Who Gets A Signing Day?

Everyone. Everyone gets a signing day.

If you are graduating from high school and going on to play collegiate athletics, you should celebrate that fact.

Not getting a scholarship? Doesn't matter. 25% of all D1 rosters are athletes that are walking-on in some capacity. Have a signing day - celebrate your accomplishment!

There are two things to think about when it comes to signing-day or "signing":

What are you signing?

When are you signing it?

What are you signing?

If you are receiving athletic scholarship from a D1 or D2 institution, then you are signing an NLI (National Letter of Intent). This is actually a binding contract for you and the school. NAIA does something as well - I'm still learning about what they do :) so I'm not up-to-date on all their specifics. For most institutions this scholarship is going to get renewed each year. Yes! Technically you're only signing for 1 year of scholarship/commitment. Power 5 conferences are typically signing 4 year scholarship agreements, but the scholarship agreement is not technically an NLI. You're only signing an NLI if you're getting money your first year. The scholarship agreement allows a school to commit to getting you money AFTER your freshmen year. It becomes on obligation then on the school vs other D1 or D2 schools where you're trusting the Coach at their word to give you scholarship down the road.

If you're walking-on or not getting a scholarship in your first year then chances are you're still signing something. Most schools will give you a form for you to have at your signing with letterhead and logos so that it looks more official. In reality (and to my understanding) this document is unofficial and not binding in anyway. But, that doesn't mean that it's not a HUGE deal to be playing in college! Remember, less than 4% of high school volleyball athletes are playing D1, D2 and D3 volleyball.

When are you signing it?

This is something that I always talk about with parents this time of year as well. It doesn't matter when your school is having their "Signing Day" celebration. Your high school signing day or "party" has no bearing on what the NCAA rules are when it comes to signing. Signing-Day officially is usually around the middle of November. It's one of the only times you'll see a "Dead Period" for D1 and D2 for volleyball. You can have your signing party at school in December or you can have it in February. What you should be doing is signing you're NLI and mailing it back as soon as you are allowed to! You should get very detailed instructions when you receive it in the mail. I even think there are schools that are doing them online now? I would regularly get pictures sent to me of athletes signing their NLI at 6am, before they went to school, while they were still in their PJ's. No balloons, no candy, no cake with the school logo; Just signing the piece of paper. You might have some high school coaches that want you officially signing you're NLI at the school party. I wouldn't suggest this and I'm not sure why this is even a "thing" some high school coaches expect. As soon as you're able (based on the instructions given to you by your school) sign it and mail it back. Ask questions if you need to of your compliance if there is something you don't understand. But don't hang on to it for weeks.

So, yes, you SHOULD have a signing day. Celebrate your accomplishment! It's worth celebrating, regardless of how much athletic scholarship you're getting.

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