Verbal commitments are increasing in popularity for the NCAA Division I and Division II colleges, and athletes need to understand their implications. Verbal commitments are a nonbinding scholarship deal between an athlete and a coach. Coaches sometimes tend to pressure athletes into giving a verbal agreement; if it isn’t binding, why do they want a verbal agreement? What do you do when a coach asks for a verbal commitment?
Coaches Want Verbal Commitments So They Can Pencil in Their Recruiting Classes
Coaches ask athletes to commit early, even though it isn’t set in stone, because it helps give them an idea of what recruits they have coming in and what positions they must still go after. Coaches know that a certain percentage of athletes (anywhere from 15 to 20 percent for top football recruits) will not hold their end of the bargain; this just means that approximately 80 percent of their recruits will hold up their end of the deal, giving them the framework for a recruiting class. The lower the competition level, the more likely an athlete is to stay committed because they aren’t as highly sought after and recruited by other coaches.
What You Can Do When Asked to Verbally Commit
When you are going on a visit or to a camp, you need to be prepared to receive a verbal commitment offer. Think about the scenario before you go. What would you say? When a coach does ask you, don’t be afraid to ask him how much time you have to make a decision. This will give you an idea of how serious they are. If they need an answer immediately, you will already have your response ready. If they offer you time to think, you can go to the other coaches that are recruiting you and let them know you have been offered a verbal commitment. This may open up other opportunities for you if coaches know their time to recruit you is running out.
In some sports, such as football and basketball, it is common for athletes to verbally commit and continue to go to camps and get recruited by other coaches. This is a somewhat disturbing trend because a football or basketball player being recruited to a high-level Division I program typically has multiple offers available. It is not great practice for an athlete being recruited to a midmajor or Division II team to decommit because it can give them a bad reputation. An athlete should never verbally commit for the sake of committing; however, remember that verbal commitments are not binding and nothing is set in stone until you sign your National Letter of Intent.
Planning for a verbal commitment can be a difficult task. Ask us if you have questions and concerns about your verbal commitment. Leave your questions in the comments section below or find us on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+!
My nephew made a verbal commitment to IU Bloomington swim team. It’s now July 4th, and no one has contacted him even after numerous calls to the school and coaches. What should he do?
If the coach verbally offered a scholarship and your nephew committed, I am very surprised to hear that nothing has happened. For a top level program like IU, I am sure the majority of their scholarship money is spoken for. The only thing I would encourage you to do is continue to try and contact the coaches (call them everyday until you hear from them) and contact the athletic department at UI (call hem everyday until you hear from the coach as well). Best of luck.
My daughter has ben asked for a verbal commitment from an in state D1 soccer program but they are not giving her much time to think about it. She is a Jr in High school and would like to play D1 soccer but does not like the pressure of the time constraint. there are a few other schools that she is talking too but has not been asked foe any kind of verbal commitment. She don’t want to let this opportunity pass by but at the same time she wants to explore more options. Any advise?
These are the difficult decisions that go with D1 sports. Getting verbal commits during the junior year is pretty standard for women’s soccer. The reason they are putting the time constraint on it is because she is one of their top recruits but they don’t want to miss out on offers to other girls if she doesn’t want to go there now.
If your daughter isn’t ready to commit then you don’t have to. but remember, if she hasn’t been asked for a verbal from other schools, that is probably because they have offers our to other girls right now and waiting to see how many roster spots they have after them.
If you are turning down the offer because your daughter doesn’t 100% want to go there then that is the right decision. If it is because you are feeling pressured, unfortunately that isn’t going to get any better later into the process.
I hope that helps, feel free to contact me if you have more questions.
My son has been offered a full scholarship from a DI and a DII school. We start the visiting process this weekend. We do not have to sign do we? Is ok for us to just give a verbal commitment until we’ve spoke to the other school that’s offering?
