Georgia College Student-Athlete Handbook

Table of Contents

Page

Table of Contents2

Letter from the Athletics Director3

History of Georgia College4-5

Athletics Mission & Vision Statement6

Code of Conduct Statement6

NCAA Information7-8

Peach Belt Information9-13

GC Athletics Academic Policies & Procedures14-17

GC Athletics Social Media & Related Policies18-19

NCAA Rules & Compliance Guide20-22

GC Athletic Training23-27

GC Athletics Drug Testing Policies28-31

GC Sports Information32

GC Athletics weightroom33

Staff Directory34

Student-athlete Confirmation Page35

Dear Student-Athlete:

We are pleased that you are a student at Georgia College and a member of the Bobcat family.

You are fortunate to participate in a program that has a long history of academic, social, and athletic excellence.

As a representative of Georgia College, we ask that you do your best to represent your University, your teammates and coaching staff, the Department of Athletics, and yourself with the utmost respect. Do what is right, do the best you can, and treat others like you would like to be treated is a good model to live by.

Your rights and responsibilities as a student-athlete are outlined in this handbook. I encourage you to get familiar with this information.

We look forward to another outstanding year.

Sincerely,

Wendell Staton

Athletics Director

1

Georgia College Student-Athlete Handbook

I. Georgia College

A. History of the University

Founded in 1889 as a public college for women; Today a model liberal arts university

1889Due to the lobbying efforts of Julia Flisch, a journalist in Augusta, supportbuilds to establish a publicly funded college for women that would prepare them for the demands of the new industrial age. In 1889, the Georgia Normal & Industrial Collegeis chartered as a two-year college emphasizing teacher training and business skills.

1891Classes begin in the newly constructed Main building (lost to fire in 1924) and the students lived in the Old Governor's Mansion. The main campusis primarily located on "Penitentiary Square," the site of the former Georgia State Penitentiary (1818-1879). In all, the campus totals 22 acres.

1906J. Harris Chappell, the first president, steps down due to illness, and the dynamic Marvin M. Parks assumes the reins of governance.

1917Due to President Park's persistent advocacy, the college receives authority to grant four-year degrees and establishes its clear independence from the University of Georgia.

1922Georgia Normal & Industrial College changes to Georgia State College for Women. As a teacher's college, courses include psychology, home economics, English, math, art, science, recreation and music.

1934The first student government associationforms at the college. Compulsory uniforms are soon abolished.

1935In order to boost student morale, Dean of Women Ethel Adams initiates a spirited theatrical competition between freshmen and sophomores that becomes known as "Golden Slipper;" until the 1970s, this endures as one of the college's most popular traditions.

1938Student numbers peak at 1,500.

1942Mary Flannery O'Connor, as fellow students call her, enters as a freshman and graduates three years later. One of the most noted Southern writers, her works are housed in the Special Collections area of the Library and Information Technology Center.

1943GSCW is selected as one of four colleges for the training of Navy WAVES. For the next two years, 15,000 women receive training on the campus in storekeeping and clerical duties for the U.S. Navy.

1949Enrollment sinks to 848 and then to a low of 585 in 1953. The majority of post-War women tend to prefer coeducational colleges.

1957The college begins its first graduate program, a Master of Education degree.

1961Georgia State College for Womenis officially renamed The Woman's College of Georgia.

1964Fundsare appropriated for the first adequate renovation of the Governor's Mansion. The workis completed in 1967.

1964Celestine Hill, the first African-American student, enters the Woman's College.

1967The Woman's College of Georgia becomes coeducational and receivesa new name, Georgia College at Milledgeville. In the fall, 185 men join the campus of 1,216 women.

1971Georgia College at Milledgeville becomes Georgia College.

1975Total enrollment grows to 3,770.

1981The college begins a five-year plan to become a multi-campus university which includes a commitment to the "computer era."

1987An educational exchange is established with the People's Republic of China. This begins, in part, a revival of international interaction through study abroad and exchange programs.

1989The college's 100th year anniversary is marked with the opening of the Centennial Center, which serves the campus as a wellness center and gym.

1996The Georgia Board of Regents officially charges the institution with its new mission as "Georgia's public liberal arts university" and bestows the sixth name--"Georgia College & State University."

2004Major dormitory construction is completed as five new buildings open near the main campus to serve more than 1,100 students. In addition, West Campus, the area where the athletic fields are located, becomes home to Bobcat Village, an apartment complex for upperclassmen and women.

2004With help from the Georgia General Assembly and the Woodruff Foundation, a painstaking restoration of the Old Governor's Mansion is completed as a historic house museum, interpreted in the years 1851-1853.

2005The newly expanded and renovated Libraryand Instructional Technology Building is dedicated.

2005Renovation of the former First Methodist Church as the new Student Activities Centeris completed; the centerpiece is the Magnolia Room, an elegant center for events and gatherings.

Today, Georgia College serves more than 6,600 undergraduate and graduate students in four schools with a facultyof 300. In addition to the Milledgeville campus, Georgia College provides the Center for Graduate and Professional Learning in downtown Macon, graduate programs at Robins AFB, and online courses.

