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An individual becomes a student-athlete when either of the following conditions are satisfied:
(a) The individual's enrollment was enlisted by a member of the athletics staff or other representative of the institution's athletics interest that are viewed towards the student-athlete's ultimate participation in the intercollegiate athletics program and the individual attends the first day of class while enrolled in at least a minimum full-time program of studies; or
(b) The individual participates in an intercollegiate squad practice or contest that is under the jurisdiction of the athletics department.13.02.4 Prospective Student-AthleteA prospective student-athlete ("prospect") is a student who has started classes for the ninth grade. In addition, a student who has not started classes for the ninth grade becomes a prospective student-athlete if the institution provides such an individual (or the individual’s relatives or friends) any financial assistance or other benefits that the institution does not provide to prospective students generally. An individual remains a prospective student-athlete until one of the following occurs (whichever occurs earlier):
(a) The individual officially registers and enrolls in a minimum full-time program of studies and attends classes in any term of a four-year collegiate institution’s regular academic year (excluding summer); or
(b) The individual participates in a regular squad practice or competition at a four-year collegiate institution. (Revised: 1/11/89, 1/10/90)
A "representative of the institution’s athletics interests" is an individual who is known (or who should have been known) by a member of the institution’s executive or athletics administration to:
(a) Have participated in or to be a member of an agency or organization promoting the institution’s intercollegiate athletics program;
(b) Have made financial contributions to the athletics department or to an athletics booster organization of that institution;
(c) Be assisting or to have been requested (by the athletics department staff) to assist in the recruitment of prospects;
(d) Be assisting or to have assisted in providing benefits to enrolled student-athletes or their families; or
(e) Have been involved otherwise in promoting the institution’s athletics program.
To be eligible to participate in organized practice sessions, a student-athlete shall be enrolled in a minimum full-time program of studies leading to a baccalaureate or equivalent degree as defined by the regulations of the certifying institution. Violations of this bylaw shall be considered institutional violations per Constitution 2.8.1; however, the violation shall not affect the student-athlete's eligibility. (revised: 1/10/92, 1/11/00)
To be eligible for competition, a student-athlete shall be enrolled in a least a minimum full-time program of studies leading to a baccalaureate or equivalent degree as defined by the institution, which shall not be less than 12 semester or quarter hours.
Effective Date: Aug 01, 1993
A student-athlete who is enrolled in a graduate or professional school of the institution he or she previously attended as an undergraduate (regardless of whether the individual has received a United States baccalaureate degree or its equivalent), a student-athlete who is enrolled and seeking a second baccalaureate or equivalent degree at the same institution, or a student-athlete who has graduated and is continuing as a full-time student at the same institution while taking course work that would lead to the equivalent of another major or degree as defined and documented by the institution, may participate in intercollegiate athletics, provided the student has eligibility remaining and such participation occurs within the applicable 10-semester/15-quarter period set forth in Bylaw 14.2 (see also Bylaw 14.1.7.2.1.4). (Revised: 1/10/90, 1/16/93 effective 8/1/93)
A student-athlete shall complete his or her seasons of competition during the first 10 semesters or 15 quarters in which the student is enrolled in a collegiate institution in at least a minimum full-time program of studies, as determined by the regulations of that institution. For an institution that conducts registration other than on a traditional semester or quarter basis, the Management Council shall determine an equivalent enrollment period.
A season of competition shall be counted when a student-athlete participates in any regular-season competition (including scrimmages occurring after the first contest or date of competition and competition in the nontraditional segment) or postseason intercollegiate competition. A season of competition shall not be counted when a student-athlete participates in a preseason scrimmage or preseason exhibition. This provision is applicable to intercollegiate athletics competition conducted by a two-year or four-year collegiate institution at the varsity, junior varsity or freshman team level. (Revised: 1/11/94, 1/11/00 effective 8/1/00, Revised: 1/8/01)
A student-athlete may be granted an additional year of competition by the conference or the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement for reasons of "hardship." Hardship is defined as an incapacity resulting from an injury or illness that has occurred under all of the following conditions:
(a) The incapacitating injury or illness occurs in one of the four seasons of intercollegiate competition at any two-year or four-year collegiate institution; (Revised: 1/10/92 effective 8/1/92)
(b) The injury or illness occurs before the completion of the first half of the traditional playing season in that sport (measured by the number of completed contests or dates of competition rather than scheduled contests or dates of competition or calendar days) and results in incapacity to compete for the remainder of the traditional playing season; and
(c) The injury or illness occurs when the student-athlete has not participated in more than three contests or dates of competition (whichever is applicable to that sport) or one-third (whichever number is greater) of the institution’s completed contests or dates of competition in his or her sport. Only competition (excluding preseason scrimmages and exhibition contests but including scrimmages and exhibitions after the first regularly scheduled contest) against outside participants during the traditional playing season, or, if so designated, during the official NCAA championship playing season in that sport (e.g., spring baseball, fall soccer), shall be countable under this limitation in calculating both the number of contests or dates of competition in which the student-athlete has participated and the number of completed contests or dates of competition during that season in the sport. (Revised: 1/10/92, 1/14/97 effective 8/1/97)
To be eligible to represent an institution in intercollegiate athletics competition, a student-athlete shall maintain satisfactory progress toward a baccalaureate or equivalent degree at that institution as determined by the regulations of that institution. As a general requirement, "satisfactory progress" is to be interpreted at each member institution by the academic authorities who determine the meaning of such phrases for all students, subject to controlling legislation of the conference(s) or similar association of which the institution is a member. (See Constitution 3.2.4.10 regarding the obligations of members to publish their satisfactory-progress requirements for student-athletes.) (Note: The restrictions, exceptions and waivers set forth in Bylaws 14.4.1.2.1, 14.4.1.2.2 and 14.4.1.3 also apply to the general requirements for good academic standing and satisfactory progress.)
