National Letter of Intent

What is it?

The National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a binding agreement between a prospective student-athlete and an institution in which the institution agrees to provide a prospective student-athlete who is admitted to the institution and is eligible for financial aid under NCAA rules athletics aid for one academic year in exchange for the prospect's agreement to attend the institution for one academic year. All colleges and universities that participate in the NLI program agree to not recruit a prospective student-athlete once he/she signs an NLI with another college or university. Therefore, a prospective student-athlete who signs an NLI should no longer receive recruiting contacts and calls and is ensured an athletics scholarship for one academic year. The NLI must be accompanied by an institutional financial aid agreement. If the student-athlete does not enroll at that institution for a full academic year, he/she may be subject to specific penalties, including loss of a season of eligibility and a mandatory residence requirement.

The NLI program is administered through the NCAA Eligibility Center. Specific questions regarding its application should be directed to the NLI office at (317) 223-0706. Additional information, including frequently asked questions, can be obtained through the NLI Program Web page at www.nationalletter.org.

Breach of National Letter of Intent by Student-Athlete prior to initial enrollment, practice and competition in order to attend another institution.

By signing a National Letter of Intent, a prospective student-ahtlete agrees to attend the designated college or university for one academic year. If the prospective student-athlete does not attend the signing institution or attends that institution for less than one academic year, and enrolls in another college that participates in the National Letter of Intent program there may be eligibility ramifications. The basic penalty may preclude the student-athlete from representing the second college until completing an academic year in residence at the latter institution and may lose one season of competition in all sports.

Please Note: This is not a complete list of NCAA regulations regarding the National Letter of Intent or financial aid. Please call or write NCAA membership services or the National Letter of Intent office if you have specific questions.

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