REPORT OF THE
NCAA DIVISION III
INTERPRETATIONS AND
LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
1. ACTION ITEM.
a. Interpretation
of coach’s affiliation with third-party organization that operates recruiting/scouting
services or high-school all-star games.
(1) Recommendation. Approve the following interpretation:
It
is permissible for an institutional athletics department staff member to
be affiliated with a third-party organization (e.g., coaches association, administrator
organization) that operates or endorses a recruiting or scouting service
involving prospects or administers a high school all-star game involving
prospects, provided no individual institutional athletics department staff
members are involved in the operation, endorsement, or oversight of the service
or the oversight, administration, or player selection for high school all-star
games. Access to a recruiting or
scouting service must be available to all coaches or institutions on an equal
basis regardless of affiliation with the third-party organization. [Reference: Bylaw 13.11.2.1 (evaluations for media,
recruiting services) and 13.14.1 (coach involvement)]
(2) Rationale. Many coaches organizations are
establishing these services for their members and the committee determined that
the organization acting on behalf of its members does not represent the
recruiting advantage that would be gained by an individual coach establishing a
recruiting service or selecting players for an all-star contest.
(3) Budget Impact. None.
b. Interpretation
of prospect’s involvement in institutional fundraisers or promotional activities in the summer prior
to initial full-time collegiate enrollment.
(1) Recommendation. Approve the following official
interpretation:
It is not permissible for institutions to involve prospective student-athletes who have signed an institutional written offer of admission and/or financial-aid agreement in institutional fundraisers or promotional activities in
the summer prior to initial full-time collegiate enrollment. [References: Bylaw 13.01.4 (recruiting by representatives of athletics interests), Bylaw 13.2.1 (general regulation).
(2) Rationale. A prospective student-athlete should not
be involved in fundraising for a team he or she may not be participating with
in the subsequent academic year.
(3) Budget
Impact. None.
c. Interpretation of discount-rate or reduced
price from third-party manufacturer provided to student-athlete to purchase
non-essential athletics equipment.
(1) Recommendation. Approve the following official
interpretation:
A student-athlete is prohibited from purchasing athletics equipment, supplies or clothing directly from a manufacturer or commercial enterprise at a discounted or reduced price that is not offered to the general student body unless equipment, supplies or clothing is essential to participation. [Reference: Bylaw 16.02.3 (extra benefit).]
(2) Rationale. In conjunction with Division III extra
benefit legislation, a
student-athlete should not be provided a discount-rate or reduced price from a
third-party manufacturer or enterprise unless that same discount or reduced
price is available to students generally.
(3) Budget Impact. None
d. Interpretation
of institution providing gift to prospect with no reasonable expectation of participating
in intercollegiate athletics.
(1) Recommendation. Approve the following interpretation:
The prohibition set forth in NCAA Bylaws 13.2.1 (general regulation) and 13.2.2 (specific prohibitions) regarding offers and inducements to prospective student-athletes would not preclude an institution from providing gifts of clothing, equipment or other tangible items to a prospect-aged individual who has no reasonable expectation of participating in intercollegiate
athletics as a result of a disability, handicap or terminal illness. [References: Bylaws 13.2.1 (general regulation) and 13.2.2 (specific prohibitions).]”
(2) Rationale. Previously, institutions asked to
provide charitable donations to a prospect-aged individual who had no
reasonable expectation of participating in intercollegiate athletics would have
had to file an Administrative Review Subcommittee waiver. This legislation
addresses unique situations in which an institution might permissibly donate
items to prospects that have no expectation of participating at any institution
and reduce the
bureaucracy of filing a waiver in the process.
(3) Budget
Impact. Minimal.
e. Interpretation
of camps or
clinics comprised solely of competition activities.
(1) Recommendation. Approve the following official
interpretation:
It is
permissible for an institution’s camp or clinic to be solely comprised of
competition activities and that instructional and/or practice activities may
also occur within a camp or clinic, but are not required. [Reference: Bylaw 13.13.1.1.1 (purposes
of camps or clinics).]
(2) Rationale. The committee reviewed Bylaw 13.13.1.1.1
and its legislative history and determined that camps or clinics could be
solely comprised of competition activities. The committee noted that the purpose of
camps and clinics is multi-faceted and includes developing one’s
fundamental skills in a sport and providing opportunity for prospective
student-athletes to display their athletic abilities to coaches from college
institutions.
