The NCAA volleyball recruiting calendar controls more of the recruiting process than most families realize. It dictates when coaches can watch your athlete play in person, when they can call or text, when they can meet you off campus, and when all in-person contact shuts down completely. Understanding this calendar is the difference between reading a coach's behavior accurately and misinterpreting silence as disinterest.
The existing volleyball recruiting timeline covers the year-by-year journey from freshman through senior year. This article covers something different: the NCAA's official recruiting calendar — the dead periods, quiet periods, contact periods, and evaluation periods that govern what coaches can and cannot do during each phase of the year.
Understanding NCAA recruiting calendar terminology
The NCAA uses four terms to describe what coaches are and aren't allowed to do during specific windows. These definitions apply across all NCAA sports, but the dates when each period falls are sport-specific.
Contact period. Coaches can have in-person, off-campus contact with recruits and their families. They can attend club tournaments and approach athletes. They can make phone calls, send texts, and host campus visits. This is the most open phase — coaches are actively recruiting in every way available to them.
Evaluation period. Coaches can watch athletes compete in person but cannot have off-campus in-person contact. They attend club tournaments and showcases to evaluate talent, but they cannot walk up to an athlete or family and have a recruiting conversation at the event. Phone and digital communication continues normally. This distinction matters: a coach who watches your athlete play at a tournament but doesn't approach is likely there during an evaluation period, not expressing disinterest.
Quiet period. In-person contact is limited to the college campus only. Coaches cannot meet with recruits off campus but can host campus visits. Phone, text, and email communication continues without restriction. Quiet periods are prime time for unofficial and official visits.
Dead period. No in-person contact whatsoever — on campus or off. Coaches cannot meet with recruits anywhere in person. Communication by phone, text, and email continues. Dead periods typically align with academic breaks and the end of the college season.
The NCAA volleyball recruiting calendar: month-by-month breakdown
The volleyball recruiting calendar follows a predictable annual cycle built around the club season, the college season, and academic calendars. The specific dates shift slightly year to year, but the structure remains consistent.
| Month | Period type (typical) | What's happening |
|---|
| January | Quiet period | College season is over. Coaches focus on campus visits and phone recruiting. Club season training begins. |
| February | Contact period begins | Coaches begin attending club qualifiers and regional events. Off-campus contact with recruits is permitted. |
| March–April | Contact/Evaluation periods | Club qualifying tournaments and regional championships. Coaches attend events heavily. Mix of contact and evaluation windows. |
| May | Quiet period | College exams and academic wrap-up. Communication continues; campus visits possible. |
| June | Contact/Evaluation periods | Club season intensifies. College-run camps begin. June 15 is the earliest D2 coaches can contact sophomores. |
| July | Evaluation period (primary) | USAV Girls' Junior National Championships and AAU Nationals. The most concentrated coaching evaluation window of the year. |
| August | Dead period → College season begins | Brief dead period before college season. Coaches shift focus to their own teams. |
| September–November | Evaluation periods (limited) | College season in progress. Coaches have limited availability for recruiting travel. September 1 is when D1 coaches can initiate contact with juniors. |
| November (mid-month) | Contact period | National Letter of Intent early signing period opens. Verbal commitments become binding signatures. |
| December | Dead period | NCAA championship. Academic break. No in-person recruiting contact. |
The critical window: July is the single most important month on the volleyball recruiting calendar. USAV Girls' Junior National Championships draw hundreds of college coaching staffs evaluating thousands of athletes across age divisions. If your athlete competes at Nationals, this is the highest-concentration evaluation opportunity of the year. Club coaches should know the exact dates and communicate them to families well in advance.
How the recruiting calendar affects club tournament schedules
Club volleyball organizations build their competitive calendars around the NCAA recruiting calendar — specifically around evaluation and contact periods when college coaches can attend events. Understanding this connection helps families prioritize events that matter.
USAV qualifying tournaments are scheduled during contact and evaluation periods specifically so college coaches can attend. The regional qualifiers in March through May and the national championships in July are timed to fall within windows when coaches can legally be in the gym evaluating prospects.
