NCAA extends recruiting dead period to June 30, college basketball academies at Utah and elsewhere canceled

The NCAA’s Division I Council Coordination Committee on Wednesday, as expected, extended the recruiting dead period through June 30.

This is the second time the dead period has been extended. The initial announcement came on March 13, the day after the NCAA Tournament, when the remainder of winter championships and all spring championships were canceled. On April 1, the college sports governing body announced it was extending the dead period through May 31.

The committee will review the dead period dates on May 27, at which time it may extend it again.

The extension came a day after the National Association of Basketball Coaches board of directors and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association executive committee recommended to the NCAA Division I Council that the dead period be extended to July 31. Furthermore, the NABC’s board of directors is encouraging discussions with the NCAA regarding evaluation and in-person visit opportunities in August and September.

“There’s been numerous conversations, meetings, all kinds of dialogue between the NCAA, stakeholders, shoe companies, event operators, WBCA,” TCU coach and NABC president Jamie Dixon told NCAA.com on Wednesday afternoon. “A lot of discussion, a lot of hope that we’d be able to continue to do what we love to do, go out and recruit in July, but as time has gone on and more and more information has been gained, it is clear we need to look at the future opportunities to create alternative events going forward in August, September and October possibly.

“I have great hope that we will see the kids, and the kids will be seen.”

An extension through July 31 would eliminate all 18 boys’ basketball evaluation days in June and July. Evaluation days from July 21-26 were to include the NCAA College Basketball Academy at four different sites, one of which was the University of Utah. On Tuesday, the NCAA announced the cancellation of the College Basketball Academy for 2020. Whether or not Utah moves to the front of the line to host in 2021, if it so desires, is unclear.

“It just became more complicated the closer we got,” NCAA senior vice president Dan Gavitt said in the same NCAA.com interview. “We had always anticipated making a decision sometime in the middle of May, before we started to make travel arrangements for everyone.

“It just became impractical to do it and really, all along, the healthy and safety of all participants and coaches was No. 1 anyway. It’s regrettable, but we’re looking forward to coming back in 2021 to offer this incredible program for players and for coaches to evaluate them.”

Evaluation days in early July have long been owned by sneaker-sponsored events, most notably Nike, whose Peach Jam in North Augusta, S.C., serves as the finals of its Elite Youth Basketball League. Peach Jam was slated for July 8-12, with the final four days of the event taking place during an evaluation period.

A dead-period extension to July 31 would not be a major roadblock on the football calendar. There are no football evaluation days until Sept. 1, while the period between June 22 and July 24 was already scheduled to be a dead period.