Is the NAIA signing period the same as the NCAA?

Simply answered, there is no signing period or Letter of Intent for the NAIA. What does this mean? This means that there are no NAIA rules or requirements in regards to offers made by a NAIA college to you, the prospective college bound student athlete. With an NAIA school there are no signing dates or deadlines either. This means a NAIA college coach can recruit you, make you an offer, and you can accept at any time.

NOTE: Every NAIA has their own procedures regarding scholarships so make sure you speak with the coach and admissions office to know exactly what the deal is at that particular school.

FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NAIA SIGNING PERIOD

FACT 1: There is no NAIA signing date or deadline

FACT 2: You can sign with more than one NAIA college if you choose to do so.

FACT 3: As a recruit, you have the flexibility to sign multiple offers from NAIA schools and wait until later to decide which NAIA school you want to actually attend.

FACT 4: The downside to having no Letter of Intent or scholarship rules means if you lose the scholarship offer, there are no NAIA rules that require an appeal opportunity.

FACT 5: The NAIA does not regulate the contact between you, the student athlete and a coach.

FACT 6: The NAIA does not limit the number of campuses you can visit, allowing you to visit as many campuses as you feel is necessary to figure out which program is the right fit for you.

FACT 7: NAIA coaches tend to recruit athletes later in their high school career, often during the athlete’s senior year after the NCAA National Signing Day so that they can recruit unsigned talent.

NOTE: When considering accepting a NAIA scholarship offer, make sure you ask the Coach about their scholarship policies, talk with the athletic department and make sure you review the written policies specifically for NAIA college athletic scholarships.

THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU ACCEPT YOUR NAIA SCHOLARSHIP

Here are a few of the standard regulations that must be followed by all NAIA schools regarding the offering of athletic scholarships to players:

• All policies that address the awarding or cancellation of an NAIA athletic scholarship are determined by each individual college (as we have already mentioned previously)
• NAIA rules do not include any rules that prevent a coach from taking back a player’s scholarship offer for medical reasons or, that require the opportunity for an appeal hearing if a coach wants to cancel an athlete’s scholarship.
• The NAIA financial aid guidelines only refer to the fees and other charges that can be covered by an NAIA college when providing a scholarship.  What they don’t include are things like: a date when a player must be informed if their scholarship is not being renewed for the following year or, not stating the conditions under which a coach can cancel a player’s scholarship in the middle of the academic year.

CONCLUSION ABOUT THE NAIA SIGNING PERIOD:

The NAIA has no signing period. The NAIA does not have any recruiting rules, recruiting calendars, dead periods, or contact restrictions. It is much freer than the NCAA who is bound by so many strict rules and polices. But like everything, this has its downside too. If you get offered a NAIA scholarship you can lose it and there are no rules or appeals processes that you can go through to try and get it back. That’s what a National Letter of Intent (NLI) is for, but as we have established, the NAIA does not have a NLI. Always make sure you speak in detail with the Coach, Athletic Department and the Admissions Department to be clear on what their schools exact procedure is for offering and accepting a scholarship.