NCAA Division I Football Recruiting Calendar for Class of 2012 and 2013
Click link to see Division II football Recruiting Calendar PDF.

Class of 2012 

August 1, 2011 through November 26, 2011 — Quiet Period.
November 27, 2011, through January 28, 2012 — Contact Period (except for the following periods listed below).
December 18 through January 8th — special considerations for JuCo prospects (see official NCAA Calendar).  December 18  — Quiet Period.
December 19 — January 3 — Dead Period (see exceptions listed on NCAA PDF).
January 8 — Quiet Period.
January 9 — January 12 —  Dead Period (see exceptions listed on NCAA PDF).
January 29 — Quiet Period.
January 30 —  through February 2 — Dead Period.
February 1, 2012 -- National Signing Day runs through April 1, 2012.
February 3 through April 14 — Quiet Period.

Class of 2013

April 15 through May 31, 2012 Evaluation Period for Class of 2013:
During the evaluation period, college staffs have approximately 30 days to conduct both athletic and academic evaluations of potential recruits. Days not used for evaluation during this time window are otherwise considered "quiet."
June 1, 2012 through July 31, 2012 — Quiet Period.

Quick FAQ

When Can a College Football Coach Start Calling Recruits and How Many Times?

Phone Calls 

First Permitted Phone Call to a Recruit: D1 football coaches can make one phone call to a prospect between April 15 and May 31st of his junior year.

Beginning September 1 of a prospect's senior year, college coaches can begin calling a recruit, but they are forbidden to call a single recruit more than once per week. Coaches can make no calls to recruits during dead periods.

When Can  a College Football Coach Start Sending Letters and Emails?

Correspondence  

At any time colleges can send prospects non-athletic program information such as college summer camp brochures, news letters, recruiting questionnaires, and educational information about their schools. However, college coaches cannot begin sending personal correspondence to a recruit until September 1^st of his senior year.

When Can a Prospect or Parent/Guardian Contact College Coaches

At anytime prospects and/or parent/guardian are allowed to make phone calls or send correspondence to college coaches.

Definitions (simplified) — for the official NCAA definitions click the following link to read the Official NCAA Glossary of Terms for  Contact | Contact Period | Quiet period |Dead Period | Evaluation | Evaluation Period | Prospective student-athlete | Unofficial visit | Official visit |Verbal commitment | National Letter of Intent.

Contact Period — It's permissible for authorized athletic department staff members to make in-person and off-campus recruiting contacts and evaluations. College coaches are allowed to visit recruits off–campus (at their high school or home). Coaches can make only one visit per week to individual recruits and are permitted to make one phone call per week to a recruit during this period.

Quiet Period — Recruits can visit with college coaches but only at those college campuses. Also, during the month of September, October or November coaches are permitted to make one in-person off-campus visit to a recruit (at their high schools or at an athletic event) (colleges are allowed a total of 42 days of evaluation time during this period).

Dead Period  — Coaches are not permitted to make in-person recruiting contacts or evaluations on or off-campus or to permit official or unofficial visits by recruits or to make phone calls to recruits.

Evaluation Period — It's permissible for authorized athletics department staff to be involved in off-campus activities to assess academic qualifications and playing abilities. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts with a prospect are permitted during these evaluations: the college coaches are only allowed to attend athletic events and/or the prospect's school and talk to the high school coaches and school administrators but they are not allowed to speak to the recuit during one of thes visits except to say "hello." Colleges are allowed a total of approximatley 168 days each year to conduct evaluations for all of their prospective recruits.

To learn more view: 
Official 2011-2012 NCAA Division 1 Football Recruiting Calendar (PDF)  .
Good Football Recruiting Tips for High School to College:
Football Recruiting Process: How to Prepare and Improve Your Chances.
College Football Coaches Contact Information — All D-IA Listings: Address | Phone | Fax | email.