In a significant shift for collegiate athletics, the NCAA Division I Council has officially approved the end of the National Letter of Intent (NLI) program, marking the conclusion of a 60-year tradition. This decision was made on Wednesday, fundamentally changing how student-athletes and schools engage with one another.
The NLI has long served as the formal agreement binding prospective student-athletes to attend a specific school for a full academic year. However, recent updates to the program’s policy have allowed athletes to withdraw their signed NLI without facing penalties, which opened the door for greater flexibility in college sports, particularly in football and basketball.
With the elimination of the NLI framework, the NCAA will transition key benefits and rules into NCAA legislation and institutional athletic aid agreements. This change has led many college coaches to predict that future contracts between schools and athletes will become increasingly common, especially as revenue-sharing discussions gain momentum in Division I athletics.
While the NLI program is going away, prospective student-athletes will still be able to sign binding agreements. According to the newly outlined dates, early signing for football will kick off the Wednesday following the last FBS regular season game and run through that Friday. Regular signing will start at 7 a.m. on the first Wednesday of February. For basketball, early signing begins on the second Wednesday of November and continues through the following Wednesday, while regular signing is set for the Wednesday in April, one week after the NCAA championships.
Additionally, the NCAA plans to shorten the transfer window for student-athletes from 45 days to 30 days in response to a growing trend of transfers in football and basketball. However, there was a failure to pass the proposal to eliminate the spring transfer window entirely.
In summary, the end of the NLI program sets in motion a new era for collegiate athletics, with new agreements on the horizon. Stakeholders across the NCAA will be watching closely to see how these changes unfold in the coming years.
