Dead Period (Recruiting Calendar)

The NCAA recruiting calendar divides every week of the year for each sport into one of four states: contact period, evaluation period, quiet period, or dead period. The dead period is the most restrictive — and the one that most often blindsides families who haven\'t planned around it.

What\'s prohibited during a dead period

• No face-to-face contact between coaches and recruits, on or off campus.
• No evaluations of recruits at competitions.
• No official visits or unofficial visits where the coach is present.

If you fly to a campus during a dead period, the coach legally cannot meet with you. The visit isn\'t refused outright — but it\'s gutted of its value.

What\'s allowed during a dead period

• Phone calls between coaches and recruits.
• Text messages and emails.
• Recruits can still walk around campus as regular visitors — they just can\'t meet substantively with coaches.

When dead periods happen

• Around NCAA championship events for the sport.
• Around National Letter of Intent signing windows.
• Major recruiting weekends the NCAA explicitly wants quiet.
• Christmas / late December — almost every sport has a dead period across the holidays.

Each sport has its own annual recruiting calendar. Dates rotate each year. Always verify the current cycle at ncaa.org before booking any travel for a recruiting visit.