What’s the difference between official and unofficial recruiting visits?

When covering recruiting, it’s easy for me to use the terminology loosely with “official visits” and “unofficial visits”. So, what’s the difference between the two visits, if any, and what does it mean for OSU recruiting?

By NCAA definition, official visits are any visits to a college campus by a college-bound student athlete paid for by the college, whereas unofficial visits are paid for by the student athlete or their parents.

But naturally, the NCAA has more stipulations than just who pays for the visit.

First Opportunity to Visit “officially”

As with this time of year, the term “unofficial visit” is used regularly in football for one main reason: Age. The NCAA stipulates that “official” recruiting visits may only be taken starting the first day of classes of the prospect’s senior year in high school.

And with the entire 2016 class already signed (For the most part), OSU is now recruiting 2017 prospects, who won’t start their senior year until some time in August. Unofficial visits may take place at any time, except during dead recruiting periods.

How many schools can prospects officially visit?

Prospects are allowed to take a maximum of five “official” expense-paid visits, with no more than one permitted to one school. Which means if you’re committed to OSU, then 2017 Quarterback Jelani Woods is only allowed one official visit to Stillwater his senior season where OSU foots the bill for the trip. Which means most prospects are very selective about which game they attend, and OSU is selective about which game they encourage prospects to attend.

Length of visit

The benefit of an unofficial visit is that there is no time limit. So long as the student athlete or their parent is paying for lodging, transportation, etc., they can stay as long as they like. But official visits cannot exceed 48 hours, and that clock begins as soon as the prospect arrives on campus.

Transportation, Entertainment, Lodging, Meals and Parking

All of these can be provided by OSU for prospects taking official visits. That’s not the case with unofficial visits, where the school may not provide any of these services.

Typically, Oklahoma State will host official visitors on big gamedays in Stillwater. Homecoming and Hoops is one example of a big weekend, where they can host both basketball and football recruits for visits and give a good experience.

In the past OSU has aimed for one big official visit weekend to get as many prospects on campus. And with OSU facing competition to host prospects during the football season, the Cowboys have found recent success with this taking place just after football season concludes. This year, OSU hosted a slew of top prospects on Jan. 15 and 16th, just after the season ended and about three weeks until signing day. It’s a good opportunity for the committed recruits to get to know one another and, for those undecided, it’s also an opportunity for those who have their mind made up to potentially sway others into becoming a Cowboy.