NCAA suspends limits on official visits for football
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Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff Writer
The NCAA issued a blanket waiver Friday suspending the limit on the number of official visits college football programs are permitted to host in a given cycle.
The waiver, announced in an NCAA statement, is effective immediately and applies to the current recruiting cycle that began April 1 and runs to March 31, 2025.
The change was made at the request of the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision committee with the intention of giving member institutions “additional flexibility to address the impact of recent changes in NCAA legislation.”
The announcement cited changes to the NCAA’s rules on eligibility for undergraduate four-year college transfers among the developments. The decision also comes as college sports prepares for an overhaul via the impending House settlement, which is set to grant roughly $2.8 billion in damages to former and current college athletes, clearing the path for athletes to be paid directly by schools. A final hearing to approve the settlement is set for April 7, 2025.
Under previous NCAA recruiting rules, schools were permitted to host an unlimited number of unofficial visits but capped at 70 official visits in each cycle. While unofficial visits are financed by prospective athletes, official visits are sponsored in full or in part by the hosting university. The previous limit had been in place since December 2022.
The NCAA’s decision comes after the organization approved the immediate elimination of the national letter of intent program Oct. 9, scrapping the binding agreement between prospective athletes and college programs that had existed since 1964. The NLI is expected to be replaced by a new financial aid agreement, likely tied to a contract related to an impending revenue-sharing model across college athletics.
Decision-makers have also mulled changes to the college football recruiting calendar in the past year, with the Collegiate Commissioners Association opting against a formal vote to approve the addition of a summer high school signing period in June.
The early signing period for the 2025 cycle opens Dec. 4, followed by the traditional signing period starting Feb. 5, 2025.
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Chris Low
Alabama will be without team captain and starting defensive tackle Tim Keenan III for Saturday’s opener against Florida State after he suffered a high ankle sprain Tuesday in practice, sources told ESPN.
Keenan was scheduled to undergo a tightrope surgical procedure Wednesday and is expected to miss multiple games, but sources said Alabama expects him back at some point this season. The Crimson Tide face UL Monroe in Week 2, Wisconsin in Week 3 and then have a bye week before traveling to Georgia for the SEC opener on Sept. 27.
Coach Kalen DeBoer said earlier Wednesday on the SEC coaches teleconference that Keenan was still being evaluated after suffering a lower-body injury and would “probably not” be full go for the game.
Keenan, a fifth-year senior, is one of the anchors of an Alabama defensive line that should be one of the strengths of the team. He’s a two-year starter and one of the strongest leaders on the team. Redshirt freshman Jeremiah Beaman and true freshman London Simmons are next in line to step in for Keenan, who was second on the team a year ago with 7.5 tackles for loss.
Offensive lineman Jaeden Roberts‘ status for Saturday’s opener remains uncertain, according to DeBoer. The fifth-year senior, who has started 21 games over the past two seasons, has been “very limited” in recent practices as he works his way through the NCAA concussion protocol.
The Crimson Tide were already going to be without starting running back Jam Miller, who dislocated his collarbone in a scrimmage and will miss multiple games. DeBoer told ESPN last week he expected Miller to be back for the Georgia game.
On3.com was the first to report the news of Keenan’s surgery and the expectation he would miss multiple games.
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