Athletics Department Mission Statement

The mission of Georgia College Department of Athletics is to promote and monitor the educational achievement and personal growth of student-athletes; to conduct an athletics program that protects and enhances the physical and education welfare of student-athletes; to provide fair and equitable opportunity for all student-athletes and staff participating in intercollegiate sport activities, regardless of gender or ethnicity; to promote the principles of good sportsmanship and honesty in compliance with University, State, National Collegiate Athletic Association and Peach Belt Conference regulations; to conduct a competitive athletics program that promotes faculty, staff, student and community affiliation with the University and to serve the community through outreach activities which positively reflect the University and promote good will in the community. Georgia College Athletics promotes the 3 R’s: Reason, Respect, and Responsibility. Athletics serves the University’s mission of enhancing the quality of the student experience. Our programs entertain and enrich the University community and the people of Central Georgia and beyond, therefore contributing to the outreach mission of the university.

Department of Athletics Vision Statement

The Department of Intercollegiate Athletics strives to be a model NCAA Division II program while renowned for academic excellence through outstanding graduation rates and scholastic honors. Athletics provides exceptional value and benefit to the mission of the University and community. demonstrates unrivaled pride and foster relationships with all constituents. The athletic department is committed to the utmost integrity through NCAA rules compliance, fiscal responsibility and student-athlete personal development while striving to earn recognition as a national level program through all sports participating in post-season competition.

GC Athletic Code of Conduct Statement

As a student-athlete representing GC, both on and off the field of play, I am aware of my responsibility to always conduct myself in such a way that brings honor to the University. The opportunity to be a student-athlete is a privilege and I realize that I must uphold the core values that the University as well as the Athletics mission.

Athletics Governing Associations

National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA)

The NCAA has three competitive divisions - Divisions I, II and III. Georgia College competes in Division II in all sports.

There are two primary purposes of the NCAA:

a.To sponsor national championship competition and

b.To promulgate and enforce rules and regulations governing the academic and athletic eligibility of student-athletes and the conduct of athletics programs.

NCAA INFORMATION

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a voluntary association of about 1,200 colleges and universities, athletic conferences and sports organizations devoted to the sound administration of Intercollegiate athletics. Through the NCAA, member schools and conferences develop guidelines for athletic issues on a national scale. Volunteer representatives from these schools and conferences establish rules that govern the Association and programs designed to further its purposes and goals.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association's purposes are:

  • To initiate, stimulate and improve intercollegiate athletics programs for student-athletes

and to promote and develop educational leadership, physical fitness, athletics excellence

and athletics participation as a recreational pursuit.

  • To uphold the principle of institutional control of, and responsibility for, all

intercollegiate sports in conformity with the constitution and bylaws of the Association.

  • To encourage its members to adopt eligibility rules to comply with satisfactory standards

of scholarship, sportsmanship and amateurism.

  • To formulate, copyright and publish rules of play governing intercollegiate athletics.
  • To preserve intercollegiate athletics records.
  • To supervise the conduct of, and to establish eligibility standards for, regional and

national athletics events under the auspices of the Association.

  • To legislate, through bylaws or by resolutions of a Convention, upon any subject of

general concern to the members related to the administration of intercollegiate athletics.

  • To study in general all phases of competitive intercollegiate athletics and establish

standards whereby the colleges and universities of the United States can maintain their athletics programs on a high level.

NCAA DIVISION II PHILOSOPHY

Members of Division II believe that a well-conducted intercollegiate athletics program, based on sound educational principles and practices, is a proper part of the educational mission of a University or college and that the educational welfare of the participating student-athlete is of primary concern.

The NCAA Division II Platform is based around six components:

  • Passion
  • Balance
  • Sportsmanship
  • Learning
  • Resourcefulness
  • Service

Members of Division II support the following principles in the belief that these objectives assist in defining the division and the possible differences between it and other divisions of the Association. This statement shall serve as a guide for the preparation of legislation by the division and for planning and implementation of programs by institutions and conferences.

A member of Division II:

  • Believes in promoting the academic success of its student-athletes, measured in part by an institution's student-athletes graduating at least at the same rate as the institution's student body;
  • Believes that participation in intercollegiate athletics benefits the educational experience of its student-athletes and the entire campus community;
  • Believes in offering opportunities for intercollegiate athletics participation consistent with the institution's mission and philosophy;
  • Believes in preparing student-athletes to be good citizens, leaders and contributors in their communities;
  • Believes in striving for equitable participation and competitive excellence, encouraging sportsmanship and ethical conduct, enhancing diversity and developing positive societal attitudes in all of its athletics endeavors;
  • Believes in scheduling the majority of its athletics competition with other members of Division II, insofar as regional qualification, geographical location and traditional or conference scheduling patterns permit;
  • Recognizes the need to "balance" the role of the athletics program to serve both the campus (participants, student body, faculty/staff) and the general public (community, area, state);
  • Believes in offering opportunity for participation in intercollegiate athletics by awarding athletically related financial aid to its student-athletes;
  • Believes that institutional control is a fundamental principle that supports the educational mission of a Division II institution and assumes presidential involvement and commitment. All funds supporting athletics should be controlled by the institution. The emphasis for an athletics department should be to operate within an institutionally approved budget, and compliance with and self-enforcement of NCAA regulations is an expectation of membership; and believes that all members of Division II should commit themselves to this philosophy and to the regulations and programs of Division II.

