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Early Recruiting: Before college coaches are permitted to contact student-athletes, coaches spend a good deal of time evaluating athletes online, as well as at tournaments, college camps, and college showcases in order to build a list of potential prospective recruits. They also reach out to high school and club coaches to express interest in an athlete. Contact and Verbal Offers: College coaches can begin contacting and building a relationship with prospective student-athletes, starting on June 15th after the recruits sophomore year. This is also when the NCAA allows college coaches to make verbal offers to athletes. Official and Unofficial Visits: Starting on August 1st of a recruits junior year, can student-athletes and their families begin scheduling official and unofficial recruitment visits. This is also when on-campus recruiting conversations can begin. National Signing Day: NCAA Division 1 and 2 institutions invite student-athletes to sign a National Letter of Intent (NLI) to officially accept their athletic scholarship. National Signing Day is in November, but water polo athletes have until the beginning of August to sign an NLI.

Division I - While all Division 1 women’s water polo colleges compete at the same level, what differentiates the campuses where these teams are situated is the size of the student body. The colleges and universities located on the East Coast offer a smaller student body ranging from 2,000 and 8,000 students. On the West Coast, student-athletes will find much larger student bodies between 18,000 to over 30,000 students. Division II - Women’s water polo is offered at 12 Division 2 colleges and universities. While many of these programs are in California, student-athletes also have a few East Coast options in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Ranging in size from 650 students at Salem International University to over 27,000 students at The University of California – San Diego, student-athletes looking for a small, medium or large campus have all three options at the Division 2 level. All three NCAA divisions are eligible to compete in the NCAA women’s water polo championship at the end of each season. Division 3 water polo programs competed in their last NCAA postseason tournament in 2019. Moving forward, Division 1 and 2 women’s water polo teams will continue to go head-to-head at the NCAA championship tournament, while Division 3 programs will end their season with the USA Water Polo Division 3 National Championship. Division III - There are 19 Division 3 women’s water polo programs spread across California, and in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Minnesota, Wisconsin and New York. Known for their small student bodies and core focus on academic over athletics, Division 3 water polo is demanding attention with the help of USA Water Polo. Division 3 men’s volleyball earned an official NCAA sponsored Division 3 men’s volleyball championship in 2012, after hosting its own Molten Championship for 15 years. Following their lead, USA Water Polo teamed up with Division 3 water polo institutions to establish a Division 3 national water polo championship tournament May 2020. Developing this tournament not only allows USA Water Polo to recognize growth and encourage the future growth of varsity women’s water polo at other Division institutions, but the organization hopes to reach the same level of success as Division 3 men’s volleyball with their own NCAA sponsored championship. NAIA - In recent years, institutions like Azusa Pacific, Concordia University and Fresno Pacific have transitioned from NAIA to NCAA programs. As a result, the NAIA sponsors just 1 women’s water polo program at California State University Maritime Academy. A benefit of being the only NAIA program with no conference is that there are no limits on the number of games the team can compete in. Unfortunately, this also means that the NAIA does not sponsor a postseason championship. While Cal Maritime cannot compete for the NCAA women’s water polo champion title, the program can schedule games against NCAA programs.

While completing at the high school level is important, student-athletes need to play for a club water polo team during the offseason. Club water polo allows student-athletes to remain focused on developing their skillset and gain valuable experience in competition year-round. However, the most important benefit of competing on a club team for college-bound student-athletes is the visibility and access to college coaches that high school water polo does not give student-athletes. Local and travel club water polo tournaments give student-athletes the opportunity to compete in front of college coaches who attend these tournaments to evaluate and recruit athletes. Student-athletes who compete outside of California and the Northeast region, in areas where college coaches typically don’t travel to recruit, can especially benefit from these travel tournaments.

