Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund.

A total of $24,529,000 will be sent to Division I conference offices in late August 2006 that will be allocated based on the 'broad-based' (sports sponsorship and grants-in-aid) distribution formula.  The funds will increase in value at 13 percent annually, subject to approval by the Division I Board of Directors.

The following information demonstrates the intent of the funds:

The Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund is intended to provide direct benefits to student-athletes or their families as determined by conference offices.  As a guiding principle, the fund shall be used to assist student-athletes in meeting financial needs that arise in conjunction with participation in intercollegiate athletics, enrollment in an academic curriculum or that recognize academic achievement.  Accordingly, receipt of Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund monies shall not be included in determining the permissible amount of financial aid that a member institution may award to a student-athlete.  Further, inasmuch as the fund is design to provide direct benefits to student-athletes, the fund is not intended to be used to replace existing budget items.

The following student-athletes are eligible for funds:

All student-athletes, including international, are eligible to receive SAOF benefits, regardless of whether they are grant-in-aid recipients, have demonstrated need or have either exhausted eligibility or no longer participate due to medical reasons.  Additionally, student-athletes receiving monies from the Special Assistance Fund may also receive SAOF benefits.

Except for prospective student-athletes receiving summer financial aid prior to full-time enrollment pursuant to NCAA Bylaw 15.2.8.1.3, 15.2.8.1.4, and 15.2.8.1.5 no prospective student-athlete shall be eligible to receive SAOF funds.

The following are restrictions on the use of the funds:

Pursuant to NCAA Bylaw 15.01.7.2, member institutions and conferences shall not use monies received from the fund for the following:

• Salaries and Benefits.                        
• Grants-in-aid (other than summer school) for student-athletes with remaining eligibility.                        
• Capital improvements.                        
• Stipends.

The responsibility for oversight and administration of the fund, including interpretations, rests solely with the conferences.  The Division I Management Council shall establish the guiding principles of the fund.

A conference may accumulate not more than the total allocation received over the previous two years.  The succeeding allocation will be forfeited if that amount is exceeded.

Independent institutions' funds have been assigned to a conference office for administration based on the same assignment made for administration of the National Letter of Intent.

The Board of Directors shall review, after two years of operation, a Management Council report concerning the fund uses and the policies to ensure the fund is achieving its stated goal of providing direct benefits to student-athletes to pay costs that arise in conjunction with participation in athletics and enrollment in an academic curriculum.

Conferences will be required to report annually to the NCAA the fund recipients by sport and gender, as well as the purposes for which the moneys were used and the amounts for each purpose.