Letter From USC Athletics Director Eric Hyman to Gamecock Fans


Guide to NCAA Rules for Fans, Boosters & Friends of the University of South Carolina

Intercollegiate Athletics Dictionary

Extra Benefits Guide

Autographed Item Request

Request for Rules Interpretation 

Report a Potential Rules Violation 

Promotional Activities Involving Student-Athletes

Pre-Existing Relationships Test

Guide to NCAA Rules for Fans, Boosters & Friends of the University of South Carolina
Every supporter of an institution's athletics program has an obligation to abide by the same regulations, bylaws and guidelines as the coaches, administrators and staff members throughout the athletic department. To avoid rules violations, you need to be aware of the NCAA bylaws that govern athletics. All infractions are contrary to the Southeastern Conference's commitment to integrity and impede progress toward competing for national championships in each sport the SEC sponsors.

Athletic Representatives
According to the NCAA Bylaws, a person becomes a "representative of athletic interest" (or a "booster") by engaging in any of the following activities:

- Joining the various clubs of institutional athletic interest.
- Making financial contributions to the athletic department, a booster club or an intercollegiate team.
- Arranging for or providing summer employment for enrolled student-athletes.
- Purchasing season tickets in any sport.
- Promoting institutional athletic program in any manner.

Once you become a "representative of athletic interest," you retain that status forever, even if you no longer contribute to or support the institution.

Contact
A contact is any face-to-face encounter between a prospective student-athlete or the prospect's parent or legal guardian and a university staff member (or supporter) during which any dialogue occurs in excess of an exchange of a greeting. Any such face-to-face encounter that is prearranged or that takes place on the grounds of the prospect's school or at the site of his/her high school, preparatory school, two-year college or all-star team shall be considered a contact, regardless of the conversation (including a greeting) that occurs.

Recruiting Regulations
Prospective Student-athlete - Is a person who has begun classes for the ninth grade. However, it is possible for a younger student-athlete to be a prospect so it is best to treat all student-athletes as prospects.

Recruiting - Is any solicitation of a prospective student-athlete or the prospect's family (or guardian) by a university staff member for the purpose of securing the prospect's enrollment at the university and/or participation in the intercollegiate athletics program.

Permissible Recruiters - All in-person, on- and off-campus recruiting contacts with prospective student-athletes or their relatives or legal guardians shall be made only by authorized university staff members. Such contacts, as well as correspondence and telephone calls by representatives of an institution's athletics interest are prohibited subject to a few limited exceptions.

Simply put, all "athletic representatives/supporters" are prohibited from contacting a prospect or members of a prospect's family by telephone, letter or in person on or off campus for the purpose of encouraging participation in the intercollegiate athletics program.

The following questions and answers will help in illustrating these important rules:
Q: Is it permissible for you to discuss the university with a prospect?
A: No. You may not participate in any recruiting activities promoting the university to a prospect.

Q: Is it permissible for you to offer an institutional coach the names of prospects to evaluate?
A: Yes. The NCAA allows you to provide a coach with names of prospects for recruitment.

Q: Is it permissible for a university alumnus to bring their prospect-age son or daughter to an alumni event to hear a university coach speak?
A: Yes. However, you should attempt to avoid any face-to-face contact with the coach because it may be during a time when the coach is not allowed contact with a prospect.

Extra Benefits Guide
An institution cannot provide an extra benefit to a prospect or enrolled student-athlete. The term "extra benefit" refers to any special arrangement by an institutional employee or representative of athletic interest that is not authorized by NCAA legislation. Activities that are prohibited include, but are not limited to, the following:


- Providing gifts.
- Providing free or reduced-cost services.
- Providing a loan, or arranging or co-signing for a loan.
- Employing relatives or friends of a prospect as an inducement for enrollment of a prospect.
- Providing use of an automobile.
- Providing rent-free or reduced-rent housing.
- Providing tickets to an athletic, institutional or community event.
- Providing use of telephone or credit cards without charge or at a reduced cost.
- Promising to provide any of the above.

The following questions and answers will help in illustrating these important rules:
Q: Can you provide a student-athlete or prospect with free or discounted service (movie tickets, dinner, laundry, dry cleaning, etc.)?
A: No. What seems to be a thoughtful action can be construed as an extra benefit for an enrolled student-athlete or an unfair recruiting advantage for a prospective student-athlete.

Q: Can you employ a member of a prospect's family?
A: No. Employment of a prospect's relative can be construed as an unfair recruiting advantage.

Q: Can you invite all student-athletes attending a local high school to a holiday party?
A: No. You cannot single out prospective student-athletes as a group to be your guests but you could invite the entire class (e.g., seniors, juniors, etc.) to be guests.

