Page 296 - (FINAL!) UPDATED 13.0) 2020-2021 HANDBOOK - SEPTEMBER 2020 EDITION_Neat

Case 5
Signing Institutional Letter of Intent
SITUATION:
Community College A signs Student-Athlete R to an institutional letter of intent or athletic aid agreement. Can that institutional form be
used to replace the NJCAA Letter of Intent?
ANSWER:
No. A college providing any type of athletic aid to a student-athlete must have a NJCAA Letter of Intent electronically on file with the
NJCAA National Office. The institutional agreement may be signed at the same time or after the NJCAA Letter of Intent but may not be signed
prior to the NJCAA Letter of Intent.

Case 6

SITUATION: Signing Institutional Letter of Intent – No scholarship
Community College A signs Student-Athlete R to an institutional letter of intent to document the athlete’s commitment to the college
even though no scholarship is being offered. Is this permissible under current NJCAA bylaws?

ANSWER:
No. A college may not sign a student to an institutional letter of intent to document the student’s commitment to the college without also
signing an NJCAA Letter of Intent. The only manner in which a student can show their commitment to a member college is through the official
NJCAA Letter of Intent system. Signing an athlete to any commitment letter other than the NJCAA Letter of Intent is a sanctionable violation.

SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

Case 1
Social Media Policy
Before the signing of a recruitable student-athlete to a letter of intent, any college department staff member may take actions (e.g., "like",
"favorite", republish) on social media platforms that indicate approval of content. Any reproduction or reformatting is prohibited including comments
(no typing).
A confirmation of recruitment from one NJCAA member institution would not prevent any other NJCAA member institution from
recruiting the prospective student-athlete.

Case 2
Graphics used by the Prospective Student-Athlete
Situation:
A prospective student-athlete (PSA) comes on a visit to Community College A.(CCA) After the visit the PSA posts a graphic on social
media with CCA’s name and it says committed. Is this a violation?

Answer:
The PSA is allowed to publish the graphic on their social media and the college staff can like it, which would not be a violation. CCA
may take actions (e.g., “like”, “favorite”) on social media platforms that indicate approval of content. Any reproduction or reformatting is prohibited
including comments (no typing).

Case 3
Coach Retweets a Post from a Prospective Student-Athlete
Situation:
After several communications with a prospective student-athlete (PSA) the coach makes a verbal offer to the PSA. The PSA accepts
the verbal offer and later posts on social media that she has committed to Community College B (CCB). The coach from CCB then retweets the
post, has a violation occurred?

Answer:
A violation has occurred. It is allowable for the PSA to post their commitment. However, the PSA has not signed an NJCAA Letter of
Intent (LOI); therefore, it is not allowable for the coach to retweet the post. CCB may take actions (e.g., “like”, “favorite”) on social media platforms
that indicate approval of content. Any reproduction or reformatting is prohibited including comments (no typing).

Case 4
Posting on Social Media after the Student-Athlete Signs the LOI
Situation:
Student-athlete R has signed an NJCAA Letter of Intent (LOI) with Community College A (CCA). When the school receives the signed
LOI the coach posts on social media that student-athlete R has committed to CCA prior to the LOI being electronically submitted in the online LOI
system. Is this a violation?

Answer:
Per NJCAA bylaws the LOI become valid upon the student-athletes signature, subject to the following requirements:
• The member college’s Director of Athletics must sign and date the Letter of Intent prior to presentation to the student-athlete for
signature.
• The student-athlete (and parent/legal guardian of student-athlete under the age of 18) must sign the Letter of Intent within fourteen
(14) calendar days of the Letter of Intent creation date.
• The College President or Designated Representative must sign the Letter of Intent prior to electronic submission.
• Deadline: The Letter of Intent must be submitted electronically within 21 calendar days of the student-athlete’s signature.
Therefore, the NJCAA will allow the college to post on social media once the student-athlete has signed the LOI. However, should the LOI not be
completed and electronically submitted within the allowable timeframe it would become invalid and the college would then be in violation of the
social media policy because they did not complete the LOI process outlined in the bylaws and the student-athlete is not signed to a valid LOI.