(3) Budget
Impact. None.
f.
Interpretation
of use of a season of participation for male practice players on female teams.
(1) Recommendation. Approve the following official interpretation:
A male student-athlete who is eligible to practice with an institution's women’s team shall be charged with a season of participation in a particular sport for practicing beyond his first opportunity to compete with that team. If a male student-athlete practices with a women’s team in a sport
considered to be equivalent to a men's sport per NCAA amateurism regulations (e.g., softball and baseball), that student-athlete shall use a season of participation for the equivalent male sport. [References: Bylaws 14.2.2 (ten semester/fifteen-quarter rule) and 14.2.4.1 (minimum amount of participation).]”
(2) Rationale. The intent of the seasons of
participation legislation is to eliminate all forms of
“redshirting.” Male
practice players practicing with a female team potentially represent another
form of redshirting that would otherwise allow a male practice player, who may
otherwise be practicing as a student-athlete on a male team, to practice an
entire season with a female team without being charged with a season of participation.
(3) Budget
Impact. None.
g. Noncontroversial
Legislation – Bylaw 12.4 -- Employment Standards for Commission-based Paying
Positions.
(1) Recommendation. Adopt noncontroversial legislation to remove Bylaws 12.4.2.2 (athletics equipment sales) and 12.4.2.3 (goodwill tour commissions) as employment standards for current student-athletes including commission-based employment.
(2) Rationale. Bylaw 12.4.1 (criteria governing employment of student-athletes) addresses all forms of employment situations, including sales-positions that structure pay based on a commission basis, and provides reasonable guidelines for employment without specifically regulating athletics equipment sales and goodwill tour commissions.
(3) Budget Impact. None
h.
Noncontroversial
Legislation -- Bylaw 13 -- Use of the term "relatives."
(1) Recommendation. Adopting the following as noncontroversial legislation:
a. To amend Bylaws 13.02.2, 13.02.6.1(a), 13.6.2.8(b) by removing reference to “parents.”
b. To amend Bylaws 13.02.2, 13.02.3.1(b), 13.02.6.1(b)-(c), 13.6.2.8, 13.7.5.1, 13.7.5.2, 13.7.5.5, 13.7.5.6, 13.7.5.6.3, and 13.7.5.6.3.1 by removing “legal” when referencing a prospect’s guardian(s).
c. To amend Bylaw 13.6.2.2.2 by adding “guardians” and “spouse” to those individuals whom an institution must terminate contact with at the completion of the 48-hour official visit time-limit.
d. To amend Bylaws 13.7.5.6.3 and 13.7.5.6.3.1 to indicate parents, guardians “or” spouse could receive specified meal benefit, but not, more than one of these categories of individuals.
(2) Rationale. This proposal removes duplicative
language in recruiting legislation and accommodates nontraditional family
structures, including a prospective student-athlete’s active guardian who
may not be officially a “legal” guardian. Further, this proposal clarifies that
the permissible benefits are limited to the parent(s), guardian(s), or spouse,
as opposed to all of those individuals.
(3) Budget
Impact. Minimal.
i. Noncontroversial
Legislation – Bylaw 13.5.2 -- Slush Funds.
(1) Recommendation. Adopt noncontroversial legislation to remove
Bylaw 13.5.4 (slush funds).
(2) Rationale. Bylaw 13.15 (institutional control) establishes that the institution is exclusively and entirely responsible for the manner in which recruiting funds are expended. This principle should guide institution in such a manner that an additional bylaw prohibition the use of slush funds is not necessary.
(3) Budget Impact. None
j. Noncontroversial
Legislation – Bylaw 13.6.2.4 -- Transportation of prospect and
prospect’s parents and guardians from any airport.
(1) Recommendation. Adopt noncontroversial legislation to specify that an institution, during
an official visit, may provide ground
transportation for a prospect and the prospect's parents or guardians
between the campus and any bus
or train station or airport.
(2) Rationale. There are institutions that are located
in rural areas and the flight selection is limited. Allowing institutions to choose any
airport from campus will provide institutions flexibility with flight times and
prices. For some institutions, it
could provide savings that equal thousands of dollars per year. It could also make travel easier on the
prospect in respect to layovers and the greater likelihood of booking direct
flights.
(3) Budget
Impact. Varied. Potential savings in official visit transportation.
k. Noncontroversial
Legislation – Bylaw 13.7 -- Visiting home athletics facilities located
off-campus during official visit.