Q: Can you offer a prospect your tickets to football games and your car to drive to the event?
A: No. Offering free or reduced tickets to any event is not allowed, nor may you provide transportation of any sort to a prospect.

Q: Can you contact a student-athlete and ask to buy his/her complimentary admissions passes for an athletic event?
A: No. A student-athlete may not receive payment from any source for his/her complimentary admissions and may not exchange or assign them for any item of value.

Q: Can a student-athlete attend a local charity event?
A: Yes. However, some restrictions apply so please contact the athletic department for the proper procedures before completing your plans.

Q: A student-athlete banquet has just concluded and you see two student-athletes standing in the rain without a ride. Can you offer them a ride to the dormitory?
A: No. You may not provide any transportation to a student-athlete whether it is airfare home or a ride across campus.

Alumni Organizations
Bona fide alumni organizations of an institution may sponsor luncheons or dinners at which prospects (athletes and non-athletes) of that immediate locale are guests. An institution's alumni organizations may be considered a bona fide part of that institution, provided such an organization is accredited by the President/Chancellor and meets these additional terms and conditions:

1. A staff member of the university periodically shall inspect the financial records of the alumni organization and certify that expenditures comply with the rules and regulations of the NCAA and the conference, and

2. A club official shall be designated by the President/Chancellor as the university's official agent in the administration of the club's funds, and said club official shall file regular reports to the university relating the manner in which the club funds have been spent in the recruiting of student-athletes. When an alumni organization is certified by the President/Chancellor as being a bona fide part of the university, said organization becomes subject to all of the limitations placed upon the institution by NCAA legislation. A violation of such legislation by any member of the alumni organization shall be a violation by the institution.

Financial Audit
All expenditures for or on behalf of the university's athletics program, including those by any outside organization, agency or group of individuals (two or more), shall be subject to an annual financial audit (in addition to any regular financial audit policies and procedures of the university). This audit is conducted for the university by a qualified auditor who is not a staff member of the university and who is selected either by the President/Chancellor or by an institutional administrator from outside the athletic department designated by the President/Chancellor. The athletic department is responsible for all financial decisions made by any support organization and must ensure that each group complies with NCAA, SEC, university and federal regulations. For example, the various clubs of institutional athletic interest are subject to fiscal integrity and accountability and should be placed in an agency center in order for the athletic department to assist them when deemed necessary. A designated official of the support organization, the athletic controller and a designated athletic department liaison to the support organization shall work together to monitor the financial activities of the organization.

Penalties
As a fan of the Southeastern Conference, chances are you are an athletic representative of one of the 12 SEC-member institutions. Therefore it is important that you understand the NCAA rules and the consequences if any violations occur. Any misunderstanding or disregard for the rules may result in the levying of sanctions against a SEC member-institution's athletics program. The following are examples of possible sanctions:


- Probation for a period of time.
- Ineligibility for NCAA championship events.
- Reprimand and/or censure.
- Ineligibility for invitational and post season meets and tournaments.
- Ineligibility for television programs involving live coverage for the sport involved.
- Ineligibility for the university to vote on NCAA legislation or serve on any association committees.
- Prohibition against participating in outside competition for a specified period of time for the sports teams involved.
- Prohibition against recruiting for a specified period of time in the sport involved in the infraction.
- Reduction in the number of athletic grants-in-aid awarded.
- Please be aware that any athletic representative found in violation of NCAA rules may be banned from any association with the athletic department.



Intercollegiate Athletics Dictionary:

Amateur- an athlete who does not use his or her athletics skill for pay in any form in that sport

Booster- see representative of athletics interests

Coach, Head or Assistant- any coach who is designated by the Carolina's athletics department to perform coaching duties and who serves in that capacity on a volunteer of paid basis.

Coach, Graduate Assistant- In Division I-A football, a graduate assistant coach is any coach who has received a baccalaureate degree and is a graduate student enrolled in at least 50 percent of the Carolina's minimum regular graduate program of studies and qualifies for appointment as a graduate assistant under the policies of USC. The individual is not required to be enrolled in a specific graduate degree program unless required by institutional policy.

Coach, Undergraduate Assistant- any coach who is an undergraduate student-athlete who has exhausted his or her eligibility in the sport or has become injured to the point that he or she is unable to practice or compete ever again, and who meets the following additional criteria:

a. Is enrolled at the institution at which he or she participate in intercollegiate athletics;
b. Is participating as a student-coach within the five-year eligibility period;
c. Is completing the requirements for his or her baccalaureate degree;
d. Is a full-time student, unless during his or her final semester or quarter of the baccalaureate program;
e. Is receiving no compensation or remuneration from the institution other than the financial aid that could be received as a student-athlete and expenses incurred on road trips that are received by individuals team members; and
f. Is not involved in contacting and evaluating prospective student-athletes off campus or scouting opponents off campus.

