But some die-hard college sports fiends -- intentionally or not -- ignore this rule. Online recruitment is rampant, making it harder for the NCAA to crack down on individual cases.
Notre Dame is taking a proactive approach to online fan-generated persuasion. Yesterday, the Fighting Irish's Department of Athletics posted a YouTube video in which it discourages fans from attempting to recruit players online.
The short video stars two fictional "Domer Nation" vloggers who cartoonishly brag about taking a top recruit to dinner shortly before he committed to playing for the Irish.
The clip is witty, but the message is serious: Leave recruiting to the university.
But the video's effectiveness remains to be seen. As popular sports site SBNation puts it, "The chances that this high-minded video will be mocked more than its advice is taken to heart are disappointingly high."
Regardless, Notre Dame is covering itself in case an online recruiting violation should arise -- the video serves as proof of the university's public disapproval.
Notre Dame isn't the first school to address fan recruiting. Three years ago, North Carolina State officials sent a stern cease and desist letter to a student who created a Facebook group called "John Wall PLEASE come to NC State!!!!."
While the student and his supporters claimed the First Amendment covered the 700-plus-member group, university officials disagreed, and the group was later renamed "Bring a National Title back to NC STATE!"
For the record, the grassroots recruiting effort wasn't a success -- John Wall went on to briefly play at Kentucky before the NBA drafted him in 2010.