NCAA lifts restrictions on athletes' official visits

Prospects no longer will have limits on the number of schools they can officially visit during their college selection process.

The NCAA announced Thursday that its Division I Council approved the policy change that will take effect on July 1. Prospects previously could make official visits to five schools. Official visits are defined as visits that are paid for by the college.

Prospects can make one official visit to each school, unless that program has a head coaching change. In that case, a prospect could make a second official visit to the same school.

In men’s basketball, prospects will be permitted to make two official visits to the same school, as long as the visits don’t occur in the same academic year.

“For young people considering where to go to college, visits to campus — both official and unofficial — are an integral part of the decision-making process,” Lynda Tealer, executive associate athletics director at Florida and chair of the Division I Council, said in a statement. “This was an opportunity to modernize NCAA rules in a way that provides greater and more meaningful opportunities for prospects going through the recruitment process.”

Official visits can’t last longer than a two-night stay. Schools are allowed to pay for transportation, meals and what the NCAA defines as “reasonable entertainment” for up to two family members accompanying the prospect on that visit.