Recruiting Calendar
NCAA Golf Recruiting Calendar: Division I and II
The NCAA uses different clocks for correspondence, in-person contact, official visits, and athletics-involved unofficial visits. Division I men's and women's golf also have different annual calendars, while Division II uses different terms and dates.
College Recruiting · Updated August 28, 2026
The short version
- In Division I golf, recruiting materials and electronic correspondence may begin June 15 at the conclusion of sophomore year.
- Division I off-campus in-person contact, expense-paid official visits, and unofficial visits involving athletics-department activity use separate August 1 junior-year rules.
- Division I men's and women's golf run separate annual calendars. Both are set out below for 2026-27, and they differ through December and around their respective coaches-association conventions.
- Division II permits recruiting communication at any time, but in-person contact and expense-paid official visits may not occur before June 15 immediately preceding junior year. Self-funded unofficial visits are a separate category.
The terms, and which manual defines each one
Most recruiting-date confusion comes from treating four separate activities as one event. They are governed separately, and a date that is correct for one of them is wrong for the others.
| Term | What it governs | Controlling bylaw |
|---|---|---|
| Correspondence | Recruiting materials and electronic messages sent to a prospective student-athlete. | DI Manual 13.4.1 |
| Off-campus contact | In-person recruiting contact away from the institution's own campus. | DI Manual 13.1.1.1; DII Manual 13.1.1.1 |
| Official visit | A campus visit financed in whole or in part by the institution. | DI Manual 13.6.2.1.1; DII Manual 13.3.1.2 |
| Unofficial visit involving athletics-department activity | A self-financed campus visit that includes athletics-department activity. | DI Manual 13.7.1.1; DII Manual 13.4 |
| Contact, evaluation, quiet and dead periods | Named periods in a sport's annual Division I calendar that set when in-person contact and evaluation are permitted. The definitions are in Bylaw 13.02.5, and the 2026-27 golf ranges are below. | DI Manual 13.17.7 and 13.17.8 for golf |
Source: NCAA 2026-27 Division I Manual and NCAA 2026-27 Division II Manual.
A silent week on the calendar is a rule about conduct. It is not evidence of what a particular coach thinks about a particular player.
Division I uses more than one start date
| Activity | When it may begin | Bylaw |
|---|---|---|
| Recruiting materials and electronic correspondence | June 15 at the conclusion of sophomore year. | 13.4.1 |
| Off-campus in-person contact | August 1 at the beginning of junior year. | 13.1.1.1 |
| Expense-paid official visit | August 1 at the beginning of junior year. | 13.6.2.1.1 |
| Unofficial visit involving athletics-department activity | August 1 at the beginning of junior year. | 13.7.1.1 |
Source: NCAA 2026-27 Division I Manual, Bylaws 13.4.1, 13.1.1.1, 13.6.2.1.1 and 13.7.1.1.
The three August 1 rows stay separate categories even though the date is the same, because they are set by different bylaws and can move independently. The camp-specific version of this distinction is in the college golf camps guide.
What the four period names mean
Division I publishes a separate annual recruiting calendar for men's golf and for women's golf, and each one is written as a sequence of named periods. The names are defined once in the manual and mean the same thing in both calendars, so it is worth reading them before reading either set of dates.
| Period | What is permitted | Bylaw |
|---|---|---|
| Contact period | In-person, off-campus recruiting contacts and evaluations are permitted. | DI 13.02.5.1 |
| Evaluation period | Off-campus assessment of academic qualifications and playing ability is permitted. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contact may be made. | DI 13.02.5.2 |
| Quiet period | In-person recruiting contacts are permitted only on the institution's own campus. No off-campus contact or evaluation. | DI 13.02.5.4 |
| Dead period | No in-person recruiting contact or evaluation on or off campus, and no official or unofficial visits. Communication other than in person stays permitted. | DI 13.02.5.5 |
Source: NCAA 2026-27 Division I Manual, Bylaws 13.02.5.1, 13.02.5.2, 13.02.5.4 and 13.02.5.5.
The two golf calendars are not interchangeable. They differ around December and around their respective coaches-association conventions, so read the one that applies to the sport you are recruited in.
