What Is the NCAA Quiet Period?

The NCAA defines the quiet period as a time when “a college coach may not have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents off the college campus and may not watch student-athletes compete or visit their high school.” To break it down, the NCAA Quiet Period is a time you can talk to college coaches in-person on their college campus. However, the coach is not allowed to watch athletes compete in-person, visit their school, talk to them at their home—or talk to them anywhere outside of the college campus.

The goal of this period is to give elite recruits a break from getting visited by college coaches at their games and at their home. For average recruits, this time will feel like a contact period. You can still text, call, email or direct message coaches during this time—and you should be reaching out to stay proactive in your recruiting.

The quiet period is a specific recruiting period in the NCAA calendar for Division I and Division II sports to regulate when and how coaches can contact athletes throughout the year. While it’s up to the coaches to comply with the NCAA calendar, it’s important for athletes to know the different recruiting periods on the calendar so they develop realistic expectations of the type of recruiting that will take place throughout the year.

For a quick recap on the topic, check out this video of former college coach Danny Koenig discussing what a quiet period is.

Recruiting tips for the NCAA Quiet Period

Even though coaches can’t visit prospects during the quiet period, recruiting is still happening. Many recruits choose to take unofficial visits during this time. Since the coach can’t come to them, they go to the coach. Unofficial visits give recruits the chance to tour a college campus, meet with the coach, see the athletic facilities and experience the campus culture. Because coaches are still able to text, call and email recruits during this time, it’s easy to set up a visit.

If you’re an elite recruit who’s feeling a little run down after a few months of coach visits, you can take this time to catch your breath and figure out which schools you’re most interested in. Create a list of your top schools with pros and cons for each one. If you have any lingering questions about a program, you can still send those questions to the coach during the quiet period.

When is the NCAA Quiet Period?

Division I Football FBS

• December 22, 2024
• January 1–5, 2025
• January 12, 2025
• February 2, 2025
• March 3 – April 14, 2025
• May 29 – June 22, 2025

Division I Football FCS

• December 2022, 2024
• January 1–5, 2025
• January 12, 2025
• February 2, 2025
• March 3 – April 14, 2025
• May 29 – June 22, 2025

Division I Baseball

• August 19 – September 12, 2024
• October 14, 2024 – February 28, 2025 except as noted below:
  • November 11–14, 2024
  • November 26 – December 1, 2024 
  • December 22–27, 2024
  • January 2–5, 2025

Division I Men’s Basketball

• August 1 September 3, 2024
  • Except: August 6–20
• May 1, 2025 – June 30, 2025 (Exceptions below)
  • May 11
  • May 16–18
  • May 21–June 1
  • June 15
  • June 19
  • June 20 (noon)-22 (6 p.m.)
  • June 27 (noon)-29 (6 p.m.)
• August 1–31, 2025
  • Except August 6–20

Division I Women’s Basketball

• August 1–31, 2024
  • Except August 12–18
• April 8 – July 31, 2025 (Exceptions below)
  • April 25–27
  • May 5–11
  • May 16–18
  • June 10–11
  • June 12–14
  • July 9–10
  • July 11–14
  • July 15–17
  • July 18–21
  • July 25–28

Division I Men’s Golf

• December 2–22, 2024
  • Except December 10–12

Division I Men’s Lacrosse

• August 6–12, 2024
• December 2–23, 2024
  • Except December 11–15
• January 21–February 28, 2025

Division I Women’s Lacrosse

• August 15–27, 2024

Division I Women’s Volleyball

• August 1–31, 2024
• December 1 – January 16, 2025
• March 3–6, 10–13, 17–20 and 24–27, 2025

Division I Softball

• November 25 – Jan 2, 2025, except the dates below
  • November 27 – December 1
  • December 4–7
  • December 22–26
  • December 31 – January 2

Division I Women’s Ice Hockey

• Monday prior to the American Hockey Coaches Association Convention through May 31, 2023

Division I Men’s Soccer

• December 23–25, 2024

Division II Football

• June 1 through the start of recruit’s first regularly scheduled football practice

Division II Men’s and Women’s Basketball

• June 1–14, 2024