JVA (Junior Volleyball Association) events and other national showcase tournaments are also scheduled to align with NCAA evaluation windows. The JVA World Challenge, for example, typically falls during a contact or evaluation period.
Events outside evaluation periods have no college coaching attendance — or at best, informal attendance that can't include recruiting conversations. A club tournament in December during a dead period or in August before the evaluation window opens has no direct recruiting value for families targeting NCAA programs. It may be competitive development, but it's not exposure.
What this means for families: before paying for any tournament, camp, or showcase, check whether it falls during an NCAA contact or evaluation period. Event organizers who advertise "college coach attendance" at a tournament during a dead period are either misleading families or referring to coaches who cannot legally recruit at that event.
D1 vs. D2 vs. D3 calendar differences for volleyball
The four-period structure (contact, evaluation, quiet, dead) applies to D1 and D2. D3 operates under fundamentally different rules.
D1 volleyball follows the full NCAA recruiting calendar with strict enforcement. Coaches who violate period restrictions face sanctions. The calendar is the most restrictive at D1, which is why understanding it matters most for families targeting D1 programs.
D2 volleyball follows the same general calendar structure, but with two key differences. First, D2 coaches can initiate contact with recruits starting June 15 after the athlete's sophomore year — earlier than D1's September 1 junior year date. Second, D2 programs generally have smaller recruiting travel budgets, which means coaches are less likely to attend every major national event. They may focus on regional tournaments and events within driving distance.
D3 volleyball has virtually no recruiting calendar restrictions. D3 coaches can contact athletes at any time, attend any event, and have in-person conversations whenever they choose. There are no dead periods, quiet periods, or evaluation period limitations for D3. This means:
- D3 coaches can respond to your athlete's email immediately, regardless of grade level
- D3 coaches can attend any club event and approach families on the spot
- Campus visits can happen at any time without calendar constraints
The practical implication: if your athlete is targeting D3 programs, the NCAA recruiting calendar is largely irrelevant to their process. If they're targeting D1, understanding the calendar is essential for interpreting coach behavior correctly.
How to plan your recruiting around the NCAA calendar
The calendar should drive your family's recruiting actions — not the other way around. Here's how to use it strategically.
Time your outreach to land before contact windows open. An email sent to a D1 coach in August, before the September 1 contact date for juniors, positions your athlete in the coach's inbox the moment they can legally respond. Coaches read emails before the contact window opens — they just can't respond. Being in the inbox first matters.
Schedule campus visits during quiet periods. Quiet periods are ideal for campus visits because coaches are on campus, available for meetings, and not traveling to evaluate at club events. January and May quiet periods are prime visit windows. For more on maximizing your visit, see our guide to official and unofficial visits.
Prioritize events during evaluation and contact periods. Every dollar spent on club tournament fees should go toward events where target-level coaches can legally attend and evaluate. July nationals and spring qualifiers are the highest-value events on the calendar.
Follow up immediately after evaluation period events. If your athlete competed at a tournament during an evaluation period, email every target coach within 48 hours. Reference the specific event, your athlete's team and jersey number, and a standout moment. The coach may have watched your athlete without being able to say so — your email connects the dots. See our volleyball coach email guide for exactly how to structure this outreach.
Don't panic during dead periods. Dead periods are not pauses in recruiting — they're pauses in in-person contact. Coaches still read emails, watch film, and plan their recruiting boards during dead periods. Use dead periods to send film updates, academic updates, and schedule future visits for when the quiet period begins.
The bottom line
The NCAA volleyball recruiting calendar is the framework that governs every interaction between coaches and recruits. Knowing when contact periods, evaluation periods, quiet periods, and dead periods fall — and what coaches can and cannot do during each — lets families interpret coach behavior accurately, time their outreach strategically, and invest in events where target coaches are actually present.
For the full year-by-year recruiting journey that this calendar fits into, see the volleyball recruiting timeline. For guidance on what to send coaches during contact periods, the volleyball coach email guide covers the sport-specific template. And for understanding what happens when you visit a campus during quiet periods, our guide to official and unofficial visits covers what to expect and what questions to ask.