RECRUITING TERMS to know
WALK ON AND PREFERRED WALK ON
What is it?
Walk On refers to a player that is on a roster but not receiving any athletic scholarship money. The term “Preferred Walk on” is the same thing, but is oftentimes associated with an athlete that is recruited by a school and has a roster spot with no athletic scholarship money.
Expert Advice
There are no athletic scholarships at the Division III level, but it’s a mistake to think an athlete can just walk on to a DIII team. Division III schools recruit just like D1/D2 schools do and fill their roster spots. Yes, they sometimes hold a “try out” but not many, if any, get selected from those. Athletes wishing to play D3 still need to be recruited by those schools.
Why trying to walk on to a college roster is a big risk
VERBAL COMMITMENT
What is it?
A verbal commitment happens when a college-bound student-athlete verbally agrees to play sports for a college before he or she signs or is eligible to sign a National Letter of Intent. The commitment is not binding on the student-athlete or the school and can be made at any time.
Go to our WHEN COLLEGES CAN CONTACT ATHLETES page for when verbal commitments can be made by sport.
Expert Advice
When athletes typically verbally commit to colleges varies by sport and depends on when colleges can have first recruiting contact with athletes, but in general, the higher the level, the earlier the schools get verbal commitments from athletes. Since a verbal commitment is non-binding, the athlete and the school can back out of it for any reason. Typically a school is going to honor a verbal commitment unless the athlete does something — like letting their grades suffer, getting into legal trouble or slacking athletically – to make the school change its mind. Schools do not want a reputation of backing out of verbal commitments. Once a verbal commitment is made by an athlete, he or she should stop pursuing other schools, because if the school that he or she verbally committed to finds out he or she is still looking at their options, that school may pull its offer.
What you need to know about verbal commitments
OFFICIAL VISIT
What is it?
Any visit to a college campus by a college-bound student-athlete or his or her parents paid for by the college.
Go to our WHEN COLLEGES CAN CONTACT ATHLETES page for when official visits can be done by sport.
Expert Advice
A visit typically is considered an official visit if the school is paying for travel or lodging. Athletes can do an unlimited amount of official visits (was 5 until recently) to NCAA Division I schools. Athletes can do an unlimited amount of official visits to other levels but they are a less-common occurrence. For NCAA schools, the college can pay for transportation to and from the college for the student-athlete, lodging and three meals per day for the student-athlete and his or her parents or guardians, as well as reasonable entertainment expenses including three tickets to a home sports event.
UNOFFICIAL VISIT
What is it?
Campus visits paid for by student-athletes or their parents.
Go to our WHEN COLLEGES CAN CONTACT ATHLETES page for when official visits can be done by sport.
Expert Advice
An unlimited amount of unofficial visits are allowed. For NCAA schools, the only expenses a college-bound student-athlete may receive from a college during an unofficial visit are three tickets to a home sports event.