MALE
PRACTICE PLAYERS IN DIVISION I WOMEN’S SPORTS:
INITIAL
REPORT
April
11, 2007
I.
Introduction
At its April 10, 2006 meeting, the Division I Management
Council received a report from the Committee on Women's Athletics in which the
committee recommended that the structure examine the use of male practice
players in women's intercollegiate athletics. Upon receiving that request, the
Management Council referred the matter to the Division I
Championships/Competition Cabinet as the cabinet was the appropriate body in
the Division I governance structure to review and evaluate the current
situation. The cabinet was requested to determine whether possible restrictions
on the use of such practice players should be instituted.
The Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet discussed
the issue at both its June 27-28, and September 19-20, 2006, meetings and
agreed that the use of male practice players in women's sports may be having a
significant impact on participation and development opportunities for female student-athletes.
However, the cabinet also agreed that before any legislation should be
developed, information needed to be obtained from the membership. The cabinet
determined it first needed a better understanding of the current use of male
practice players before taking any further action.
The survey was sent to four primary contacts
(athletics administrators & FAR).
The cabinet asked that each institution use the survey as an
opportunity for campus education and dialogue and requested that each institution’s
directors of athletics submit only one survey to the NCAA reflecting the
institution’s response. To accurately ensure that your
institution’s position is reflected in the survey response, the cabinet
asked that institutions engage coaches, student-athletes, faculty and
administrators in a conversation regarding the prevalence and use of male
practice players.
II. Definition of a Male Practice Player
A male practice player is defined as any male engaged in
activities with a women's varsity or junior varsity athletics squad (including
a male student-athlete, manager or student-coach) held at the direction of or
supervised by a member of an institution's coaching staff. Participation by a
male practice player includes a designated role for the male during the female
team's practice. The male practice player's involvement is distinct from the
athletics participation of male student-athletes in joint practice sessions
with female student-athletes.
Examples
of possible uses of male practice players include, but are not limited to, the
following:
·
Any
activity or instruction involving sports-related information and having an
athletics purpose;
·
Field,
floor or on-court activity (e.g., serving as a hitting partner, practicing
drills, serving as a "rabbit" and being the scout team);
·
Setting
up offensive or defensive alignments;
·
Activities
using equipment related to the sport;
·
Required
weight-training and conditioning activities held at the direction of or
supervised by an institutional staff member;
·
Outside
the declared playing season, skill-related instruction activities;
·
On-court
or on-field activities called by any member or members of a team and confined
primarily to members of that team that are considered as a requisite for
participation in that sport; and
·
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.
Examples
of activities not considered to be uses of male practice players include, but
are not limited to, the following:
·
Male
and female cross country or swimming student-athletes engaging in a joint
workout session and completing the same workout; and
·
Male
and female student-athletes practicing simultaneously at the same site.
III.
Response Rate
IV. Utilization of Male Practice Players in 2005-06
·
With an overall
response rate of 95%, the utilization rates above are highly reliable.
·
Two-thirds of
all Division I institutions utilized male practice players in at least one
women’s sport in 2005-06.
·
Nearly
two-thirds of all Division I women’s basketball squads utilized male
practice players in 2005-06.
V. Survey Findings
All rates
recorded in this section are based on the number of institutions that responded
in the affirmative that they utilized male practice players in 2005-06 in the
sport detailed in the tables (Overall Respondents = 205 Institutions).
A. Timing of Utilization of Male Practice Players
·
In women’s
soccer and volleyball, the use of male practice players occurred across the
championship and non-championship segments.
B. Frequency of Utilization of Male Practice Players
·
In women’s
basketball, two-thirds of squads used male practice players one
to three times a week down to a few times a month.
·
One-third of women’s basketball squads used them nearly
every day.
·
In women’s
soccer, 90% of squads used male practice players one to three
times a week down to a few times a month.
·
In women’s
volleyball, 75% of squads used male practice players one to
three times a week down to a few times a month.
C. Capacity of Utilization of Male Practice Players
·
There is significant
variation in how male practice players were used within sport and across
sports.
·
90% or more of women’s basketball, soccer and
volleyball squads used male practice players for scrimmaging.
D. Composition of Squads for the 2005-06 Academic Year
·
There is no meaningful
statistical relationship between the squad size and the number of
male practice players.
·
There is no meaningful
statistical relationship between the number of grants-in-aid awarded
and the number of male practice players.
E. Identification/Recruitment of Male Practice Players
·
About half
of women’s basketball, soccer and volleyball squads recruited or
identified male practice players using formal techniques such as
advertising or using established teams.
·
About a half
of women’s basketball and soccer teams and one-third of volleyball
squads used informal means to recruit and identify male practice players
(e.g., word-of-mouth).
F. Effect on Non-Starting Student-Athletes
·
Approximately two-thirds
of women’s basketball and volleyball squads and more than 80%
of soccer teams reported no change in how non-starting
student-athletes were used when male practice players were utilized.
·
For those squads
that reported a change in how non-starters were used when male practice players
were present, those non-starting student-athletes were used in varying ways.
G. Impact on Recruiting or Financial Aid Decisions
·
One
institution reported recruiting
fewer female players or providing fewer scholarships because of the utilization
of male practice players.
H. Policies and Procedures
Total Institutions = 205
·
The variation in
response to the items above is most likely due to variation in the
interpretation of the bylaws concerning male practice players – regular
versus occasional use.
The
following is an excerpt from the Division I bylaws concerning male practice
players.
14.1.8.1.6
Eligibility Requirements for Male Students to Practice with Women's Teams
It is permissible for male students to engage in practice sessions with women's teams under the following
conditions: (Revised: 5/12/05)
(a) Male
students who practice with an institution's women's teams on an occasional basis must be verified as eligible
for practice in accordance with Bylaw 14.1.8.1 and must have eligibility
remaining under the five-year rule (Bylaw 14.2.1);
(b) Male
students who practice with the institution's women's teams on a regular basis must be certified in accordance
with all applicable NCAA eligibility regulations (e.g., must be enrolled in a
minimum full-time program of studies, must sign a drug-testing consent form,
must be included on the institution's squad list, etc.);
Total Institutions = 205
·
The U.S.
Department of Education (DOE), who administers the Equity in Athletics
Disclosure Act (EADA) data collection, has given the NCAA clear instruction
that male practice players are not to be included in the federally
mandated annual data collection from NCAA member institutions.
·
The NCAA cannot
be certain the DOE corrects erroneously submitted data related to male practice
players which may be one of various causes for the variation in the response
above.
Total Institutions = 205
·
Fewer than
16% of institutions that indicated
they utilized male practice players in 2005-06 had formal policies
governing the use of them.
Total Institutions = 205
·
Three
institutions that indicated they
utilized male practice players in 2005-06 were aware of conference policies
governing the use of them.
I.
Benefits Provided
to Male Practice Players
Total
Institutions = 205
·
Variation in the
responses above may be the result of variation in the interpretation of the Division
I bylaws governing the eligibility of male practice players (14.1.8.1.6)
– regular versus occasional use.
·
According to
Division I bylaws, if a male practice player is considered a student-athlete
(regular use), they may receive benefits available to any and all
student-athletes.
J. Average Number of Years Division I Institutions have
Utilized Male Practice Players
·
7.2 years
K. Utilization of Male Practice Players in the Future
Total
Institutions = 204
·
One
institution that reported they
utilized male practice players in 2005-06 and responded to this question
indicated they would not use male practice players in the future.
The National Collegiate
Athletic Association
April
11, 2007
EMH/NMB