when did ncaa allow freshmen to play football
1972 college football season This season was historically significant because it was the first in which freshmen were eligible to play varsity football in the University Division. The NCAA had historically prohibited freshmen from varsity competition, except during the United States involvement in World War II. In 1968, the NCAA allowed freshman eligibility in the University Division in all sports, except football and basketball, and extended the rule to those sports effective with the 1972â€“73 academic year.
College recruiting During recruitment, a college coach may ask a prospective player to sign a National Letter of Intent or NLI for short. The NLI is a voluntary program with regard to both institutions and student-athletes. No prospective student-athlete or parent is required to sign the NLI, and no institution is required to join the program.[5] By signing a NLI, a prospective student-athlete agrees to attend the designated college or university for one academic year. Pursuant to the terms of the NLI program, participating institutions agree to provide athletics financial aid to the student-athlete, provided he/she is admitted to the institution and eligible for financial aid under NCAA rules. An important provision of this program serves as a recruiting prohibition applied after a prospective student-athlete signs an NLI[5] This prohibition requires participating institutions to cease recruitment of a prospective student-athlete once an NLI is signed with another institution. The NLI has many advantages to both prospective student-athletes and participating educational institutions:[5]