NLI question

Quick question since I'm not well-versed in the ways of college athletics...

...had a kid from the region who signed a NLI with our local U. Does that mean he's getting scholarship money or can one be signed and still a walk-on?

 

Scholarship papers and the NLI are two entirely different sets of paperwork. You can have one without the other.

 

I thought you have aid for one year with an NLI? Hopefully it's a DI NLI and not a fake DIII or NAIA one.

 

You get some aid, at least for a year.

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/nli/NLI/Frequently+Asked+Questions/General/By+signing+a+National+Letter+of+Intent+am+I+guaranteed+that+I+will+play+on+a+team

 

Roger Clemens just phoned to let me know I mis-remembered this. Thanks for correcting me and supplying the link.

 

I think you are mis-interpreting that rule. What the rule is saying is that in the event of a scholarship being offered, the school guarantees it will pay the scholarship through a full year when you sign an NLI. It does not guarantee that you will play.

That being said, I have seen players who are walk-ons sign letters of intent. In that case, I believe the purpose of signing is so that the other schools are no longer allowed to recruit the player.