Division I men's golf, the 2026-27 calendar
The manual writes this calendar as rules rather than as dates. The right-hand column is the manual's own wording and bylaw; the left-hand column is that wording resolved onto the 2026-27 year. Two fixed points do the resolving. Thanksgiving Day is the fourth Thursday in November, which in 2026 is November 26. Figure 13-2 of the same manual sets the initial signing date for all other Division I and II sports at November 11, 2026, so the signing week runs Monday November 9 through Thursday November 12.
| Dates, inclusive | Period | Manual rule and bylaw |
|---|---|---|
| August 1 to November 8, 2026 | Contact period | August 1 through the day before Thanksgiving Day, other than the signing week below. 13.17.7(a) |
| November 9 to 12, 2026 | Dead period | Monday through Thursday of the week that includes the initial signing date for athletics aid agreements. 13.17.7(a)(1), with the November 11, 2026 date from Figure 13-2. |
| November 13 to 25, 2026 | Contact period | The rest of the same rule, up to the day before Thanksgiving Day. 13.17.7(a) |
| November 26 to 29, 2026 | Dead period | Thanksgiving Day through the Sunday immediately after Thanksgiving Day. 13.17.7(b) |
| November 30 to December 22, 2026 | Quiet period, other than the two convention exceptions below | The Monday immediately after Thanksgiving Day through December 22. 13.17.7(c) |
| December 23, 2026 to January 1, 2027 | Dead period | December 23 through January 1. 13.17.7(d) |
| January 2 to July 31, 2027 | Contact period | January 2 through July 31. 13.17.7(e) |
Source: NCAA 2026-27 Division I Manual, Bylaw 13.17.7 and Figure 13-2.
| Exception | Period | Where the endpoints come from |
|---|---|---|
| The showcase and the combine held in conjunction with the Golf Coaches Association of America National Convention | Evaluation period | The manual permits evaluation at those two events but does not print their dates. Read the association's own published schedule for the year you are planning. 13.17.7(c)(1) |
| The Golf Coaches Association of America Convention itself | Dead period | The first official day of the convention to 12:01 a.m. on the day after the convention adjourns. Those endpoints are set by the convention schedule, not by a date in the manual, and this page does not publish a start or adjournment time for them. 13.17.7(c)(2) |
Source: NCAA 2026-27 Division I Manual, Bylaws 13.17.7(c)(1) and 13.17.7(c)(2).
Division I women's golf, the 2026-27 calendar
The women's calendar uses the same two fixed points as the men's calendar and then diverges in December. Where men's golf is quiet from the Monday after Thanksgiving, women's golf stays in a contact period, and the two sports end the year on different dead-period dates.
| Dates, inclusive | Period | Manual rule and bylaw |
|---|---|---|
| August 1 to November 8, 2026 | Contact period | August 1 through the day before Thanksgiving Day, other than the signing week below. 13.17.8(a) |
| November 9 to 12, 2026 | Dead period | Monday through Thursday of the week that includes the initial signing date for athletics aid agreements. 13.17.8(a)(1), with the November 11, 2026 date from Figure 13-2. |
| November 13 to 25, 2026 | Contact period | The rest of the same rule, up to the day before Thanksgiving Day. 13.17.8(a) |
| November 26 to 29, 2026 | Dead period | Thanksgiving Day through the Sunday immediately following Thanksgiving Day. 13.17.8(b) |
| November 30 to December 23, 2026 | Contact period, other than the convention exception below | The Monday after Thanksgiving Day through December 23. 13.17.8(c) |
| December 24 to 27, 2026 | Dead period | December 24-27. 13.17.8(d) |
| December 28, 2026 to July 31, 2027 | Contact period | December 28 through July 31. 13.17.8(e) |
Source: NCAA 2026-27 Division I Manual, Bylaw 13.17.8 and Figure 13-2.
| Exception | Period | Where the endpoints come from |
|---|---|---|
| The Women's Golf Coaches Association Convention | Dead period | The official start time of the convention to the adjournment of the convention. Those endpoints are set by the convention schedule, not by a date in the manual, and this page does not publish a start or adjournment time for them. 13.17.8(c)(1) |
Source: NCAA 2026-27 Division I Manual, Bylaw 13.17.8(c)(1).
Both calendars are resolved onto one recruiting year here. Read the sport's own bylaw in the current manual before acting on a date, and confirm you are reading the men's or the women's calendar as applicable.
How Division II runs differently
Division II permits recruiting communication at any time. In-person contact may not occur before June 15 immediately preceding junior year. Expense-paid official visits use that June 15 gate. Self-funded unofficial visits are governed separately.
Source: NCAA 2026-27 Division II Manual, Bylaws 13.1.3.1, 13.1.1.1, 13.3.1.2 and 13.4.
Communication and contact are different words in this manual, and treating them as the same word is the mistake this section exists to prevent. Division I quiet-period and golf-convention vocabulary belongs to the Division I calendar and is not imported here.
