Nutter Center gym | Photo by Soham Parikh | The Wright State Guardian
Division 1 schools, such as Wright State University (WSU), have had to undergo major changes in the recruiting process due to coronavirus.
All schools are in a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) mandated recruiting dead period. This means a college coach may not have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents, and may not watch student-athletes compete or visit their high schools.
The NCAA evaluates the recruiting process on a month to month basis, with no implication that it will go back to normal anytime soon.
“The full Council and the Council Coordination Committee will continue to review the recruiting dead periods on a regular basis,” according to the NCAA’s website.
Dead period
Coaches may write and telephone student-athletes or their parents during a dead period, but that is the only contact that is permitted.
“We are very limited in what we can do until at least October. This has been in effect since the beginning of the pandemic in the spring, and has been continually reviewed and extended each month,” said Head Coach of Men’s Soccer Team, Jake Slemker.
The dead period doesn’t allow recruits to visit the college campuses, so everything they see is through virtual tours.
This can make it somewhat challenging for a recruit to decide which school they want to attend.
“It’s tough for us coaches, but I would say it’s the hardest on the recruits. They have to make big decisions and it’s hard for them to get the full recruiting experience,” said Slemker.
Tough decisions
The restrictions that are in place make it very challenging for recruits and coaches to make these decisions. Thankfully, it is all designed to be temporary and help with the health and safety of everyone involved.
“There are restrictions on watching tournaments that are being streamed. It has been a day-by-day process and things change often,” said Head Coach of Women’s Basketball Team Katrina Merriweather.
The recruiting process has slowed down and delayed the 2021 class, as they all try to work around the restrictions that are in place.
For a recruit this is a very big decision, and will affect their livelihood for the next four years.
