The Division I Council Coordination Committee approved three blanket waiver requests made by several Division I conferences late last month and adjusted recruiting regulations to allow for more flexibility during the dead period. The committee met virtually Wednesday.

The committee voted to grant blanket waivers for all Division I members for one year to allow:

• Basketball and football student-athletes to participate in currently defined summer athletic activities without being enrolled in summer school.
• Schools to provide less than the currently legislated minimum financial aid requirements to maintain membership in Division I. This waiver does not provide relief from other financial aid rules, including financial aid commitments to prospective and current student-athletes or regulations related to the cancellation or reduction of financial aid.
• Reclassifying schools to count as Division I opponents in the first year of the reclassification process, whether or not the school meets Division I scheduling requirements.

The committee also granted waivers of recruiting rules effective May 11 to make them more flexible during the dead period the group imposed, which currently lasts through May 31. For example, any school staff member may participate on recruiting calls between a countable coach and a recruit. In normal circumstances, only coaches, and a few others in limited situations, may communicate with uncommitted prospective student-athletes via telephone or video calls.

The committee also lifted the restriction on the number of uncommitted prospective student-athletes (and their family members) who may participate in a recruiting call with a countable coach.

Additionally, current student-athletes may now participate in recruiting calls with coaches, as long as that time counts against the eight hours of countable athletics-related activity that the committee permitted in all sports earlier this spring.

Finally, committed prospective student-athletes may participate in virtual team activities after completion of all academic requirements for high school graduation or transfer to a Division I school.  Uncommitted prospects could on one occasion observe such activities but not participate.

The flexibility is intended to provide prospective student-athletes with virtual experiences like what they would have been able to experience during a campus visit. The flexibility begins Monday for all sports and applies only as long as the COVID-19 recruiting dead period lasts.

Finally, the group voted to allow coaches to participate in virtual camps and clinics, provided prospective student-athletes are not in attendance. Sport-specific legislation still would apply.

The group also committed to make a final decision on an extension of the recruiting dead period through June 30 at the group’s May 13 meeting. The dead period began in March to protect the health, safety, and well-being of prospective student-athletes and their families, as well as coaches. NCAA Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brian Hainline addressed the group and discussed the resocialization of sports guidelines released last week to help guide their decision-making.