For Prospective Student-Athletes


Thank you for your interest in St. Joseph’s University, NY - Brooklyn Athletics. Together we can make your college recruiting process an informative and successful process. Please know that most of the college recruiting process is regulated by NCAA. In order to compete as a student-athlete at St. Joseph’s University you must do your part to stay within the NCAA guidelines. Below are some frequently asked questions by prospective student-athletes (prospects):

Frequently Asked Questions


What is an official visit?

An official visit to a member institution by a prospective student-athlete (prospect) is a visit financed in whole or in part by the member institution or by a representative of the institution’s athletic interests. A member institution may finance only one visit to its campus for each prospect. A prospect may not be provided an official visit earlier than January 1 of the prospective student-athlete’s junior year in high school.

What is an unofficial visit?

An unofficial visit to a member institution by a prospect is a visit made at the prospect’s own expense. A prospect may visit a member institution’s campus at his/her expense at an unlimited number of times. A prospect may make unofficial visits before January of his/her junior year in high school.

What is the “48 hour rule”?

An official visit to St. Joseph’s University or any other NCAA-member institution may NOT exceed 48 hours. This 48-hour clock begins when you arrive on campus. At the completion of the 48-hour visit, a prospect must depart immediately; otherwise, the institution is not allowed to pay any expenses incurred by the prospect upon departure from the campus, including the cost of the prospect’s transportation home. Please take this into consideration when planning your visit.

What is the St. Joseph University coach and University allowed to do for me on an official visit? Unofficial visit?

On an official visit, a prospect may be provided lodging and meals as regular students normally do. Local commercial facilities may be used but at a scale comparable to that of normal student life and only within a 30-mile radius of the institution’s campus.

On an unofficial visit, an institution may provide a prospect with one meal in the institution’s on-campus dining facility. An institution may provide a meal in an off-campus dining facility when all on-campus dining facilities are closed, provided the institution can certify that it is the institution’s normal policy to provide such a meal under similar circumstances to all prospective students (including non-athletes) visiting the campus.

For an unofficial visit, all housing must be worked out through the admissions office, NOT the coaching staff.

I am not yet a senior. What kind of contact can I have with the coach? What should I send to the coach?

You may make your own unofficial visit to campus January 1 of your junior year. Before then you may:
1) Meet with the coach
2) Meet with admissions
3) Do research on the web (www.sjcny.edu)
4) Fill out and return the questionnaire for your sport
5) Contact the coach and ask any questions you might have

In Division III, coaches can call, write or email you before your junior year. In Division I and II, coaches may not call you until July 15 before the start of your junior year. If you have questions about St. Joseph's University and our programs, please ask. During the recruiting process, Division III coaches are allowed to make unlimited calls, texts and emails to you.

What do you need to do if you are coming to campus (admissions and athletics)?

As early as possible, please let the admissions office and the coach know of your visit. If you plan to stay overnight, the earlier you can make arrangements, the better. The coach and admissions can help you plan your visit. Coaches and admissions cannot host everyone. Please confirm your dates with the coach before you make plane reservations. You do not want to have reservations to visit campus when the team is away from campus. If this is an official visit, you also need to take into account the 48-hour rule.

What should my parents know about the recruiting process?

Parents are active participants in the college search and recruiting process. Parents should be involved, but you, the prospective student-athlete, should be the primary contact for the coaches and admissions.

What is the NCAA rule regarding tweeting, social media sites and chat rooms?

A coach or sport-specific social media account may connect with (e.g., "friend," "follow," etc.) a prospective student-athlete on social media platforms. Further, a coach may take actions (e.g., "like," "favorite," republish, etc.) on social media platforms that indicate approval of social media content.

Further, while on an official or an unofficial visit, a prospective student-athlete may take a photograph with a coach or student-athlete and post it to social media. They may also take a photograph of themselves on the sideline or the field/court and post it on social media. They may also take a photograph while dressed in or with a non-personalized item (e.g., locker, sign, institutional uniform or helmet, etc.) and post it on social media. Coaches and current student-athletes may connect with (e.g., "friend," "follow," etc.) and take actions (e.g., "like," "favorite," republish, etc.) on said posts. They may NOT comment.

When a coach visits a prospective student-athlete during a competition, what is he or she allowed to do during that visit?

First, a college coach is only allowed to speak to those prospective student-athletes who have completed his/her sophomore year. Second, a college coach may only meet with the prospect after the competition is over when the prospect is finished with the tournament, game or meet. Contact shall not be made with the prospect from the time the prospect reports on call (at the direction of the prospect’s coach or comparable authority) and becomes involved in competition-related activity (e.g., traveling to an away-from-home game) to the end of the competition even if such competition-related activities are initiated before the day or days of competition. Contact shall not be made after the competition until the prospect is released by the appropriate coach and departs the dressing and meeting facility. If the competition is over multiple days, contact shall not be made with the prospect until after the prospect’s final contest is completed and he or she is released by the appropriate institutional authority and leaves the dressing and meeting facility.

Further, and electronic communications may not be made with a prospective student-athlete at the site of an organized competition involving the prospective student-athlete by a coach who is attending the competition or who is aware of the competition.

The NCAA does not allow Division III student-athletes to receive "extra benefits" because they happen to participate on an athletic team. What is a non-permissible "extra benefit"?

An extra benefit includes any special arrangement by a St. Joseph's University employee or booster to provide prospective student-athletes, their relatives or friends, a benefit not expressly authorized by the NCAA. Examples of impermissible extra benefits include, but are not limited to:

a) Gifts or loans of clothing, stereo equipment, compact discs, food, beverages
b) Transportation
c) Use of an automobile
d) Low interest or interest-free loans, telephone cards, credit cards, charge accounts, etc.
e) Gifts of more than the allowable number of complimentary admissions
f) Special discounts on products or services
g) Special payment arrangements on personal purchases
h) Material benefits that are not available to the general student body

What do I do if I want to play a sport but have not been contacted by the coach?

Fill out the Prospective Student-Athlete Questionaire which will send your information to the coaching staff of the respective team you are interested in.

How do I try out for a team?

Every team and coach’s tryout procedures are different. Contact the coach of the sport you would like to try out for. The coach can tell you the requirements for team participation.

If I want to transfer to St. Joseph’s, how do I do it?

If you are currently at a Division III institution, you can complete the NCAA self-release form (located at ncaa.org under “forms”), then email or fax it to the compliance officer at St. Joseph’s University. This form will allow contact between you and the St. Joseph’s coach for up to 30 days. After this 30-day window closes, a second self-release must be filled out and sent to St. Joseph’s. Once the initial self-release form has been received, St. Joseph’s is not allowed to contact your current institution. After the 30-day window, St. Joseph’s may contact your current school if you decide to pursue a transfer. St. Joseph’s may not contact the current school if a second release to contact is sent and must wait for the expiration of the self-release form. Though a coach is not allowed to contact your current coach during this 30 or 60-day window, you are highly encouraged to talk to your current coach about a possible transfer to St. Joseph’s, or any school of your choice.

If you are currently attending a Division I or II institution, you must obtain a written release stating that your current school grants St. Joseph’s permission to contact you. This permission can be obtained through the compliance officer at your current Division I or II institution. Your compliance officer will contact St. Joseph’s directly.

If I have other questions about the NCAA rules and recruiting process, whom can I contact?

The information contained in this list of frequently asked questions does not represent every possibility or situation. If you have any questions regarding prospects, student-athletes, or NCAA rules and regulations, please contact Assistant Director of Athletics for Compliance and Student-Athlete Services/SWA Katie Bell (kbell@sjny.edu).

 

Updated 8/4/2022