New Rule Prohibits National Letters Of Intent Being Modified

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In what could be called the John Calipari Rule, the Collegiate Commissioners Association issued a memo last week that immediately prohibits National Letters of Intent from being modified.

The CCAs action comes about as more highly rated prep basketball recruits had increasingly asked for amendments to the letters of intent.

While the amendments varied, most centered on a recruits ability to be let out of his commitment without penalty if the coach leaves the school for any reason.

Former Memphis Tigers coach John Calipari had signed the most highly touted recruiting class in the school’s history, receiving commitments from three of the nation’s top high school basketball players, including DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall and Xavier Henry.

Calipari received permission from Memphis Athletics Director R.C. Johnson to include an amendment that would release those players from their national letter of intent in the event he left the school.

After Calipari was hired by the University of Kentucky last spring, all of those players took advantage of the NLI amendment, decimating Memphis’ recruiting class.

On October 1, the CCA sent a memo to every NCAA institution saying that, effective immediately, they are prohibited from “establishing any additional conditions associated with the NLI agreement in advance of a prospective student athlete signing the NLI.”

Under the new rules, the CCA has virtually assured the most highly recruited prep prospects will wait to sign their NLI until they are certain the coach recruiting them remains with their current school.

As was the case before NLI amendments became fashionable, if a player signs a letter of intent and then chooses to go elsewhere, he won’t be allowed to play for his new school for one year.