How the NESCAC recruiting dead period impacts the Class of 2021, 2022

Connecticut College women's head coach Norm Riker looks on during a 2018 match against Colby. (Geoffrey Bolte/Clarus Studios Inc)

Shockwaves were sent across the college soccer landscape last week when the Division I in-person recruiting dead period was extended through Jan. 1, 2021, a pause that’ll reach nearly 10 months since the COVID-19 pandemic first escalated last March.

But everyone locally from Boston College through Yale isn’t alone, as the NESCAC has its own in-person recruiting dead period. They’re an outlier in Division III soccer, also unable to observe off-campus games or conduct on-campus visits.

To learn more about the NESCAC impact, New England Soccer Journal connected with four coaches across the 11-member conference. Their D-III colleagues don’t face similar restrictions, nor do those in Division II after their quiet period ended Aug. 31.