Recruiting Essentials: De-commitments And NLI Nullification
June 16, 2015
By Sean McCann
Recruiting Essentials Editor
Much like transfer issues, the early summer months have also brought a number of questions from our readership regarding de-commitments and NLI nullification – prospects and parents wanting to know the rules involved when a prospect commits to a college and for whatever reason the commitment is broken by one or both sides.
Verbal Commitments (Non-Binding Agreement)
+ As we have covered before, a verbal commitment is a non-binding agreement between a prospect and a college coaching staff. Such an agreement is not regulated or recognized by the NCAA, NAIA or NJCAA governing bodies. Either side or both sides can back out on such an agreement at any time with no repercussions in terms of eligibility and recruiting rules.
National Letter-of-Intent (Binding Agreement)
+ What binds a prospect to an NCAA Division I or II school is the signing of a National Letter-of-Intent (NLI) and a financial aid agreement (which outlines the athletics aid the prospect will receive) during the early signing period or regular signing period.