Peach Belt Conference (PBC)

The idea for formation of a NCAA Division II conference was discussed in November 1988, in Greenville, S.C. with 11 schools represented at the meeting. Five of the colleges at that first meeting, along with two other schools, formed the new conference when USC-Aiken hosted another meeting on December 3, 1989. The seven charter members were Armstrong State University, Columbus State University, Francis Marion University, Georgia College & State University, Lander University, USC-Aiken and USC-Spartanburg. The name Peach Belt Athletic Conference was adopted in January 1990.

Augusta State University applied and was accepted in November 1990. Now the Peach Belt Conference had four members each in Georgia and South Carolina. On July 1, 1992, Pembroke State University officially became a member. Kennesaw State University became the tenth member on July 1, 1994. Clayton State University was admitted on July 1, 1995, and University of North Florida was admitted to the Conference officially on July 1, 1997.

Commissioner’s OfficeCommissioner

503 Blackburn DriveDavid Brunk

Martinez, GA 30907(706) 860-8499

The Peach Belt Conference is committed to providing through its dependent collegiate members, a forum for student participation in athletic, academic, and co-curricular events under the auspices of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Division II.

The Peach Belt, one of the elite conferences in Division II, is comprised of 13 member institutions. The conference sponsors championships in 13 sports. Men's champions are declared in baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, and tennis. Women’s champions are declared in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, and volleyball.

Peach Belt Conference Members:

  • Armstrong Atlantic State University
  • Augusta State University
  • Clayton State University
  • Columbus State University
  • Flagler College
  • Francis Marion University
  • Georgia College
  • Georgia Southwestern State University
  • Lander University
  • University of Montevallo
  • North Georgia College & State University
  • University of North Carolina at Pembroke
  • University of South Carolina at Aiken

B. Peach Belt Conference Code of Conduct

Each Peach Belt institution is responsible for creating an atmosphere that promotes good sportsmanship and a hospitable environment for visiting teams and spectators. Facility design, student body makeup, and many other factors influence the ambience on any given campus. Consequently, each institution should design the specifics of its own Code of Conduct incorporating the principles and guidelines of the Peach Belt Code of Conduct.

All hosts and guests of Peach Belt athletic events are expected to adhere to the following general principles:

  • Respect the rights and dignity of all persons.
  • Strive to insure the personal safety and well being of all persons.
  • Refrain from conduct that adversely affects others.
  • Act responsibly at all times.

In addition to the principles referred to above, athletic personnel, officials, fans, student-athletes, and student peer groups (i.e. bands, cheerleaders, mascots, etc.) are expected to observe the following guidelines:

ADMINISTRATORS: PBC administrators are expected to develop and promote the attitude that the treatment of visiting teams and fans will be in the manner that they would wish their teams and fans to be accorded. The host game manager should welcome the visiting coach and team and extend courtesies that they would expect to receive. The host athletic director should brief everyone from coaches and team members to concessionaires, pep band members, ushers, and cheerleaders that their roles should reflect a courteous demeanor at all times.

COACHES:Coaches are very visible and influential representatives of the institution. As ambassadors for their institutions, coaches are expected to set a standard for others to follow in the areas of appropriate language and treatment of officials, players, and fans. Coaches have the greatest influence over their team members both on the bench and on the field of play. A team often time reflects the attitude of the coach. PBC coaches should exert ongoing control over the conduct of their team members at all times. In the extreme, coaches should be prepared to remove team members who show disrespect for their opponents, even at the risk of losing a contest.

STUDENT-ATHLETES:PBC student-athletes must realize that they are very visible representatives of their institutions. As such, it is extremely important that they act in a responsible and respectable manner at all times when representing their institution. Profanity, inappropriate gestures, and negative statements or actions between opposing players, officials of fans, especially taunting and baiting, will not be tolerated.

OFFICIALS:Officials who are assigned to PBC athletic events must enforce the rules concerning sportsmanship and deal decisively with abuse of those rules. The only warning concerning abuse of sportsmanship rules should come immediately before the contest. During the contest any abuses should be dealt with through the administration of penalties, not further warnings. Each official will be provided with the following written statement; “The Peach Belt Conference requires officials to enforce all rules regarding unsportsmanlike conduct by coaches and players. Profanity, inappropriate gestures and negative statements or actions between opposing players, especially taunting and baiting, will not be tolerated. If such comments are heard or gestures seen, a penalty will be assessed immediately. If any coach protests the unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, he/she will be ejected from the contest immediately. There will be no warnings. All players and coaches have been advised of this.”

PBC COMMISSIONER:The commissioner will enforce the unsportsmanlike conduct rules of the game and of the Conference. The commissioner will assess penalties for inappropriate behavior that is not detected or acted on by the officials. The commissioner may also impose penalties in addition to those imposed by the officials. These penalties may include but are not limited to: