NCAA recruiting calendar 2026-27: contact, quiet and dead periods by sport

What are contact, evaluation, quiet and dead periods?

They are the four kinds of NCAA recruiting periods. In a contact period, coaches can meet you and watch you off campus. In an evaluation period they can watch but not talk in person. In a quiet period they can meet you only on their campus. In a dead period, no in-person recruiting or visits happen.

These definitions come straight from the NCAA's 2026-27 recruiting calendars. The periods govern in-person recruiting and campus visits. When a coach can first call, text or email you is a separate rule, covered in when college coaches can contact you. A dead period doesn't stop messages on its own; a recruiting shutdown, used in a few sports such as women's lacrosse, does.

What is the 2026-27 recruiting calendar for track and field and cross country?

Division I track and field and cross country share one calendar. It is a contact period from August 1 to December 13, 2026, then a dead period December 14 to 26, and contact again December 27 through July 31, 2027. Shorter dead periods fall on November 9 to 12, November 21, March 12 to 13 and June 9 to 12.

Most of the year is open for track and field and cross country, so coaches can come to your meets and talk with you in person once the contact date for your class has passed. Because coaches recruit on marks, they also watch results pages closely. If you aren't sure which levels your times and marks fit, start with track and field recruiting standards and the D1 roster limits for track and cross country.

What is the 2026-27 recruiting calendar for volleyball?

Division I women's volleyball is a quiet period in August 2026, a contact period from September 1 to November 30, then quiet from December 1 to January 14, 2027, with a dead period from December 17 to January 1. From January 15 to July 31, 2027 it is a contact period, broken by short spring quiet periods.

The November 9 to 12 dead period applies to volleyball too. The spring quiet periods in the NCAA's volleyball calendar are March 1 to 4, March 8 to 11, March 15 to 18, March 22 to 25, March 29 to April 1, April 5 to 8 and May 1 to June 3, 2027. Club season falls mostly in the January to July contact period, which is when college coaches can watch and meet you at tournaments.

What is the 2026-27 recruiting calendar for lacrosse?

Men's and women's lacrosse have separate Division I calendars. Women's lacrosse starts with a recruiting shutdown August 1 to 14, 2026, then contact periods from September 4 with several dead periods and shutdowns. Men's lacrosse is a contact period from September 1 to October 31 with no evaluations, and November 1 to 22.

Lacrosse coaches can't call or write to you until September of your junior year, later than most sports, so these periods matter most for juniors and seniors. The full dates are in the NCAA's women's lacrosse calendar and men's lacrosse calendar.

What is the 2027 recruiting calendar for football?

The NCAA's newest Division I football calendars run January to December. For 2027, both FBS and FCS start with a quiet period January 1 to 13, a contact period January 14 to 31, a dead period for all of February, then quiet in March and a contact period from March 29 to May 23. The two subdivisions split after June.

The NCAA posted these FBS and FCS calendars on November 5, 2026. The periods for the rest of 2026 aren't on the NCAA's current calendar page, so if you're planning a visit before January, ask the coach or the school's compliance office. Football signing has its own dates, covered in signing day for the class of 2027.

Is there an NCAA recruiting calendar for flag football?

Not one of its own. Women's flag football is an NCAA emerging sport, and the NCAA's 2026-27 calendar for other Division I sports lists only a dead period from November 9 to 12, 2026. Most college flag teams are at Division II, Division III, NAIA and junior college schools, which have few or no calendar limits.

The NCAA's calendar for other Division I sports covers every sport without its own calendar, and for those it sets only the signing-week dead period. Where flag football stands at each level, and how the NCAA's emerging sport status works, is in is flag football an NCAA sport.

Is there an NCAA recruiting calendar for soccer?

Not one of its own. Division I soccer falls under the NCAA's calendar for other sports, with no contact or evaluation periods. It has a dead period from November 9 to 12, 2026, signing week, and men's soccer adds one from Friday through Monday of the Division I men's championship in December.

Outside those dead periods, Division I soccer coaches can recruit in person through the year, within the contact rules: calls, texts and emails from June 15 after sophomore year and in-person contact off campus from August 1 before junior year. The dates are in the NCAA's 2026-27 calendar for other sports, and what they mean for you is in soccer recruiting rules.

Is there an NCAA recruiting calendar for baseball?

Yes. Division I baseball has its own 2026-27 recruiting calendar, with contact, evaluation, quiet and dead periods through the year. Coaches can call, text and email from August 1 before your junior year, and in-person contact off campus starts September 1 of junior year, inside the calendar's contact periods.

