# Glossary of recruiting terms

Plain-English definitions of the college recruiting terms and ProductiveRecruit features you'll come across — from verbal commitments and NLI to target lists and campaigns.

College recruiting has its own vocabulary, and so does ProductiveRecruit. This glossary keeps the definitions short and practical. Terms are grouped by topic, so use the on-this-page menu to jump around.

## Recruiting basics

**Recruiting profile** — Your online athletic résumé: academics, athletic stats, highlight video, photos, and contact info, all on one shareable page coaches can view. See [Building your profile](/docs/profile/building-your-profile).

**Verbal commitment** — A non-binding agreement between an athlete and a college that the athlete intends to attend and compete there. It can happen well before any paperwork and can be changed by either side. See [Marking your commitment](/docs/profile/commitment).

**National Letter of Intent (NLI)** — The binding agreement an athlete signs to formalize their commitment to an NCAA school, typically alongside an athletic scholarship offer. Signing it ends the recruiting process for that athlete.

**Offer** — When a college program formally invites an athlete to join, often including athletic financial aid. Athletes can track offers on their profile. See [Offers](/docs/profile/offers).

**Walk-on** — An athlete who joins a college team without an athletic scholarship. Preferred walk-ons have a roster spot secured; recruited walk-ons are invited to try out.

**Grad year (graduation year)** — The year an athlete graduates high school, used by coaches to know which recruiting class an athlete belongs to (e.g. a "2027").

**Showcase / ID camp** — Events where athletes compete in front of college coaches. A key place to generate interest and follow up with the coaches who attended.

## Divisions & eligibility

**Division (D1, D2, D3)** — The NCAA's competition tiers. Division 1 is the most competitive and the only one offering full athletic scholarships in most sports; Division 3 offers no athletic scholarships but often strong academic aid. See [Divisions & conferences explained](/docs/colleges/divisions-and-conferences).

**NAIA** — The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, a separate association of mostly smaller colleges that also offer athletic scholarships.

**Junior college (JUCO / NJCAA)** — Two-year colleges that compete athletically. A common path for athletes who want to develop or improve academics before transferring to a four-year school.

**Conference** — A group of colleges that compete against each other regularly within a division (e.g. the SEC or the Big Ten).

**NCAA Eligibility Center** — The NCAA's clearinghouse that certifies whether an athlete meets academic and amateurism requirements to compete at a D1 or D2 school.

**Dead period / contact period** — Windows in the NCAA recruiting calendar that govern when and how coaches may contact recruits. During a dead period, in-person contact isn't allowed, but athletes can still email coaches.

## Outreach & communication

**Cold outreach** — Emailing a coach who doesn't yet know the athlete. The first email's job is to get on the coach's radar and point them to the profile and highlight video.

**Template** — A reusable email with personalization variables (like the coach's name or school) that fill in automatically, so each message looks personal without rewriting it. See [Email templates & variables](/docs/email/templates-and-variables).

**Variable / merge field** — A placeholder in a template (such as a coach's first name) that ProductiveRecruit swaps for real values when the email is sent.

**Campaign** — Sending a personalized email to many coaches at once, paced to protect deliverability rather than blasting them all at the same moment. See [Running an email campaign](/docs/email/campaigns).

**Deliverability** — How reliably your emails reach coaches' inboxes instead of spam. Sending from your own Gmail and keeping daily volume reasonable both protect it. See [Deliverability & sending limits](/docs/email/deliverability-and-limits).

**Open / click / view tracking** — Signals that a coach engaged with your outreach: opening the email, clicking a link, or viewing your profile or video. See [Opens, clicks & views explained](/docs/tracking/opens-clicks-views).

## ProductiveRecruit platform terms

**Target list** — The set of college programs an athlete is actively pursuing, saved from college search and organized with tags and status. See [Building your target list](/docs/colleges/target-list).

**Tag** — A label you apply to schools on your target list (like reach, target, or safety) to prioritize your outreach. See [Tags & prioritization](/docs/colleges/tags-and-prioritization).

**Status** — Where a school sits in your recruiting funnel, from interested through contacted to committed, so you always know your next step. See [Tracking status](/docs/colleges/tracking-status).

**Activity feed** — A running log of recruiting events (emails sent, opens, clicks, profile views) so you can see coach engagement as it happens. See [The activity feed](/docs/tracking/activity-feed).

**Organization** — An account type for a club, high school, or recruiting service managing recruiting for many athletes. See [Athlete vs. Organization accounts](/docs/getting-started/athlete-vs-organization-accounts).

**Space / team** — How organizations group athletes and staff inside their account, for example by program or graduating class. See [Spaces & teams explained](/docs/organizations/spaces-and-teams).

**Recruiting checklist** — A sequence of steps an organization assigns to athletes (build profile, add video, email coaches) to keep a whole roster on track. See [Creating a recruiting checklist](/docs/checklists/creating-a-checklist).

**Group registration code** — A shareable link or code that lets athletes sign themselves up and join an organization's roster. See [Athlete registration & group codes](/docs/organizations/athlete-registration).

## What's next

- New here? Start with [What is ProductiveRecruit?](/docs/getting-started/what-is-productiverecruit)
- Ready to build? See the [Athlete quick start](/docs/getting-started/athlete-quick-start) or [Organization quick start](/docs/getting-started/organization-quick-start).

Source: https://productiverecruit.com/docs/getting-started/glossary