A student who has not previously participated in intercollegiate athletics and who transfers from a two-year or four-year collegiate institution to a Division III institution shall be immediately eligible, under the Association’s transfer regulations, to compete for the institution, including NCAA championship competition. If the student has ever participated in intercollegiate athletics, the student must have been academically and athletically eligible had he or she remained at that institution. Further, a student who has ever participated in intercollegiate athletics and transfers from a four-year institution to a two-year college, and then to the certifying institution, also must have been athletically and academically eligible had he or she remained at the previous four-year institution or must have successfully completed at least 24-semester or 36-quarter hours of transferable degree credit and spent at least two semesters or three quarters of attendance at the two-year college. (Revised: 1/10/91 effective 8/1/91, Revised: 1/13/98 effective 8/1/98, Revised: 3/23/01)
A student-athlete becomes ineligible for intercollegiate competition for the remainder of the season in his or her sport (other than basketball) if, after enrollment in college and during any year in which the student-athlete is a member of an intercollegiate squad or team, he or she competes or has competed as a member of any outside team in any noncollegiate, amateur competition (e.g., tournament play, exhibition games or other activity) during the institution’s intercollegiate season in the sport (see Bylaw 14.7.5 for exceptions and waivers) unless restored to eligibility before that time by the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement. (Revised: 1/16/93, 1/11/94)
A student-athlete who participates in any organized basketball competition except while representing the institution in intercollegiate competition in accordance with the permissible playing season specified in Bylaw 17.5 becomes ineligible for any further intercollegiate competition in the sport of basketball (see Bylaw 14.7.5 for exceptions and waivers).
An extra benefit is any special arrangement by an institutional employee or a representative of the institution’s athletics interests to provide a student-athlete or the student-athlete’s relative or friend a benefit not expressly authorized by NCAA legislation. Receipt of a benefit by student-athletes or their relatives or friends is not a violation of NCAA legislation if it is demonstrated that the same benefit is generally available to the institution’s students or their relatives or friends or to a particular segment of the student body (e.g., foreign students, minority students) determined on a basis unrelated to athletics ability. (Revised: 1/10/91)
The following are considered athletically related activities: (Adopted: 1/10/91 effective 8/1/92)
(a) Practice, which is defined as any meeting, activity or instruction involving sports-related information and having an athletics purpose, held for one or more student-athletes at the direction of, or supervised by, any member or members of an institution’s coaching staff. Practice is considered to have occurred if one or more coaches and one or more student-athletes engage in any of the following activities:
(1) Field, floor or on-court activity;
(2) Setting up offensive or defensive alignment;
(3) Chalk talk;
(4) Lecture on or discussion of strategy related to the sport;
(5) Activities using equipment related to the sport; or
(6) Discussions or review of game films, motion pictures or videotapes related to the sport, except for the observation of an officiating clinic related to playing rules that is conducted by video conference and does not require student-athletes to miss any class time to observe the clinic.
(b) Competition;
(c) Required weight-training and conditioning activities held at the direction of or supervised by an institutional staff member;
(d) Participation in a physical-fitness class (including a summer class) conducted by a member of the athletics staff, unless such a class is a regular physical education class listed in the institution’s catalog and open to all students. Such a class may not include practice activities conducted under the guise of physical education class work; (Adopted: 1/10/95)
(e) Required participation in camps, clinics or workshops;
(f) Individual workouts required or supervised by a member of the coaching staff, except for those sports subject to the safety exception. A coach may design a voluntary general individual-workout program for a student-athlete (as opposed to a specific workout program for specific days) but cannot conduct the individual’s workout; (Adopted: 1/10/91 effective 8/1/91)
(g) On-court or on-field activities called by any member(s) of a team and confined primarily to members of that team that are considered as a requisite for participation in that sport (e.g., captain’s practices);
(h) Visiting the competition site in the sports of cross country, golf and skiing; (Adopted: 1/16/93)
(i) Reservation or use of an institution’s athletics facilities when such activities are supervised by or held at the direction of any member of an institution’s coaching staff; and (Revised: 1/10/92, 1/16/93)
(j) Involvement of an institution’s strength and conditioning staff with enrolled student-athletes in required conditioning programs. Strength and conditioning personnel may monitor voluntary individual workouts for safety purposes. (Revised: 1/10/92)
The segments of the playing season are defined as follows: (Revised: 1/10/91 effective 8/1/91, Revised: 1/11/00 effective 8/1/00)
(a) Traditional Segment. The portion of the playing season that concludes with the NCAA championship in the sport shall be known as the "traditional segment," and
(b) Nontraditional Segment. The remaining portion of the playing season shall be known as the "nontraditional segment."
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