The NCAA News - News and Features

March 23, 1998

Student-athlete day affected by recruiting rule

Signing period at odds with 1998 celebration

The calendar has added a wrinkle to the celebration of National Student-Athlete Day for 1998.

The event, created by the National Consortium for Academics and Sports and Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society, is set for April 6, a Monday that occurs at the beginning of a recruiting dead period.

In Division I men's and women's basketball, that dead period extends from April 6-9. The dead period surrounds the signing day for the national letter of intent (April 8).

National Student-Athlete Day honors student-athletes who have achieved excellence in the classroom and on the playing field while making significant contributions to their school or community.

A key part of the celebration is based on outreach activities permitted by NCAA legislation that involve interaction between college administrators, coaches, student-athletes and prospective student-athletes. However, such interaction is prohibited in a dead period.

Ronald J. Stratten, NCAA group executive director for education services, encouraged NCAA member institutions to celebrate the event on their own campuses on April 6 and to participate in the outreach activities on the weekend preceding April 6 or on the one occurring after April 9.

"We are going to talk to the National Consortium about future dates for this event," Stratten said. "There is no problem with the date that has been chosen for 1999, but we will want to work with them in the future to avoid conflicts like this one."