COMMITTING TO COLLEGES
&
NATIONAL LETTERS OF INTENT
As student-athletes
begin to finalize college decisions, questions always arise about accepting a scholarship offer, committing to a university
and signing a National Letter of Intent. Below is a summary that may answer many of the questions that
student-athletes and their parents have about accepting a scholarship offers and officially committing to a college.
VERBAL COMMITTMENTS
Golfers can verbally accept a scholarship offer to play at a college or university at any point
during their junior career. Yes, this means that a golfer CAN orally accept a scholarship offer
earlier than his/her senior year in high school; however, most players do not receive scholarship offers until the start of
their senior year in high school (or later).
Prior to November of a player’s senior year in high school (the
early signing period), a player who accepts a scholarship offer, is making a verbal commitment. In other
words, the coach has offered the player a spot on his/her team with or without scholarship money, and the player has verbally
agreed to accept that offer. Many parents are concerned that a coach will back out of the offer.
A coach and a player CAN back out of a verbal commitment; however, this rarely happens.
Coaches stand by their verbal offers (even if the player is not playing well). Typically, the only
time a coach rescinds a verbal offer is if the player gets in serious trouble or fails to meet academic standards.
Additionally, barring extreme unforeseen circumstances, a player should NEVER back out of a verbal
agreement that he/she makes with a coach. When a player verbally agrees to an offer he/she should
be absolutely certain that he/she wants to attend school and play golf at that school.
NATIONAL
LETTERS OF INTENT
According to the NCAA, “the National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a binding
agreement between a prospective student-athlete and an institution in which the institution agrees to provide a prospective
student-athlete who is admitted to the institution and is eligible for financial aid under NCAA rules athletics aid for one
academic year in exchange for the prospect's agreement to attend the institution for one academic year. The NLI must be
accompanied by an institutional financial aid agreement. If the student-athlete does not enroll at that
institution for a full academic year, he/she may be subject to specific penalties, including loss of a season of eligibility
and a mandatory residence requirement.”
College coaches are not allowed to be present when the
golfer signs his/her Letter of Intent. The University will mail all of the paper work to the prospective
student-athlete. The golfer and his/her parents will sign the documents and mail them back.
Many high schools will have a press conference so that local news outlets can publicize the signing.
There are two “signing periods”
for golfers to sign a Letter of Intent. The EARLY SIGNING PERIOD for 2009 graduates
is November 12-19, 2008. The LATE SIGNING PERIOD FOR 2009 graduates is
April 8 – August 1, 2009. THESE DATES ARE THE ONLY TIME THAT A GOLFER CAN OFFICIALLY
SIGN A NATIONAL LETTER OF INTENT.