True. Our OV to Tufts, for example, did not include travel expenses or hotel. It was a 1 day (9am-6pm) event - recruits did not stay over in dorms. Not sure if that was due to the Covid hangover or not.
The definition of an official visit is the school pays for the recruitâs travel, hotel, etc (abiding by ncaa rules), so you are (technically) describing an unofficial visit.
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A couple of points about D3 OVs, for what they are worth. Not sure what the post-Covid world is like, but ours had a number of NESCAC OVs. NCAA D3 Rule 13.6.4 suggests that lodging and meals on an OV must be the same as offered to students at the institution. If the school was unable to do so due to COVID, they may have opted not to offer any OVs.
The NCAA Rule is that round trip travel expenses for OVs can be covered by the institution. The NESCAC rules for OVs, which generally are more restrictive, are set forth below:
"* A prospect may not make an official visit until the opening day of classes of the prospectâs senior year. [more restrictive than NCAA, which is January 1 of junior year]
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An institution may provide only one official visit to its campus for a prospective student. [same as NCAA]
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An official visit may not exceed 48 hours. [NESCAC same as NCAA]
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Meals: An institution may provide meals (not to exceed three per day) to a prospect in the institutionâs on-campus student dining facility. If a prospect visits campus during a vacation period and the dining facility is closed, a meal may be provided to a prospect (and the prospectâs parents/legal guardians) in a local restaurant. The meal must be comparable to the type of meal provided in the on-campus dining facility.
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Lodging: Lodging may be provided for a prospect. If provided it shall be in a manner similar or comparable to that of student housing (e.g., dorm room). [same as NCAA]
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Transportation: Transportation to/from the local bus/train station and/or local airport is permissible." [more restrictive than NCAA, which allows round trip travel expenses]
The fact that you are a recruited athlete supported through admissions means that you have a far better chance of admission than non-hooked, non-athletes, but there is no guarantee of a roster spot or playing time. Many schools do reserve a roster spot for recruits for the first year, but this is entirely school and sport dependent. For example, the Middlebury baseball coach (not current coach) told us that he held open tryouts and the best 25 made the team.
If playing time is important to you, by all means ask, ask, ask the coach. Remember that it is unlikely that any coach can promise playing time to a recruit, however, you can ask how the coach sees you fitting into the current configuration of the team. You certainly should ask the coach if you have a roster spot for the first year.
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Iâm describing the fall event that was organized by the coaching staff that invited all recruits to campus for a 1 day event, run by the coaches and senior athletes, was evaluative, and culminated in 1 on 1 meetings with the head coach where offers (roster spots, that is, not admission) were made to some recruits. Call it whatever you want, but it was as official as existed for that team, that year. As I said, perhaps there was no lodging because of Covid at Tufts that year. Other schools did have overnights with expenses paid for the recruit.
These are important points. A potential recruit can also ask if the school requires the coach to have open tryouts each year.
Another not uncommon situation is coaching changes. There is quite a bit of coach turnover at all levels, in all sports. Obviously coaching changes can impact a recruitâs position on the team. Not much a potential recruit can do, other than ask the coach if they plan on being in their position for the next 4 years (of course things can change and/or a coach might not be 100% honest in answering).
I understand. My point was that the NCAA term âOfficial Visitâ means the visit is paid for by the school, and âUnofficial Visitâ means the student pays.
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Good discussion. My D has couple offers with early pre-reads and waiting for other pre-reads to come back. Ideally, coaches from very competitive schools want to finish their '23 class by end of August. Watch for exploding offers. One coach gave until mid August to give a decision, since she told them that she is waiting for all pre-reads before making a commitment.
I highly doubt that most players can play the ED2 game, let alone trying to get a regular decision support. Of course, bad things can happen, so keep your line of communication strong. Coaches want to finish up the class before summer ends since the next class is coming in.
Top D1 have already given offers for the '24, so that means D1/D3 '24 trying for usual suspect CC schools need to get going NOW. Seriously. There is no time. Good luck.
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Trying to better understand the roster spot points you make. Iâm guessing this is dependent on sport, roster size, coach, school, etc? She does know of a couple of schools where her sport carries a travel team and a practice team, so definitely it would be important to know where you stand in that scenario, but if you know the school offering has one team, it would seem odd to have her ask at time of offer if she has a roster spot if they are literally offering her a supported slot (roster spot) in exchange for ED. For my Dâs sport at the schools sheâs in the process with, the teams carry one 25-person roster, max. She definitely is planning on asking where they see her role, playing time, if anything changes after 1st year, etc. but in her mind, it is assumed she has a definite roster spot and will not be trying out.
I guess I donât agree that a supported slot (which is a supported slot with admissions) always equals a roster spot for the first year. In college sports, there are no guarantees. Recruits are not guaranteed a spot on the team, at least not forever. One coach told us that recruits get one free pass (meaning you get a roster spot for the first year), but as noted that is not universally the rule. I gave the example of the Middlebury coach who told us that he has open tryouts and the best make the team, i.e., if you are a recruit but not the best, you will be cut - whether or not it is your first year. Put differently, there are cuts - and sometimes even recruits get cut.
A parent came up to me at a showcase once and told the story about her son who walked onto the college team and the recruit who was out of shape for the sport was cut.
To find out, simply ask if there are open tryouts. Then ask if someone walks on will your daughter still have her roster spot.
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I agree with this. The quid for an ED app is a fully supported app thru the admission process (not necessarily a roster spot).
