RELATED TO
MANAGEMENT COUNCIL
SUPPLEMENT NO. 12

NCAA DIVISION III STUDENT-ATHLETE REINSTATEMENT COMMITTEE

Summary of Recommendations

ITEMS OF INFORMATION

1. ISSUE:		Recruiting Violations Where the Institution Gained a Significant Advantage.
Committee Action:
	The committees approved a shift in the analysis of recruiting violations from a subjective standard to an objective standard, or “reasonable person” standard. The “reasonable person” standard will ensure that prospective student-athletes who receive similar benefits will be treated the same. These changes will shift the focus from the impact that a recruiting violation has on a specific prospective student-athlete’s decision (deciding factor) to focusing on whether the recruiting violation would have impacted a “reasonable person’s” decision to attend the institution. As a result, the staff will focus on the level and type of benefits received by the prospective student-athlete and the significance of any impermissible activity conducted by the institution during the recruitment process.
Management Council Action:
Accepted the information.
2. ISSUE:		Repayment Issues – Defaulted Repayment Plans.
Committee Action:
	The committee affirmed that if a student-athlete competed and then defaulted on a repayment plan that had been established as part of a reinstatement program, an institutional penalty would be imposed resulting in the institution being unable to enter into a repayment plan with the reinstatement program for a four-year period. By defaulting, the student-athlete did not complete the repayment plan within the agreed upon time period; however, the student-athlete benefited from the plan by participating when full repayment had not occurred. An institution may appeal the institutional penalty to the committee. Background Information: The committee instituted the use of repayment plans to address instances where the student-athletes and/or his or her parents do not have the financial resources to fully repay the impermissible benefit prior to the next contest. In order to remove financial barriers and to ensure equity between indigent and affluent student-athletes, the committees have permitted institutions to enter into a good-faith agreement (repayment plan). In order for the staff to approve the repayment plan on behalf of the committee, an institutional representative and the student-athlete must sign the plan. The
	plan must also outline the specific dates on which payments will be made. In addition, the institution must verify that full repayment will be made prior to the student-athlete exhausting his or her intercollegiate athletics eligibility. The staff has given deference to institutions in establishing the dates and amounts of each payment, since institutions are in the best position to determine when a student-athlete can make the payments and the specific amount that a student-athlete can afford. If a student-athlete misses one of the payment dates outlined in the repayment plan, he or she is ineligible to compete until the repayment is current. The committee’s policy regarding defaulting student-athletes will be instituted in those rare cases where the student-athlete agrees to a plan, competes and then decides not to fulfill the plan. It should be noted that the staff has entered into approximately 90 repayment plans, and none have defaulted as of August 1, 2002.
Management Council Action:
Accepted the information.