Thanks so much to everyone who contributes to this incredible resource. I’m hoping someone can help me understand the nuances of the NCAA amateurism requirements. My son plays in Europe. Most of the kids on his team have professional contracts. We’ve said no thanks to two offers since he became eligible to go pro and in the coming weeks he’ll receive another offer. He has two seasons left before he (hopefully) goes to college and the bottom line is that he can’t continue at his current level of competition if he doesn’t sign a pro contract. Is there any way to sign a “pro contract” and still remain NCAA compliant? I’m thinking, especially, if we make sure there’s no financial benefit. Thanks.
There are some experienced soccer parents here - I don’t know if European pro level parents - who might have thoughts, and also the correct answer here is “call the NCAA.” They have people whose job it is specifically to help you work through these questions, and you should rely on them, not us randos on the internet. (I’ve called a couple times and the people were thorough and helpful.)
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I’d start with a call to the NCAA clearinghouse and see what they say. Parents of European soccer players who have gone through this recently would be a good resource if you know any.
This is a period of significant change within college sports and it’s almost certain the rules in a few years won’t be the same as they are today. The trend is toward dropping some of the (imo ridiculous) rules around “amateurism”.
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Thanks, that’s helpful. The scale of the random, regurgitated, self-serving, self-interested, rubbish swilling around the internet when it comes to college sport is exactly why I’m so appreciative of the parents on this forum!
I’ve spent so much time on the NCAA site and hadn’t seen any “call us” links … but just found an international contact form tucked away in the eligibility centre. I guess you have to register before you can ask these questions. Thanks for the lead - I’ll see what they say.
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A lot of the rules don’t make much sense in light of the current levels of professionalism in youth sport. And I really don’t understand what all these college recruiting companies are if they’re not agents! It’ll be interesting to see how it shakes out.
I wish I could find some parents in our position. Not a lot of kids at this level opt out (as opposed to wash out). And figuring out how to approach the recruiting process in our position is tricky.
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While I don’t know anything about soccer and the NCAA rules about going pro, I worked with a guy a few years back who had played pro soccer in Europe, and later played DI soccer.
So I think the answer is that it is possible. The NCAA rules may have changed since the time he played, though I expect it is still possible. He played in Europe for a few years (he was born and raised in Europe, no American relatives), and had some injuries. While the injuries did not end his ability to play soccer, they were significant enough that it meant soccer could not be his career.
He came to the US, played DI soccer and earned an undergrad degree, then went on to grad school at another college.
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Why not reach out to, say, the Stanford, or the Maryland coach for guidance. They would have experience with international players, kids going pro etc, and they may know the answer. Plus be interested in your son!
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Thanks. I thought about it, but didn’t know how to without coming across as that mom who’s randomly calling up coaches to tout her son. You’re right though, they should know - I just have to get over myself and make the call. I’ve also sent a query to the NCAA eligibility centre, as @movingtothebeach and @politeperson suggested, and will see what comes back from them. Hopefully they have the definitive answer.
I don’t think a parent cold calling college coaches is the right way to go about answering your question. You don’t mention his age, but your son should be emailing college coaches at schools he’s interested in. I’m sure they can answer this question. If he’s serious about wanting to play at a U.S. school, he’ll need to start doing this anyways.
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Yes, sorry to be unclear – your SON should do the reaching out, not you. Though of course you can have a big hand in crafting the email. Your son should introduce himself, give his credentials/accolades/achievements as well as including a highlight video, and asking questions, or if the coach would be able to schedule a call to talk about your son’s situation. Your son has to be finished with his 2nd year of high school, though, before D1 coaches can speak to him.
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He’s finishing up his second year of high school. Right now we’re still in season because of the u17 Euros and he’s writing exams. And we have contract offers on the table. These fall to me to negotiate because of the NCAA’s ridiculous rules on representation - and I have to ensure that we keep the door open for college. Over the summer he’ll get everything together to start contacting coaches himself.
While I agree that students should reach out to coaches in the recruiting process, I think that with something like this – that could impact eligibility and involves contracts, it is fine for the parent to inquire.
If you the parent were to reach out to the Stanford coach, for example, to ask if they have experience with this or could refer you to someone who does, that’s a different question than “are you interested in me?” Adding that there is a player on Stanford’s roster from Germany who looks like he may have navigated this same issue, so this isn’t a wild stab.
If you are comfortable letting your kid handle, great! But this sounds like it could be nuanced and involve contract language, and be outside the scope of most 16 year olds.
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I know of a situation where a womens US squash player was playing on the pro circuit while in high school. She played in pro tournaments, but as an “amateur”. I remember hearing from another parent that she didn’t accept any sponsorship or prize money, so was able to avoid any problems with NCAA eligibility.
She later went onto play Division 1 squash at an ivy league school in the US. This was about a decade ago, so I’m not sure if the rules were different back then.
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Definitely college and HS tennis players do it. There is always a story from the us open about people giving up prize money to compete. And there are lots of stories about college golfers playing on the pga and just not taking payment. Not sure if this is different than signing a contract.
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Another option if the eligibility center isn’t helpful would be contacting the compliance office at a university. Every AD has a compliance officer and usually a staff who knows all the rules. This might be hit or miss, obviously, as they are pretty busy with current operations and recruiting. But you might get lucky.
I’d also think that the professional clubs would have someone who could help with eligibility questions, although I understand this isn’t necessarily a route that they see as being in their interest.
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Just to keep OP’s eyes on the (proverbial) prize here - the only answer that matters is the NCAA Eligibility Center’s. OP can gather anyone’s opinion but they are the deciding body, and are in the business of being helpful. Anyone else is speculating or mapping to past experiences, which may or may not be germane for specific reasons.
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Thanks for the input and advice. As suggested, I contacted the NCAA and reached out to a couple of D1 coaches. I’ll set out what I found, just to close the loop and in case others find themselves in the same position.
The advice from the NCAA was that as long as there is no payment/benefit beyond actual and necessary expenses, and it wasn’t negotiated by an agent, it won’t be treated as a professional contract, even if it says it is (and even if the club, social media etc say it is).
This corresponds with what I found in the NCAA D1 Manual (https://web3.ncaa.org/lsdbi/reports/getReport/90008).
The relevant section is 12.1.2, which says that amateur status will be lost if a player “signs a contract or commitment of any kind to play professional athletics, regardless of its legal enforceability or any consideration received, except as permitted in Bylaw 12.2.5.1”. The important bit is the exception, which says that a player may enter into an agreement to compete on a professional team, as long as there is no guarantee or promise of payment beyond actual and necessary expenses. Out of interest, there is a similar exception that allows for actually competing on a pro team, as long as the player didn’t receive payment for playing, beyond actual and necessary expenses.
And, it is also what I was told by the coaches. Basically, when they do the eligibility certification, my son would have to list all payments and benefits received (daily transport, meals, equipment, insurance etc) and justify them as actual/necessary, regardless of the nature of his contract with the club.
So, I think that answers my question.
A final bit of info that might be useful. For prospective international student-athletes, the NCAA Eligibility Centre is contactable on ec-international@ncaa.org and 1-317-916-4251, or via a form on the Eligibility Centre site. It turns out though that they don’t deal with questions about NCAA legislation, which I was told this is. That falls to the “legislative team”, who don’t have an email address, but can be contacted on 1-317-917-6008 from 10am EST to 5pm EST.
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