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I appreciate the info- weâre learning. What if the coach expressly says theyâre offering " a roster spot"? Iâm guessing in that instance it would be appropriate to ask about tryouts after the first year? Again, just trying to clarify because I have not heard of this in my Dâs sport; not saying it doesnât happen, but we have never known anyone who has lost their spot. I agree itâs better to be safe than sorry and just ask, but Iâm trying to get a better sense of likelihood and possible scenarios. @gointhruaphase, I agree the walk-on question is a good one we hadnât thought of.
Whether or not your daughter has a ârosterâ spot probably should not be a big concern. Of course if your athlete shows up out of shape, unmotivated, has academic issues, personality conflicts with teammates/coaches, nothing is guaranteed, but the fact that a coach has used a limited spot to support your athlete presumptively means they have a roster spot freshmen year â the coach has determined that recruit can play at the desired level . My Dâs team had open tryouts, mostly to fill out the roster to replace recruits that dropped the sport (interest, lack of PT or injury). Occasionally a walk on will stand out and take a starting spot, although that is rare and usually related to a transfer. The real issue for your kid is PT. Here you need to see who the returning players are at your kidâs position, their class, and whether or not there is a lot of in game substitutions at that position. The rest is up to your kidâs performance, including conditioning and what happens in the weight room.
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Yes, that has been our understanding as well. And the rest, agreed, is up to the recruit/athlete and has to continually be earned.
My D3 kid heard from coaches very specifically about what the ED/roster spot exchange meant â so that is a question worth asking. Some coaches will be specific, others will avoid it unless asked directly. If I had to generalize, it would be that the ED/roster spot âdealâ meant a spot for 1 year and after that, it was up for grabs. But we did hear of other schools where recruits were cut during pre-season. So once the student is preparing to commit to a school, it is important to know what the terms of the âdealâ are.
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Iâm not sure if the NESCAC experienced the same transfer rate as other D3 schools (and a LOT of D1), but many freshmen learned the hard way that while they might be on the roster, they werenât getting any playing time because transfers and grad students still had eligibility and the coaches wanted the most experienced players on the field. The freshman may have gotten the âslotâ, but the transfer got the starting position, the seat in the boat, the number one pairing, etc. It is really really hard to sit on the bench when you are used to being the number one at your school or on your club team, used to playing #1 on the tennis team, etc.
My daughter picked a brand new team knowing that they were going to lose a lot but also knowing that sheâd get a lot of playing time. She also liked the school for her major and got good merit aid and athletic aid. She did start every game for 4 years, played almost every minute. They got better and while they did lose a lot of games the first 2 years, they made the NCAA tournament for years 3 and 4. It worked out well for her. If sheâd picked a school with a stronger team, she wouldnât have gotten as much playing time as a skinny little 17 year old freshman. Many girls are still growing when they get to college, learning how to train with weights, learning new techniques. The older kids get the starting spots.
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My guess is that most coaches wonât waste a spot on a player they donât expect has a good chance to have a spot the first year, and ultimately see playing time. If they canât find that player, they may try to trade the slot to another coach for as extra pick next year. I know that happens in the Ivies, and Iâm guessing at other schools too.
Having said that, coaches donât keep their jobs by recruiting Rhodes Scholars, or giving third or tenth chances. They keep their job by winning. They will generally put the best team together possible. No one in any sport is truly safe. You have to earn the roster spot every year, and the playing time every week, no matter wwat the official policy is.
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Great points about the need to earn the playing time and the spot every game/year, etc. My kid was at an ID camp a few weeks ago where the coach was very clear to the attendees that he cuts kids who are not performing. Some of the current players that the kids spoke with during the camp noted that often kids who do a semester abroad donât make it back.
Itâs a good reminder that kids need to be sure the school they choose is one where they absolutely would want to be in the event they are not playing their sport for whatever reason (they are not a starter, they get cut, they get injured.) In my kidâs case (rising senior), the âfunnelâ of options narrowed very quickly this spring. He realized he did not want to pursue D1 programs for his sport, but are still on his list for academics. And of the D3 options, he politely and respectfully declined 3 or 4 coaches who reached out to him because he had zero interest in the school. Of the remaining D3 schools where playing his sport is still a consideration (pre-read process in progress), they are places he would be thrilled to go to regardless.
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Brutal, and a good pointâŠanother thing for student-athletes to consider and discuss options with coach.
Intended major is also important to some coaches too. There is a d3 coach at a highly selective non-NESCAC school who tells potential recruits they canât be on his team and be a lab science major.
Completely agree that the school has to also be a fit in non-academic ways too.
Good luck to your S.
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Thank you!!!
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Lab science and study abroad are valuable points.
My daughter is a D1 athlete at an Ivy and is participating in a study abroad program this summer - zero option to do during the school year. We viewed this as very valuable experience and are fortunate it could happen. It is an extra expense as not part of her 4 year college expenses. Taking classes, having fun and working out with only a ârealâ break for 3 weeks this summer.
She plans to intern the following summers - so zero break 
For lab science, she has found it hard to get timing right - ie: is there a lab section offered that starts when she can make it in time? Being 5 minutes late to a lecture class works - not to a lab.
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Amen. A frequently overlooked consideration for any athlete going to college is being honest with themselves about how good they really are, and then deciding where they need to be on the winning vs playing time continuum. That is, on a great team that will win championships and taste glory thereâs not a lot of opportunity for average or worse players. You may get a shirt, but will you ever play? On the other hand there are plenty of minutes on terrible teams, but can you handle losing that much? Most teams are somewhere in the middle, but if getting beaten constantly or watching from the bench will twist your guts then you have to factor that in. Worse yet you might be on a bad team and be a goalie stuck behind the only person on the team who is better than you. Can you handler the frustration? And thereâs no specific answer, itâs just something that each person has to answer for themselves.
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