A day after canceling the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, along with all other winter and spring postseason competitions, the NCAA reportedly will also suspend recruiting across all sports until April 15.
Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reported on Friday afternoon that the organization will avoid meetings between coaches and players on the recruiting trail.
Source: The NCAA has suspended recruiting for all sports both on and off campus until April 15th.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 13, 2020
That April 15 date is important because it was previously scheduled to be the beginning of the regular signing period for Division I basketball. The spring, from Feb. 5 to April 1, also serves as the regular signing period for Division I football.
It is understandably fraught to ask coaches to travel across the country meeting with high school athletes considering how many unknowns there are with COVID-19. For instance, with little known regarding summer practices and how fall sports will take shape, recruiting may be the last of these colleges’ concern.
However, teams are still moving forward with other business. Rothstein also reported that the University of Illinois at Chicago parted ways with men’s basketball head coach Steve McClain. Yesterday, Grand Canyon announced it had moved on from its men’s basketball head coach, Dan Majerle, after seven seasons, while a handful of other coaches have been fired or left the program on Friday.
While college athletic departments struggle with the uncertainty of future eligibility, forming a program for 2020-21, and going about daily work, recruiting is the latest mechanism to fall by the wayside as sports adjust to the coronavirus pandemic.
