The Student Athlete (part 7): Committing and the National Letter of Intent
Congratulations! You’ve received an offer to join the team. Now what? Like many things in life, the deal isn’t really done until you’ve signed a legally binding contract. In NCAA Division I and II sports, this contract is called the National Letter of Intent (NLI).
Let's talk about what committing to a program looks like.
What is a National Letter of Intent (NLI)?
Each year more than 48,000 athletes across more than 650 NCAA Division I and Division II schools sign a National Letter of Intent, a binding agreement between student athlete and school. The athlete agrees to attend the school and participate in sports for one academic year. The school agrees to provide athletics financial aid for that year.
Note: you don’t have to sign an NLI to receive a scholarship or to play Division I or II athletics. It is truly optional.
There’s a national signing day - which will happen on November 13 in 2024 this coming year - for all Division I and Division II sports except football and basketball (which happen in February and April respectively). In practice, signing day isn’t so much an event as it is the beginning of a multi-month signing period that extends from November through to August of the following summer. Athletes may agree and sign at any point during that time period.
A few important notes about what NLIs are and are not.
NLIs are -
A voluntary agreement. You do not have to sign in order to attend and participate in athletics at a Division I or Division II school. You do not have to sign in order to receive a scholarship.
A binding contract. The penalty for not fulfilling the agreement is that the student athlete sits out a season (serves one year as athlete in residence) and loses one season of eligibility.
An official end to your recruitment process. Once you’ve signed an NLI, other institutions are prohibited from recruiting you.
NLIs are not -
A guarantee of college admission. This document is about the athletic aspects of your college search, but you’ll still need to be admitted to the college or university in question, which is a separate college admissions process.
A guarantee of playing time or position.
A commitment to multi-year aid. Most NLIs cover a single year. You must renew your athletic scholarship each subsequent academic year. There is a small exception to certain Division I sports that can be multi-year, but this situation is rare.
Applicable to walk-ons. If you’ve been invited to participate on the team but are not offered a scholarship you are a walk-on and not eligible to sign an NLI.
See this website for more information - http://www.nationalletter.org/aboutTheNli/index.html
Are there other ways schools ask for a commitment?
Yes. Prior to receiving a National Letter of Intent (NLI), a school will often make a verbal commitment to you - asking you to participate on the team and perhaps offering scholarship details. Note that verbal agreements are non-binding. This means that either you or the team may change your mind and rescind the offer without penalty or consequences.
NCAA Division III athletes do not have a National Letter of Intent (NLI), because there are no athletic scholarships in Division III sports. Some schools imitate the signing ritual with a non-binding “celebratory standardized signing form”. Like a verbal agreement, this document is NOT a binding contract.
What are the key National Letter of Intent signing days for the class of 2025?
Future dates are posted at this website - http://www.nationalletter.org/signingDates/future.html.
