Answer extracted from the From Courtroom to Carline: A Legal Parenting Podcast podcast — listen to the full episode below.
What really happens at college athletic recruiting camps—and why an invite isn't a scholarship?
NCAA rules require all recruiting camps to be open and only limited by age and participant numbers—a camp invitation does not signal active recruitment. Camps serve dual purposes: evaluation opportunities for athletes and fundraising vehicles for college programs. Before attending, families should verify academic fit, major availability, and total costs using the Net Price Calculator to avoid unnecessary travel expenses.
How camps work under NCAA rules
All college athletic camps must operate under strict NCAA guidelines that mandate open-access policies with only age and capacity limits. This means camps cannot be used as exclusive gatekeeping tools—any athlete meeting basic eligibility criteria may attend. Colleges advertise these camps through their official websites and email lists, making them visible to families actively exploring recruitment opportunities.
The reason this transparency exists: athletic camps serve a legitimate educational purpose alongside their function as revenue generators. As Renee Lopez explains in the podcast, coaches use camps to evaluate prospective athletes in a controlled setting while generating funds that support scholarship budgets and program operations. This dual reality is often missed by families who assume a camp invitation automatically signals serious recruitment interest.
Why a camp invite is evaluation, not recruitment
Receiving a camp invitation should be understood as an opportunity to be assessed, not a guarantee of interest. Colleges send invitations broadly to build their talent pipeline and generate revenue. A single invite, without additional contact from a coach, does not indicate you are on a recruiting list or a scholarship prospect.
Families often conflate camp attendance with recruitment progress. In reality, the episode details how coaches use camps as initial scouting grounds, but ongoing direct communication from a coach is the actual signal of genuine interest. A camp invite alone is a starting point, not a commitment.
Net Price Calculator (NPC): A tool provided by every college to help families estimate their actual out-of-pocket cost for attending that school, accounting for financial aid and scholarships specific to their family's income and circumstances. Families should use an NPC before traveling to a camp to verify whether the school's cost aligns with their budget.
Due diligence before investing in camp attendance
Camps require significant investment: travel, lodging, registration fees, and time away. Families should conduct academic and financial due diligence before committing. This means confirming three critical details: whether the college offers the major your child is interested in, whether the school's net cost (calculated using the NPC) is feasible for your family, and whether your child's athletic level genuinely interests the program's coaching staff.
Attend camps only at schools your family is legitimately interested in attending. Using the NPC early eliminates wasted investment and clarifies which colleges are realistic financial targets. Lopez also covers the importance of timing and strategic camp selection in the full episode, offering families a roadmap for making camp attendance decisions that align with their broader recruiting strategy.
"The NCAA changes the rules more than we change our socks, but the idea is we want to make sure that families are keeping up to date in the process."
Renee Lopez — Author, College Coach, Speaker and Trainer with John Maxwell Team. Lopez served as a college coach for 14 years, holding positions as a D1 head coach, D2 head coach, and NAI head coach. She also worked as an NCAA compliance director, providing her with unique insight into both coaching strategy and rule enforcement. She is the author of Looking for a Full Ride, based on interviews with 65 college coaches and athletic directors across 19 sports, and founded a Facebook group supporting over 260,000 parents navigating the college athletic recruiting process.
See also
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