(1) Recommendation. Adopt noncontroversial legislation
to remove the
mileage-radius restriction for visiting home athletics facilities during an
official visit per Bylaw 13.7.1.3 (visit to off-campus contest) to permit an
official visit to include visits to an institution’s regular home
athletics facilities; further, to remove the Management Council’s
involvement in waiving Bylaw 13.7.1.3 requirements and require an institution
to document conditions causing a visit to an off-campus site.
(2) Rationale. Division III recently deregulated mileage restriction involving off-campus athletics facilities for unofficial visit and prospective student-athletes should have the same opportunity to view the institution’s regularly used athletics facilities regardless of the facilities’ distance from campus. Also, in the spirit of deregulation, if an institution can document those conditions rendering the on-campus facility unusable, it is not necessary to have the Management Council grant permission for that facility to substitute for an on-campus facility.
(3) Budget Impact. Impact on institution’s official visit transportation budget.
l. Noncontroversial Legislation – Bylaw
13.11.7.1 – Staff Member Presence.
(1) Recommendation. Adopt noncontroversial legislation to amend Bylaw 13.11.7.1 (staff member presence) to clarify that an institution’s staff members, other than bona fide media representatives who are employed on a part-time basis by the institution, may not be present at the site of a prospect’s signing when media representatives are present.
(2) Rationale. This proposal reinforces the concept
that a prospect's commitment to attend an institution should not be a media
event showcasing the prospect and his or her new coach. Existing legislation indicated that the
coach may not have contact with media representatives; this proposal clarifies
that all physical presence is prohibited.
(3) Budget
Impact. None.
m.
Noncontroversial
Legislation – Bylaw 14.2.5- (a) – Hardship Waiver.
(1) Recommendation. Adopt noncontroversial legislation to amend Bylaw 14.2.5–(a) (hardship waiver) to permit a student-athlete to file for a medical hardship waiver regardless of whether the student-athlete’s injury occurred during one of the four seasons of intercollegiate participation or at some other time, provided the injury is incapacitating based on contemporaneous medical documentation and prevents the student-athlete from competing during the applicable playing season.
(2) Rationale. The committee reviewed Bylaw 14.2.5-(a)
and discussed whether a student-athlete who incurred an injury outside an
institution’s declared playing season (e.g., summer before academic year
and playing season) could qualify for a medical hardship waiver even though the
student-athlete’s injury did not occur during one of the four seasons of
intercollegiate participation. It
does not seem appropriate to bar a student-athlete from any participation with
a team because the injury occurred in the days or weeks prior to the season (as
opposed to happening after the season started). The committee recognized that
student-athlete well-being could be enhanced with an amendment.
(3) Budget
Impact. None.
n. 2006 Convention Legislation – Bylaw 13.1.1.2 -- Permission to contact with non-NCAA or NAIA institutions.
(1) Recommendation. Sponsor legislation for the 2006 Convention to amend Bylaw 13.1.1.2 (four-year college prospects) to specify that contact with non-NCAA or NAIA institutions does not require permission.
(2) Rationale. Currently, an athletics staff member cannot make contact with a student-athlete from another four-year institution without first obtaining permission from the student-athlete's current institution. Like the current Division I rule, this proposal permits an international transfer student-athlete to transfer to a Division III institution without written permission from the foreign institution, thereby reducing bureaucracy for Division III institutions. This proposal will affect student-athletes attending institutions not members of either the NCAA or NAIA in the same manner as international transfers.
(3) Budget Impact. None.
o. 2006 Convention Legislation – Bylaws
13.4 and 13.16 -- Institution sharing home facilities with local high school.
(1) Recommendation. Sponsor legislation for the 2006 Convention to permit an institution that shares its home facility with an institution consisting of prospective student-athletes to upgrade the facility or reference (or advertise with) the facility per Bylaws 13.4.2.1 (recruiting advertisements), 13.16.1.2 (fundraising for high-school athletics program) and 13.16.1.3 (college use of high-school facility).
(2) Rationale. Many Division III institutions share home facilities with a high school or other academic institution consisting of prospective student-athletes and institutions should be permitted to upgrade facilities or advertise the institution’s use of facilities as other institutions who own their own facilities outright are permitted to do.