Congratulations on the offers. You will not be able to sign an offer until February 6th on National Signing Day, so no need to worry about that now. I would not give a verbal commitment unless you are 100% sure you want to go to that school. If you are still going to talk to other schools, I would tell the coaches who have offered you that and ask them how long the offer is good for? Many times coaches will put a time limit on the offer (anywhere from a couple days to months) before they will pull the offer and give it to another athlete. Once you know how long the offers are good for, you will know when you have to make your decision by. Good luck.
My daughter made a verbal agreement for DII womens soccer. We found out that some recruits are going elsewhere. My daughter wants to remain where she is at. Should she renegotiate her verbal contract for more money since more has become available? She has a half a ride but more would be better.
It’s a very tricky situation to try and go back and renegotiate for more money on a scholarship you have already verbally committed to. There is a lot I wouldn’t be able to know regarding your relationship with the coach, how the offer was made, what the discussion on scholarship amount was like leading up to the half scholarship offer, etc. I would say be very careful when considering bringing up the topic of getting more money. I would introduce the idea of getting a bigger scholarship in the context of asking “what will it take to increase my scholarship amount with the team?” Generally, coaches will layout some achievements you will need to meet or let you know their scholarship policy. Good luck.
I was asked to come on an official visit to a d1-aa school for football. The day before I left for my visit I was told that another cornerback had commited that day which took away my scholarship. The coach told me that I have a more than 50% chance of still going. What should I expect because Im a young athlete with no rexruiting expereinces. What should I expect?
The visit should be the same, what you want to find out is where you sit in on their recruiting board. Having a 50% chance isn’t very high, so you want to continue to talk to other coaches and see what other offers are out there.
If I have already made a verbal commitment to a school but now I am thinking of going somewhere else, how do I go about talking to the new coach about the program/scholarships and what to say to my former coach?
Verbal commitments do not prohibit you from talking to or continuing to be recruited by other colleges. Before you really begin talking to the other college make sure you talk to the coach you had committed to and let them know you are thinking about another college. You would rather they find out from you and not from someone else that you are looking at other schools. Good luck.
When a college coach offers a verbal is the terms of their offer given in writing? I realize players can’t sign until they reach the letter of intent age/dates but just confused about what to expect. How do we know exactly what they are offering?
There will be now terms in writing. Usually, the terms of the scholarship are understood. If you are playing a sport like DI Football or Basketball then all scholarships are full rides. If a scholarship is not a full ride, then ask for clarification on the amount of scholarship they are going to offer. Keep in mind, in this case a coach will mostly likely wait to see what your total cost of attendance will be before the scholarship amount is agreed upon. What sport do they play and have coaches indicated they will be making scholarship offers?
My daughter has been asked to verbally commit in writing and to send her a copy of an unofficial transcript. She is a junior in high school. But the problem is, we haven’t discussed anything about the amount of the scholarship?? Is this unusual?
What sport does she play? The reason I ask is because certain sports are only full rides.
Keep in mind, coaches are going to try to get you to commit as soon as possible with as few of the details discussed as possible. It is up to you to get all of your questions answered and feel comfortable before committing.
My daughter accepted a verbal commitment from a division 1 university and checked with the coach several times making sure it was still good. After she had turned down other scholarships the coach recanted the offer and now it’s to late for her to take advantage of other offers. The coach said she could still have a place on team but no scholarship!
Sorry to hear about the unfortunate situation. While that isn’t something that happens often, it does happen every year. I would think long and hard if playing for a coach who would do something like that is really what your daughter wants.
Is it common for sophomores in D1 women’s soccer to get offered full rides?
Common, no, but it does happen. Women’s soccer has one of the earliest recruiting process in college. Elite recruits are given verbal scholarship offers that are often full-rides or very close by elite programs. Many of these girls have verbally committed to the school of their choice by the end of their Junior year.
Thanks. David.
I can understand Elite schools and Elite girls but say Summit League Div 1.
Seems early to me especially a full ride when only 14 aggregate scholarships are in play.
I should have been more clear, DI is elite. DI coaches are competing for recruits like crazy. Once verbal commitments are made, D2, D3 and NAIA schools begin making offers. It is not a surprising a summit league DI would offer this early.