Hi, I am going to be committing to a top 25 D3 school for my sport. Would it be frowned upon to have a commitment post on social media?
You can, but there is really no commitment to a D3 school. You don’t sign a letter of intent so there is nothing binding on either side.
Have you been accepted to the school academically? If so, good to go. If not, you might want to wait.
Social media posts for D3 commits have become much more common in the last 1-2 years. I think it is fine, but I suggest announcing the commitment after you receive the acceptance notification from the school.
I would wait until you receive your acceptance.
D3 commitment posts are very common on Social Media but I am not necessarily a fan of it, which has more to do with parents, travel coaches, etc. bragging than the student/athlete.
Congrats, happy for you though as others say I would wait until you are accepted to the school.
I saw a D3 signing the other day (good regional athletic school but not a high end academic or powerhouse) on Social Media that was titled “Signing Day” by the parent. They had the student at their HS School with the table set-up, pen in hand looking like they were signing a NLI.
Our HS let’s the D3 commits attend signing days as well…there is one in the fall, then again in the spring. Most of the D3 commits attend the spring one, after they have received their acceptance.
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Our high school included everyone in the signing day ceremony - D1, D2, D3, junior college, military academies, Ivies, non NCAA sports (cheerleading, men’s crew)…everyone was signing a piece of paper as the ceremonies were not held on the official signing dates (my daughter had signed months earlier but want to be part of the ceremony in the spring).
I think an announcement is just fine if you’re confident of admission. You don’t have to use the word commitment. Just announce where you’ll be competing and studying next year. I have no problem with that word as to me it just means a recruit and a coach have agreed, not necessarily that an NLI has been signed. But different people will take it different ways.
As far as signing ceremonies, I much prefer the inclusive approach but I wish they would just call them college decision announcements rather than signings. I don’t think NLI participation should be the threshold for celebrating these student athletes. I know of a local school that is fairly strict on including only NLI kids and was in the preposterous position of recognizing a JV athlete who signed for books at an obscure D1 while excluding an all state athlete in the same sport who went to an Ivy. It was silly.
@politeperson … I agree & feel the same way.
Why don’t you ask the coach? The NESCACs (for instance) state that any communication about “the status of admissions decisions conveyed by non-admissions personnel should be considered preliminary, unofficial, and subject to change.” Some NESCACs frown on publicizing non-binding “commitments” (non-binding because you can walk, they can walk). But if you ask the coach and he or she says “fine,” then go ahead. If you are reluctant to ask, that suggests to me that you would be uncomfortable if the coach found out on his or her own about the publicized commitment, in which case I wouldn’t publicize.
As my son gets older I find myself posting next to nothing about soccer despite his achievements. He doesn’t have a large social media footprint so he prefers I keep things to a minimum. He’s made it quite clear that he’ll never sit for a picture announcing anything, regardless of the division. I respect his decision so I won’t post anything on my social media if that time comes.
I have absolutely no problem with schools taking group photos of all students being recognized for all manner of achievements. I do view “signing day” photos with a jaundiced eye though.
My son is similar. He posts next to nothing on SM, and the rare occasion that he does, it’s not about him individually. There’s no way he’s posting a picture of himself announcing where he’s “taking his talents”. And in fact, it’ll be interesting if he even sits for the group “signing day” picture the HS offers. He’s not going D1, so he’s not “signing” anything, and he’s a stickler for accuracy. He was all pissy last night when the Chiefs were proclaimed “world champions”, and gets the same way with the “World Series” or any other American sport proclaiming their champion “world” anything.
i have been accepted
Absolutely appropriate.