National letter of intent

The National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manages the daily operations of the NLI program while the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA) provides governance oversight of the program. Started in 1964 with seven conferences and eight independent institutions, the program now includes 676 Division I and II participating institutions. There are designated dates for different sports, and these dates are commonly referred to as "Signing Day".

Division III institutions are specifically banned from using the NLI, or any similar document that is not executed by non-athletes at those institutions.

NLIs are typically faxed by the recruited student to the university's athletic department on a National Signing Day. The NLI is a voluntary program with regard to both institutions and student-athletes. No prospective student-athlete or parent is required to sign the National Letter of Intent, and no institution is required to join the program.

J. William Davis, Professor of Government and Faculty Athletics Representative at Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University), created the National Letter of Intent program in 1964. He was assisted by Howard Grubbs, who was Commissioner of the Southwest Conference at the time. In October 2007, the NCAA became responsible for the administration of the program.

National Letters of Intent may only be signed by prospective student-athletes who will be entering a four-year institution for the first time in the academic year after they sign the NLI. Recruits who have signed NLIs must attend the schools they have signed with in order to receive financial aid, and NCAA rules forbid coaches from recruiting them further; these restrictions aim to add certainty to the recruiting process for players (who are certain to receive aid) and coaches (who are certain that a recruit will attend their school). By contrast, verbal commitments are nonbinding; recruits may change or revoke a verbal commitment at any time, and coaches may continue to recruit a verbally committed player.

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