2017 Early Signing Day: Everything You Need To Know & What It Means

Today is a big day for a number of prospective collegiate volleyball athletes, as it is the first day players can sign their early period National Letters of Intent for their programs in the NCAA.

Up until today, prospective student-athletes have only been able to give their verbal commitment to a college, as the NCAA states that a player cannot officially commit until the second Wednesday in November. The second Wednesday falls on November 8 which sparks a week-long “Early Signing Period” for the year. The overall verbal commitment was a two-way promise between the prospective student-athlete and the school prior to them officially signing their National Letter of Intent (NLI) to play with the school.

The NLI is a contractually binding contract between a prospective student-athlete and an NLI member institution. A prospective student-athlete only signs an NLI if they are receiving aid or a scholarship from the school. They are still able to have a ceremony at their school but cannot be publicized by their school until they have been accepted and have paid their deposit at the university/college. The signing of the NLI outlines the terms of the student-athletes time with the school – how long they will attend, how much they will receive in scholarships.

The NLI program is jointly-run by the NCAA and the Collegiate Commissioners Association and is used by 650 Division I and Division II participating institutions. The Ivy League and Division III, who do not offer athletic scholarships, do not participate in the program. For NAIA programs, they are able to have their prospective student-athletes sign an NLI as each school issues its own letter with its own terms and conditions.

An important provision of the NLI program is that once a PSA signs the NLI, he or she can no longer be recruited by other member institutions. If a PSA does not fulfill the NLI agreement, he/she “has to serve one year in residence (full-time, two semesters or three quarters) at the next NLI member institution and lose one season of competition in all sports.”

Early Signing Period – Women’s, Men’s & Beach Volleyball

• November 8, 2017-November 15, 2017

Regular Signing Period – Women’s, Men’s & Beach Volleyball

• April 11, 2018-August 1, 2018

See who signed today (will update as we receive more):