Beginning June 15 after a recruit’s sophomore year, student-athletes can start receiving phone calls, texts and emails from college water polo coaches at the Division 1 and 2 levels. Prior to this date, no form of communication is permitted between college coaches and recruits. However, college coaches are still permitted to contact high school and club coaches to request general feedback on recruits. Communication is permitted at any time between Division 3 college coaches and student-athletes. Division I - Any time: There is no start date for when student-athletes can receive non-recruiting materials (questionnaires, camp brochures, nonathletic institutional publications and official NCAA educational materials). June 15 after sophomore year: All communication between college coaches and student-athletes—including phone calls, text message, direct message and email—are prohibited until after this date. Recruits can begin receiving recruiting materials and verbal scholarship offers. August 1 before junior year: Student-athletes can begin scheduling unofficial visits and official visits. August 1 before junior year: Off-campus evaluations at the recruit’s school or home can begin. Division II - Non-recruiting materials: Student-athletes may receive camp brochures, questionnaires and NCAA materials and non-athletic recruiting publications at any time. Printed recruiting materials: Recruits can begin to receive printed recruiting materials starting June 15 after their sophomore year. Telephone calls: Starting June 15 after the recruit’s sophomore year, college coaches may start calling student-athletes. Off-campus contact: Coaches and athletes and their parents are permitted to engage in off-campus communications starting June 15 after the recruit’s sophomore year. Unofficial visits: Student-athletes may schedule unofficial visits at any time outside of a dead period. Official visits: Student-athletes may schedule official visits starting June 15 after their sophomore year. Division III - Recruiting materials: Student-athletes may receive recruiting materials at any time. Telephone calls: There is no restriction on when college coaches can call student-athletes. Digital communications: Digital communication between college coaches and recruits is permitted at any time. Off-campus contact: Beginning after the recruit’s sophomore year, off-campus communication is permitted. Official visits: Beginning January 1 of their junior year, student-athletes may schedule official visits. Unofficial visits: Student-athletes may schedule unofficial visits at any time. NAIA - Athletes who were not picked up by an NCAA program are generally recruited by NAIA programs, which means the NAIA recruiting process begins later. Student-athletes will find that the NAIA enforces fewer recruiting rules and guidelines than the NCAA, which allows college coaches to contact recruits at any point in their high school career. NAIA coaches focus their recruiting efforts on athletes that are a good fit athletically, academically and socially.

To kickstart a relationship with college coaches at a target school, student-athletes should send their recruiting video to coaches in a recruiting letter. Student-athletes should express their interest in the water polo program, explain why they are a good fit for the team and include a link to their recruiting profile and video. They should also include their general information, academic and athletic stats, as well as a clear next step to show their interest in continuing the conversation.

You can find the full list of college water polo programs here: Womens Water Polo Programs Mens Water Polo Programs

Maintain good grades: College water polo coaches prioritize student-athletes that maintain high academic standing in high school. Student-athletes should research the academic standards at their prospective schools and focus on their NCAA academic eligibility. Do you research: Not all water polo programs offer athletic scholarships. Student-athletes should research what programs offer scholarships at the NCAA Division 1 and 2 levels, as well as the NAIA. Identify alternatives: Water polo programs have very few athletic scholarships to offer. Student-athletes should look for other forms of aid, such as merit-based scholarships, grants, work-study and other alternatives to cover college costs. Mens - NCAA Division 1 and 2 programs are allowed to offer no more than 4.5 scholarships per team, while Ivy League institutions and Division 3 schools only offer merit-based scholarships to student-athletes who meet certain academic standards. The reality of men’s college water polo is that not all programs are fully funded, which means some have fewer than 4.5 scholarships to offer and others have no scholarships to offer at all. Womens - NCAA Division 1 and 2 programs are allowed to offer no more than 4.5 scholarships per team, while Ivy League institutions and Division 3 schools only offer merit-based scholarships to student-athletes who meet certain academic standards. The reality of men’s college water polo is that not all programs are fully funded, which means some have fewer than 4.5 scholarships to offer and others have no scholarships to offer at all.

A recruitment video, or a highlight video, is a valuable tool that college coaches use to evaluate potential recruits. It is primarily utilized for student-athletes who are located outside the East and West Coasts, where the majority of the collegiate water polo programs are located. To kickstart a relationship with college coaches at a target school, student-athletes should send their recruiting video to coaches in a recruiting letter. Student-athletes should express their interest in the water polo program, explain why they are a good fit for the team and include a link to their recruiting profile and video. They should also include their general information, academic and athletic stats, as well as a clear next step to show their interest in continuing the conversation.

A highlight video should be three to four minutes, with 20–30 clips that showcase the recruit’s talent. Begin the video with the athlete’s most impressive plays to draw in the coach’s attention during the first 30 seconds. Student-athletes should capture footage at varsity-level competitions that highlights the athlete performing these skills.