(3) Budget Impact. For institutions that share facilities, there will be a potential impact on institution’s operations and advertising budgets.
p. 2006
Convention Legislation – Bylaw 13.12 -- Institution’s coach
providing private lessons in golf and tennis.
(1) Recommendation. Sponsor legislation for the 2006 convention to permit an institution’s golf or tennis coach to teach private golf or tennis lessons to a prospect, provided the following criteria are satisfied: (a) the coach makes lessons available to the general public; (b) fees charged to the prospect are at a rate commensurate with fees charged to all individuals; (c) prior written approval is received annually from the institution's athletics director and the institution’s athletics department keeps on file documentation of the fee charged for the private lessons; and (d) fees of the prospect are not paid by individuals or entities other than the prospect's parents or guardian(s).
(2) Rationale. Coaches involved in golf and tennis are
having unique employment opportunity in off-season to serve as designated
professional for a golf or tennis club.
An institutional coach’s duties as a club professional often
require that he or she provide private lessons to individuals, including
prospective student-athletes.
(3) Budget
Impact. None.
q. 2006 Convention
Legislation – Bylaw 13.16.1.5.1. -- Donation of Athletics Equipment to
groups including prospects.
(1) Recommendation. Sponsor legislation for the 2006 Convention to amend Bylaw 13.16.1.5.1 (athletics equipment) so that institutions would be permitted to donate used athletics equipment to all youth groups, including high schools, per the institutions’ regular policy regarding the discarding of equipment.”
(2) Rationale. This proposal recognizes the positive
impact felt by youth groups in receipt of used athletics equipment. Institutions are frequently asked to
donate this equipment and the potential recruiting advantages gained by this
donation is overshadowed by the positive impact this donation of equipment
would have on the affected prospects.
(3) Budget
Impact. None.
r.
2006
Convention Legislation -- Bylaw 14.5.1.5 -- Competition in year of transfer
residence requirement.
(1) Recommendation. Sponsor legislation for the 2006 Convention to indicate that a student-athlete required to serve an academic year in residence per Bylaws 14.5.1 and 14.5.1.2 is not eligible to participate in any NCAA championship during the semester that student-athlete is fulfilling the academic year in residence, or in the vacation period immediately following one of the terms of the academic year in residence (e.g., winter break, summer vacation, etc).
(2) Rationale. The intent of transfer resident
requirement is for a student-athlete to be withheld from all competition for
one full academic year. It is not
appropriate for a student-athlete to be eligible for NCAA championships that
occur in the vacation period immediately following the conclusion of the
transfer residence requirement, as that championship was tied to a season
during which the individual was not eligible for most or all other competition.
(3) Budget
Impact. None.
s. 2006
Convention Legislation – Bylaw 16.1.7.3 -- Student-athlete’s
parents, guardians and spouse attending conference academic award ceremonies.
(1) Recommendation. Sponsor legislation for the 2006
Convention to amend Bylaw 16.1.7.3 (conference awards) to permit a
conference to provide actual and
necessary expenses for the student-athlete's parents (or legal guardians) and
spouse to attend the presentation of conference academic awards to student-athletes,
provided the academic awards are presented on a regular basis in recognition of
outstanding academic achievement.
(2) Rationale. Currently, a conference may provide expenses for a student-athlete's spouse, parents or legal guardians to attend the annual conference athlete of the year award presentation. That legislation, however, is not broad enough to include expenses for parents or legal guardians to travel to a conference academic awards presentation. Because the membership has recognized the appropriateness of providing travel expenses to attend an athlete of the year presentations, it is consistent to permit a student-athlete's parents (or legal guardians) or spouse to attend presentations in recognition of a student-athlete's outstanding academic achievement.
(3) Budget
Impact. Increase on conference
office award budget.
t. 2006
Convention Legislation – Bylaw 16.8 – Provision of institutional
polo shirt to student-athletes representing institution in public.
(1) Recommendation. Sponsor legislation for the 2006
Convention to permit an institution to provide a student-athlete with
one shirt (e.g., polo or oxford style) each academic year bearing the
institution’s logo to be used for team
apparel for
(2) Rationale. Student-athletes are frequently asked to participate in community service activities as representatives of member institutions. On many occasions, it is not appropriate to wear apparel used for practice or competition purposes to these activities. This proposal provides institutions the ability to supply one shirt to each student-athlete, without the shirt having to be used solely for practice or competition purposes. Further, the institution should be able t