Prospective Student Athletes and Transfers

Welcome to Jacksonville University! If it is your first time on this webpage, we invite you to click on the "Recruits" tab at the top of the page and fill out your sport's prospective student-athlete questionnaire. Below you will find an overview and a few important links if you are planning to compete for the JU Dolphins. Please feel free to contact the JU coach in your sport, the JU compliance office, or the JU office of student-athlete services if you need further guidance. If you do not hear back in a timely manner from a coach, do not worry. NCAA rules and their sport schedules may preclude them from calling or writing you back depending on your age, the time of year, or other factors.

NCAA Recruiting Information

As you may know, the NCAA has extensive rules regarding how and when coaches may recruit prospective student-athletes. Many sports have specific times of the year in which recruiting activities may take place. A "contact period" (or "recruiting period" in men's basketball) is a time when coaches are free to make in-person, off-campus contacts. Some sports also have "evaluation periods" and "quiet periods". A coach may not contact you face-to-face off-campus during an evaluation period, and during a quiet period the only interaction allowed between coaches and prospects is on JU's campus. A "dead period" is a time when no on- or off-campus recruiting activities may occur.

There are also rules that govern when a coach may begin calling, texting, or emailing prospective student-athletes. Below you will find a link to an NCAA website that is a great resource for specific recruting calendars as well as recruiting guides which outline when coaches may initiate the recruiting process.

NCAA Recruiting Calendars and Guideline

Student-Athlete Fact Sheet
NCAA Eligibility Center

Name, Image, and Likeness

On May 10, 2022, the NCAA issued clarification regarding Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) activities.

The main points of the NCAA's NIL guidelines are:

A booster, collective, or other NIL entity cannot communicate, for purposes of recruiting or enrollment purposes, in any form, with a prospective student-athlete or anyone affiliated with that prospective student-athlete.
A NIL deal cannot be contingent on enrollment at JU or any other specific institution.
JU institutional staff and coaches cannot facilitate NIL conversations or arrangements.
JU institutional staff and coaches cannot communicate with a prospect on behalf of a booster.
NIL deals cannot be based on performance or achievement.

Eligibility Information

High School Eligibility

Prospective NCAA Division I student-athletes must meet rigorous academic requirements based on their high school coursework in order to compete as freshmen. In general terms, you must complete 16 total "core courses." Specific core courses are distinct to each high school, but in general, English, math, physical science, social studies, and foreign languages are considered. The exact breakdown of the 16 core courses is as follows:

4 English classes
3 Math classes
2 Physical science classes
1 Additional English, math, or phyisical science class
2 Social studies classes
4 Additional core courses in any subject area
16 Total

At least 10 of the 16 core courses must be completed going into your senior year of high school and seven of the 10 must be English, math, or physical science. You can look up your specific high school's core course list (as well as your high school administrator who works with NCAA matters) by clicking here. Your GPA will be based on your core courses and you must meet specific SAT or ACT scores based on your core course GPA. See below for more helpful links:

NCAA Eligibility Center homepage

NCAA Eligibility Center Recommended Timeline

NCAA Initial Eligibility Fact Sheet

For 2022-23 Prospects Covid19 Flexibility

Guide for College-Bound Student-Athletes

Transfer Eligibility

If you are interested in transferring to Jacksonville University from another college, your best first-step is to provide the JU coach you're speaking with a current official or unofficial transcript. The coach will need to verify that you meet all necessary transfer requirements to be eligible when you get to JU.

NCAA Division I rules state that transfers from other four-year schools must spend a "year in residence" at their new school - a period of two full-time semesters in which you can practice but not compete - unless you meet an exception to the transfer rule. There are a few different exceptions available and you should provide your JU coach with as much information about your athletic and academic history as possible so they can work with the compliance office to see if you're able to transfer and compete right away.

If you are transferring to JU from a community college or other two-year school, your immediate eligibility is tied to your high school eligibility status with the NCAA Eligibility Center. If you went through the full Eligibility Center process and were deemed to be a final qualifier, one set of requirements applies. If you did not submit all your transcripts or test scores to the Eligibility Center or otherwise did not register at all, a different set of rules applies. Click here for a more information and which requirements apply to you.

Keep in mind that as a transfer you will still need to have your amateurism status finalized by the NCAA Eligibility Center. If you have not already registered with the Eligibility Center and received a final amateurism certification, please click the link in the above section.

Recruiting Visits to JU

Official Visits

An official visit is a visit to Jacksonville University in which the coaching staff may provide expenses for all or part of your trip. An official visit may not occur during a dead period (see above for a link to recruiting period calendars), but otherwise are limited to a maximum of 48 hours in length.

Depending on your sport, Jacksonville University will not be able to provide an official visit until:

Women's Basketball April of Junior year following Thursday after NCAA Women's basketball championship game
Men's Lacrosse September 1 of their Junior Year
Women's Lacrosse September 1 of their Junior Year
Women's Softball September 1 of their Junior Year
Men's Baseball September 1 of their Junior Year
All Other Sports August 1 of their Junior Year

If you are interested in transferring to JU from a two-year college and were not a final qualifier with the NCAA Eligibility Center, NCAA rules state that JU cannot provide you with an official visit until you have completed at least two semesters at your current school.

In order to receive an official visit, you must:

Register with the NCAA Eligibility Center
Provide your sport's JU coach with a copy of your high school or college transcript

Please keep in mind that many sports have limits on the number of total official visits they are allowed to offer as well as limits on the times of year that they can be offered. It is best to talk to the JU coach in your sport to see if it is possible to receive an official visit.

Unofficial Visits

An unofficial visit is a visit to Jacksonville University that you pay for on your own. There is no limit to the number of unofficial visits that you may take, but keep in mind that if it's a dead period in the recruiting cycle, your sport coach at JU will not be able to meet with you in person or otherwise communicate with you while on campus. If you are interested in setting up an unofficial visit to JU, please contact your sport's JU coach.

Camps

Feel free to contact your sport's JU coach to see if there are any upcoming camps you would like to attend. All sports camps at JU are open to any and all entrants regardless of skill level. Camp attendance may only be limited by number, age, grade level, or gender at the discretion of the camp director.

Financial Aid

All sports at JU have to follow specific NCAA guidelines on team limits for athletic scholarships. It is not guaranteed that a JU coach will be able to offer you an athletics scholarship and even if you are given a scholarship, you should maximize the total amount of financial aid you can receive from all available sources. All domestic prospective and returning student-athletes are encouraged to file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The JU Office of Student Financial Assistance will also be a helpful resource as you prepare to begin your career as a Dolphin. Click here for the financial aid office website.

Other Helpful Resources

If you are interested in becoming a Dolphin, we recommend you start the application process sooner rather than later. You can get started with the process by going to the JU Office of Admissions page here.

Want to know more about Jacksonville and the Florida region known as the First Coast? The information below should help get you started!

Jacksonville University homepage