Visits, by division and by visit type
| Division and visit type | Earliest permitted | Bylaw |
|---|---|---|
| Division I expense-paid official visit | August 1 at the beginning of junior year. | DI 13.6.2.1.1 |
| Division I unofficial visit involving athletics-department activity | August 1 at the beginning of junior year. | DI 13.7.1.1 |
| Division II expense-paid official visit | June 15 immediately preceding junior year. | DII 13.3.1.2 |
| Division II self-funded unofficial visit | Governed separately from the official-visit date. Read the current manual rather than applying the June 15 gate to it. | DII 13.4 |
Source: NCAA 2026-27 Division I Manual, Bylaws 13.6.2.1.1 and 13.7.1.1; NCAA 2026-27 Division II Manual, Bylaws 13.3.1.2 and 13.4.
The word “visit” on its own is never enough. Say which division, and say which type of visit, because the rule changes with both.
Questions to verify before relying on a date
- Which division is this program in?
- Which sport is the calendar for?
- Is it the men's or the women's Division I golf calendar?
- Which activity is this: correspondence, off-campus contact, an official visit, or an unofficial visit involving athletics-department activity?
- Which manual edition is the date taken from?
- Are athletics-department staff involved in the activity you are planning?
Division scope also decides which aid and roster rules apply, which the D1, D2 and D3 comparison covers.
Your next move
Use the camp-date guide
See why Division I electronic correspondence and camp recruiting conversations do not begin on the same date.
Use the camp-date guideFrequently asked questions
- When can a Division I golf coach send recruiting correspondence?
- In Division I golf, recruiting materials and electronic correspondence may begin June 15 at the conclusion of sophomore year. That date governs correspondence only, not in-person contact or visits. Source: NCAA 2026-27 Division I Manual, Bylaw 13.4.1.
- When can Division I off-campus in-person contact begin in golf?
- August 1 at the beginning of junior year. It is a separate rule from the June 15 correspondence date. Source: NCAA 2026-27 Division I Manual, Bylaw 13.1.1.1.
- When can a Division I golf recruit take an official visit?
- An expense-paid official visit may not occur before August 1 at the beginning of junior year, and an unofficial visit involving athletics-department activity uses the same August 1 rule under a separate bylaw. Source: NCAA 2026-27 Division I Manual, Bylaws 13.6.2.1.1 and 13.7.1.1.
- Does Division I golf use one calendar for men and women?
- No. Division I publishes a separate annual golf recruiting calendar for men and for women. Both share the same August 1 contact start, the same November 9 to 12 signing-week dead period and the same November 26 to 29 Thanksgiving dead period for 2026-27, then diverge: men's golf is in a quiet period from November 30 to December 22 and dead from December 23 to January 1, while women's golf stays in a contact period from November 30 to December 23 and is dead from December 24 to 27. Source: NCAA 2026-27 Division I Manual, Bylaws 13.17.7 and 13.17.8, with the signing date from Figure 13-2.
- Does Division II have a June 15 rule in golf?
- Yes, but for in-person contact and expense-paid official visits, not for communication. Division II permits recruiting communication at any time, while in-person contact may not occur before June 15 immediately preceding junior year and expense-paid official visits use that same June 15 gate. Self-funded unofficial visits are governed separately. Source: NCAA 2026-27 Division II Manual, Bylaws 13.1.3.1, 13.1.1.1, 13.3.1.2 and 13.4.
- Can a Division I golf coach talk to me at my tournament?
- That depends on the activity and on the sport's annual Division I calendar, which is published separately for men's and women's golf in Bylaws 13.17.7 and 13.17.8 and is set out for 2026-27 on this page. Off-campus in-person contact is separately gated to August 1 at the beginning of junior year under Bylaw 13.1.1.1, and no off-campus contact or evaluation is permitted during a dead period. Check the current manual for the division, the sport and the week in question.
Keep reading
Sources and review
- What it covers
- Division I and Division II golf recruiting communication, contact, visit, and calendar rules in the 2026-27 NCAA manuals, checked August 28, 2026.
- Checked
Primary sources
What this page cannot tell you
- This page covers NCAA Division I and II golf. It does not state Division III, NAIA, or NJCAA rules.
- Manual editions and annual sport calendars change. Confirm the current division, sport, activity, and calendar before acting.
- The 2026-27 date ranges on this page are the manual's rules resolved onto one recruiting year, not dates the NCAA prints as dates. Confirm each range against the current manual before acting on it.
- The Golf Coaches Association of America and Women's Golf Coaches Association convention exceptions are defined by each convention's own start and adjournment. This page does not publish those times.
- NCAA rules govern permissible conduct, not why a particular coach did or did not respond.
Verify this season. These terms are reissued on a cycle. Confirm the current version with the governing body above before you rely on it for a deadline or a decision.