The National Association of Basketball Coaches and Women's Basketball Coaches Association have recommended extending the recruiting dead period through July 31, they announced Tuesday.
In early April, the NCAA extended the dead period through May 31 and will consider further changes to the recruiting calendar later this month when the Division I Council meets.
"The summer months are crucial to the recruiting process for coaches and prospective student-athletes alike," said NABC president Jamie Dixon, who is the head coach at TCU. "The NABC is committed to working alongside the WBCA, the NCAA and scholastic and non-scholastic event personnel to encourage the development of alternative evaluation opportunities as soon as circumstances allow. It is important to note that these temporary changes would not decrease the number of available scholarship opportunities.
"... The NABC board of directors does not take the impact of this recommendation lightly. However, our highest priority must remain the well-being of prospects, their families, our current teams and our fellow coaches. We must also be respectful of the financial burdens that many of our institutions and prospects' families are currently facing."
If the NCAA does extend the dead period until the end of July, it would cancel the June and July evaluation periods for coaches. The dead period would ban in-person recruiting, including campus visits for prospects and in-home visits from coaches. The April evaluation period was already canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"Our commitment to the health and safety of our players, our prospects and each other outweighs our need to recruit during this uncertain time," said WBCA president Tricia Cullop, who is the head coach at Toledo. "That is why the WBCA's community of coaches joins the NABC and our colleagues in men's basketball in supporting an extension of the current NCAA recruiting dead period through July 31."
The NCAA announced Tuesday it was canceling the NCAA College Basketball Academy for July 20-26. The Academy debuted last summer, bringing more than 1,000 prospective student-athletes to four college campuses across the country. The 2020 academy was set to take place at Utah, Winthrop, Wichita State and UConn.
"The NCAA's collaboration with organizations like the NABC and other important stakeholders in the game was successful not only in developing the players who participated but also providing them with life skills," NCAA senior vice president for basketball Dan Gavitt said. "While the academies have only been in place for a year, there's still going to be a void from not being able to conduct them this summer."