calendar per sport, and its Coaches Off-Campus Recruiting Guide for 2026-27 states that athletically related recruiting materials may be sent at any time and that contacts, calls, and other recruiting functions have no limits after June 15 immediately preceding junior year, outside dead periods. Official visits may begin June 15 before junior year under Division II Bylaw 13.3.1.2. Division III has no recruiting calendar at all: under Division III Bylaw 13.1, in-person off-campus contact waits until the prospect has completed sophomore year, there is no restriction on the number or timing of evaluations, and official visits may begin January 1 of junior year. The NESCAC colleges and the other selective Division III schools therefore recruit on the admissions calendar, and the guide to Division I versus Division III compares the two structures for the academically strong athlete.
How Does the Recruiting Calendar Map onto Grades 9 Through 12?
The calendar tells a coach what is allowed on a given day; the family’s job is to place the student’s own timeline against it. The sequence below combines the calendar with the contact, visit, eligibility, and commitment rules covered elsewhere in the guide to how to get recruited for college sports. Dates are Division I unless noted.
| Grade | What the rules allow | What Oriel Admissions has the student do |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | A student may email coaches, complete recruiting questionnaires, and attend camps at any time; a Division I coach may not send recruiting correspondence or call in most sports, and the calendar does not yet affect the student. Division II coaches may send materials at any time. | Take the core courses the NCAA Eligibility Center will count, keep results and video from the first season, and learn which of the sport’s periods and shutdowns exist. |
| Grade 10 | June 15 after sophomore year: Division I coaches may send recruiting correspondence and make calls in most sports; Division II contact becomes unlimited outside dead periods. Division III off-campus contact begins once sophomore year is complete. | Register with the Eligibility Center, send the first substantive coach emails so that replies can arrive on June 15, and schedule summer showcases in evaluation or contact periods, not dead ones. |
| Grade 11 | August 1 of junior year: off-campus contact, official visits, and unofficial visits with athletics involvement begin in most sports (September 1 for baseball, women’s lacrosse, and softball; the Wednesday after Labor Day for men’s lacrosse). Division III official visits begin January 1 of junior year. July 1 after junior year: Ivy League pre-reads. | Book official visits inside contact or quiet periods and away from dead weeks, ask coaches for an honest assessment of standing, and prepare the transcript and scores for the pre-read. |
| Grade 12 | August 1 of senior year: written offers of athletic aid may be provided in sports other than football (November 15 in football). October 1: Ivy League likely letters may begin. November 9 through 12, 2026: signing week dead period; November 11: signing date for most sports. December 2: football early signing period opens. February 3, 2027: football regular signing date. | Put every verbal promise in writing, compare written offers and need-based estimates on net cost, decide on Early Decision with the coach’s support confirmed, and sign only during the applicable signing period after the compliance office confirms Eligibility Center status. |
Two habits make the calendar work for a family rather than against it. Keep a one-page list of the sport’s dead periods and shutdowns for the year, with the signing week and the holiday shutdown marked, so that no visit or tournament is planned into them. And remember that a dead period is silent on the student’s side of the conversation: the coach email templates work on every day of the year, and a coach who cannot travel in a dead period is often at a desk reading.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Bylaw 13.02.5.5 states that it remains permissible for an institutional staff member to communicate with a prospect other than in person during a dead period. What stops is in-person contact, evaluation, and official and unofficial visits. Only a recruiting shutdown stops calls and correspondence as well.
Usually not. Under Bylaw 13.02.5.5.1 a prospect is no longer subject to a dead period after signing the institution’s written offer of admission or financial aid, or after the institution receives a deposit on an offer of admission. The exception is Bowl Subdivision football, where the November through January dead period applies even to signed recruits.
A period in which no form of recruiting is permissible: no contacts, evaluations, official or unofficial visits, correspondence, or telephone calls made or received, under Bylaw 13.02.5.6. Swimming and diving, women’s rowing, men’s wrestling, women’s gymnastics, baseball, softball, and women’s lacrosse each have shutdowns, most of them over Thanksgiving or the winter holidays.
November 11, 2026, the second Wednesday in November, under Bylaw 13.02.13.1, with Monday through Thursday of that week, November 9 through 12, a dead period. Football’s early period opens December 2, 2026 and its regular signing date is February 3, 2027; basketball signs in an early November period and again from April.
Not as a recruit. Bylaw 13.02.5.5 bars an institution from permitting official or unofficial visits by prospective student-athletes during a dead period, so the athletics department may not host or meet the student on campus. A family touring campus through the admissions office like any other applicant is a separate matter, and Oriel Admissions advises asking the compliance office before any visit that falls in a dead week.
Yes. Ivy League schools are Division I members and their coaches are bound by Bylaw 13.17 in every sport that has a calendar, and by the shutdowns and dead periods in the others. Because they award no athletic aid, Bylaw 13.17.13 lets them extend the final contact period through 30 days after their admissions notification date, and the league adds its own July 1 pre-read and October 1 likely letter dates.
In a quiet period a coach may still meet a recruit in person on the college campus, so unofficial and official visits go ahead; the coach may not go off campus to watch or meet the student. In a dead period no in-person contact is allowed anywhere, on campus or off, and no visits may take place. In both, calls and messages continue.
No. Division III Bylaw 13.1 sets no periods: in-person off-campus contact may begin once the prospect has completed sophomore year, there is no restriction on the number or timing of evaluations, and official visits may begin January 1 of junior year. Division II uses a single calendar for all sports with a short list of dead periods.
Sources: NCAA Division I Manual, Bylaw 13.17, Recruiting Calendars (LSDBi); NCAA Division I Manual, Bylaw 13.02.5, Periods of Recruiting Activities (LSDBi); NCAA Division I Manual, Bylaw 13.02.13, Athletics Aid Agreement Signing Dates (LSDBi); NCAA Division I Manual, Bylaw 13.9, Financial Aid Agreements and Offers (LSDBi); NCAA Division I Manual, Bylaw 13.1.3.1, Telephone Calls (LSDBi); NCAA Division I Manual, Bylaw 13.1.1.1, Time Period for Off-Campus Contacts (LSDBi); NCAA Eligibility Center, Recruiting, with the 2026-27 Division I and II recruiting calendars; 2026-27 NCAA Division II Coaches Off-Campus Recruiting Guide; NCAA Division II Manual, Bylaw 13.3.1.2 (LSDBi); NCAA Division III Manual, Bylaw 13.1, Contacts and Evaluations (LSDBi); NCAA Division III Manual, Bylaw 13.6, Official Visit (LSDBi); Joint Statement for Candidates on Common Ivy League Admission Procedure (Cornell Undergraduate Admissions).
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