Welcome to Virtual Rules Education – May 2012
During this busy time, the compliance staff invites you to attend our virtual coaches meeting at your convenience; no RSVP required! Please take the time to review the topics below and all materials provided. As always, we stand ready to answer any questions that you may have. Congratulations to those programs who have earned recent accolades and best of luck to our many teams still competing. Go Irish!
Newly Adopted Legislation
Summer Voluntary Workouts
NCAA Coaches Exam
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Newly Adopted Legislation
Attached are those legislative actions adopted during the April 2012 NCAA Board of Directors meeting. In addition, a handful of sport specific items were adopted and have been forwarded to individual coaching staffs and sport administrators (men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball, men’s and women’s tennis). As you view the attached, please note the following:
2011-18 Receiving Telephone Calls from PSAs – Previously only countable coaches could receive calls (with exceptions), and non-coaching staff members were to forward calls to avoid potential recruiting conversation violations. Calls may now be accepted by staff members, including director of operations and volunteer coaches, regardless of content. The new legislation does not impact the ability to make phone calls to PSAs; only countable coaches can make recruiting calls to PSAs.
2011-28B On-Campus Contact with Relatives of Student-Athletes – Families of current student-athletes may now serve as a resource for PSAs and their families during on-campus recruiting visits.
2011-29B Off-Campus Contact with Student-Athletes – Student-athletes may now have off-campus contact with PSAs, provided it is not at the direction of an institutional staff member. Previously, off-campus social interaction (beyond unavoidable contact) was impermissible even when a PSA had an established relationship with a student-athlete. During unofficial visits, coaches may not arrange off-campus contact and, thus, a student host should not be present at an off-campus meal that includes both official and unofficial recruits.
2011-48 Recruiting Conversations During Camp/Clinic – In sports other than men’s basketball (because it already exists in men’s basketball), coaches may now engage in recruiting conversations with PSAs during camp. This allows us to show highlight/recruiting videos during camp!We still cannot, however, engage in recruiting activities that typically take place during a recruiting visit such as campus tours.
Summer Voluntary Workouts
Please find attached important reminders regarding summer conditioning. The Compliance Staff recently met with student-athletes and will meet with strength coaches to outline these policies in the coming weeks.
Student-athletes may not participate in any countable athletically related activities outside the playing season during any institutional vacation period (including summer). In order for any athletically related activity to be considered voluntary, ALL of the following conditions are to be met:
1. Student-athletes are not required to report any information about the activity to a coach or department staff member. A staff member who permissibly observes the activity (strength, athletic trainer) may not report information related to the activity back to the coaching staff. Coaches are not present.
2. The voluntary workout is not required. Staff members may provide information to student-athletes related to available conditioning opportunities (e.g., post hours when weight room and/or strength coach are available).
3. Attendance and participation are not recorded for purposes of reporting back to a coaching staff member. Student-athletes may keep progress logs but are not required to report information to a coach.
4. Student-athletes are not rewarded or subject to penalties based on their attendance or participation in voluntary workouts.
Staff members (including strength coaches) may not participate with or observe student-athletes in the staff member’s sport who are engaged in non-organized voluntary athletically related activities (e.g., pick-up games, 7 on 7’s in football).
Safety Exception – In fencing, rowing, swimming, diving and track (field and jumping events only), a coach may be present when equipment is used in the institution’s regular practice facility. A coach may provide safety or skill instruction but may not conduct the workout.
Individual Sport Exception - In cross country, fencing, golf, swimming, diving, tennis, and track and field, a coach may participate in individual workout sessions provided the request was initiated by the student-athlete.
In men’s basketball, a student-athlete enrolled in summer school may engage in required weight-training, conditioning and skill-related instruction 8 hours per week (2 hours per week of skill instruction) for a maximum period of 8 weeks. This proposal (2012-13) passed in March and is effective immediately.
NCAA Coaches Exam
The 2012-13 Coaches Certification Exam is available and will be administered on the following dates:
Wednesday, May 30, 1-3:00 Monogram Room
Wednesday, June 6, 10-12:00 Monogram Room
Monday, June 11, 2-4:00 Monogram Room
As a reminder, all coaches, volunteer coaches, and directors of operations are required to take and pass the exam. The exam is 30 multiple choice questions and you will have 60 minutes to complete. An 80% is passing. Please bring your laptop, 11-12 NCAA Manual, and the 2012-13 New Legislation Summary (linked directly below) the day of the test. It is your responsibility to RSVP to Cyndi Sykes () alerting her of the day you will be in attendance and if you will require the use of a laptop as they will be provided only upon request.
The practice exam and all exam materials may be accessed here (requires your login to ncaa.org). If you don’t have an NCAA login, please create one before your exam date.
This could be the final year of the Coaches Exam as the usefulness of the exam is being questioned by institutions and the NCAA. If you have any questions or cannot make the dates listed above, please contact Cyndi or Heidi.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
The Federal Pell Grant is a need-based grant available to qualifying undergraduate, degree-seeking students. Incoming and returning student-athletes can apply annually for the federal grant by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Completion of the FAFSA by as many student-athletes as possible is critical for several reasons: (1) it serves as an opportunity to get “free” money in the hands of needy student-athletes; (2) the amount of funds we receive from the NCAA for SAOF is determined in part by the number of Pell Grant recipients we have; and (3) some of the “miscellaneous expense allowance” options currently being considered either mandate that all eligible student-athletes file the FAFSA or base eligibility for the $2,000 grant on information contained in the FAFSA.
Federal Pell Grant awards in 2012-13 will range from $600 to $5,550. The Pell Grant can be issued above the student’s cost of attendance and does not count against team limits. A Pell Grant cannot be applied retroactively so it is important that students apply every year. Student-athletes qualifying for the Federal Pell Grant not only receive federal funding, but are also automatically identified by the Compliance Office to receive an annual $500 clothing allowance via the NCAA Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund. Additional benefits include opportunities to participate in a laptop rotation program and to seek assistance for hall tax and travel expenses. We have approximately 80 student-athletes who are Pell Grant recipients in any given year. Coaches and administrators may inquire with the Compliance Office to review a list of Pell Grant recipients for their team or to recommend a student-athlete for NCAA Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund assistance.
Notre Dame Financial Aid Application procedures are found at: http://financialaid.nd.edu/apply/
Athletics Compliance Office | ncaacompliance.nd.edu | 574.631.9647