The periods are in the NCAA's 2026-27 Division I baseball recruiting calendar, updated July 30, 2026. What the dates mean for you, level by level, is in baseball recruiting rules.

Is there an NCAA recruiting calendar for softball?

Yes. Division I softball has its own 2026-27 calendar. Coaches can watch travel ball only on six fall weekends from October 17 to November 22 and in the summer contact period, June 12 to July 31, 2027. From January 3 to May 31 they can evaluate high school games only, and November 23 to January 2 is a quiet period.

The quiet period has shutdowns November 25 to 29, December 22 to 26 and December 31 to January 2, and a dead period December 9 to 12. June 1 to 11 is dead around the Women's College World Series. Every date is in the NCAA's 2026-27 Division I softball recruiting calendar, updated July 30, 2026, and what it means for you is in softball recruiting rules.

What is a quiet period in Division I?

A quiet period is a time when Division I coaches can meet you in person only on their own campus. They can't watch you compete or visit your school or home. You can still take official and unofficial visits, and coaches can still call, text and email you once your sport's contact date has passed.

Quiet periods are common in football (January 1 to 13 and March 1 to 28, 2027), volleyball (August 2026 and December 1 to January 14) and men's lacrosse (November 30 to December 23 and January 19 to February 28). For a family, a quiet period is a good time for a campus visit, because coaches are on campus and allowed to meet you there.

Does Division II have a recruiting calendar?

Yes, but it is mostly a contact period. In 2026-27, Division II sports other than football have only a signing-date dead period from November 9 at 7 a.m. to November 11 at 7 a.m. Division II football adds dead periods December 22 to January 1, February 1 to 3, February 15 to 17 and May 29 to 31.

The rest of the year is open in the NCAA's 2026-27 Division II calendar. Division II football also has a signing-date dead period from November 30 to December 2 for junior college athletes enrolling midyear. Division II coaches can write and call you at any time, and in-person contact starts June 15 before your junior year; the Division II contact rules go through each step.

Do Division III and NAIA schools have a recruiting calendar?

No. The NCAA publishes recruiting calendars for Division I and Division II only. Division III limits in-person contact away from campus until you finish your sophomore year but has no contact or dead periods. The NAIA says its rules don't restrict when or how often you and its coaches can communicate.

That is why Division III and NAIA coaches often answer earlier and keep recruiting later in the year. The NAIA's own recruiting page says it sets no limits on when or how often coaches and students talk. How the levels differ beyond recruiting is in D1 vs D2 vs D3 vs NAIA vs JUCO.

How should you use the recruiting calendar?

Use it to plan in-person moments, not to wait. Email coaches whenever you're ready, plan campus visits for contact or quiet periods, and expect no in-person recruiting during dead periods. If a date matters for your plans, check the NCAA's calendar for your sport or ask the school's compliance office.

Juniors can line the calendar up with a month-by-month junior year plan, and seniors still looking can see how to get recruited as a senior.

How REACH helps you use the recruiting calendar

REACH scores your fit at 1,210 colleges across NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA and junior college, using your results, your grades and your cost after aid. It puts you in front of each coach with a note written for that team, nothing goes out until you approve it, and parents see every coach message. You can write to coaches in any period, and REACH helps you follow up when a coach can answer. REACH can't promise an offer or a scholarship, and it is independent and not affiliated with the NCAA, NAIA or NJCAA. It is free to start.

Questions

Can I visit a college during a dead period?

Not for recruiting. During a dead period, Division I and II schools can't host official or unofficial recruiting visits, and coaches can't meet you in person on or off campus. Plan your visit for a contact or quiet period instead.

Can college coaches text me during a dead period?

The NCAA's dead period covers in-person recruiting and visits, not messages. Once your sport's contact date has passed, coaches can usually keep calling, texting and emailing you. A recruiting shutdown, used in a few sports, stops messages too.

When is the next NCAA dead period?

For most Division I sports it is November 9 to 12, 2026, the week signing opens. Track and field and cross country add December 14 to 26, and football has a dead period for all of February 2027.

Where do I find the official NCAA recruiting calendar?

The NCAA posts one calendar for each Division I sport and one for Division II on its recruiting calendars page. The sources below link the 2026-27 calendars for REACH's sports. The NCAA can change them during the year, so check the updated date.

Does the recruiting calendar apply to NAIA schools?

No. The NAIA has no recruiting calendar, and its rules don't restrict when or how often you and its coaches communicate. Junior colleges follow NJCAA rules, which also allow far more contact than NCAA Division I.