Coach, Volunteer- any coach who does not receive compensation or remuneration from Carolina`s athletics department or any organization funded in whole or in part by the athletics department o that is involved primarily in the promotion of Carolina's athletics program (e.g., booster club, athletics foundation association). The following provisions shall apply:

a. The individual is prohibited from contacting and evaluating prospective student-athletes off campus or from scouting opponents off campus
b. The individual may receive a maximum of two complimentary tickets to home athletics contests in the coach's sport.

Volunteer coaches are prohibited in football and basketball (men's or women's)

Collegiate institution- an institution of higher education that:
a. is accredited at the college level by an agency or association recognized by the Secretary of the Department of Education and legally authorized to offer at least a one-year program of study creditable toward a degree; or
b. Conducts an intercollegiate athletics program, even though the institution is no accredited at the college level and authorized to offer at least a one-year program of study creditable toward a degree; or
c. Is located in a foreign country.

Competition Site- the facility in which athletics competition is actually conducted, including any dressing room or meeting facility utilized in conjunction with the competition

Committee on Infractions- The Management Council shall appoint a Committee which shall be responsible for administration of the NCAA enforcement program.

Contact- any face-to-face encounter between a prospect or the prospect's relatives and an institutional staff member or representative of athletics interests where any dialog in excess of an exchange of greetings occurs

Exception- the granting of relief from the application of a specific regulation. Formal approval by the Management Council or an NCAA committee is not required. The action granting the exception may be taken solely by the certifying institution, based on evidence that the conditions on which the exception is authorized have been met.

Extra Benefit- any benefit that you are not willing to give to all 25,000 students at Carolina

Home- a prospect's legal residence, or the community of the prospect's educational institution in which the prospect is enrolled while residing there

Institution- Carolina, its employees, and its representatives of athletics interests

NLI - National Letter of Intent- The NLI is administered by the Collegiate Commissioners Association and utilized by subscribing emmer institutions to establish a commitment of a prospect to attend a particular institution.

It is basically a contract between a University and a prospective student-athlete where the University promises to offer a one-year scholarship to the student-athlete and the student-athlete agrees to attend the University for at least one academic year.
Occasional Meal- A meal for a student-athlete, or an entire team, at the home of a representative of athletics interests, that may be catered, for a special occasion or on an infrequent basis. It may not be held at a restaurant or a country club. Local transportation [within a 30-mile radius] may be provided to attend the meal.

Pay- the receipt of funds, awards or benefits not permitted by the governing legislation of the Association for participation in athletics. It includes, but is not limited to: salary, gratuity, compensation, division or split of surplus (bonuses, game receipts) and educational expenses

PreCollege Expenses- any financial assistance, directly or indirectly, to pay (in whole or in part) the costs of a prospect's educational or other expenses for any period prior to his enrollment, or to obtain a postgraduate education

Profession Athlete- A professional athlete is one who receives any kind of payment, directly or indirectly, for athletics participate except as permitted by the NCAA.

Professional Athletics Team- A professional team is any organized team that:
a. Provides any of its players more than actual and necessary expenses for participation on the team, except as otherwise permitted by NCAA legislation. Actual and necessary expenses are limited to the following, provided the value of these items is commensurate with the fair market value in the locality of the player(s) and is not excessive in nature:
(1) Meals directly tied to competition and practice held in preparation for such competition;
(2) Lodging directly tied to competition and practice held in preparation for such competition;
(3) Apparel, equipment and supplies;
(4) Coaching and instruction;
(5) Health/medical insurance;
(6) Transportation (i.e., expenses to and from practice and competition, cost of transportation from home to training/practice site at the beginning of the season and from training/practice site to home at the end of season);
(7) Medical treatment and physical therapy;
(8) Facility usage;
(9) Entry fees, and;
(10) Other reasonable expenses incidental to participation; or
(b) Declares itself to be professional.

Prospect- anyone who has started the ninth grade; any student not yet in the ninth grade becomes a prospects if USC provides him or her with any financial aid or other benefits that rare not generally provided to prospective students.

An individual remains a prospective student-athlete until one of the following occurs (whichever is earlier):
a. the individual officially registers and enrolls in a minimum full-time program of studies and attends classes in any term of a four-year collegiate institution's regular academic year (excluding summer); or
b. the individual participates in a regular squad practice or competition at a four-year collegiate institution that occurs before the beginning of any term.

Recruiting- any solicitation of a prospect of a prospect's relatives by an institutional staff member or a representative of athletics interests for the purpose of having the prospect enroll and participate in athletics at Carolina

Recruited prospect-a prospect who Carolina
a. Provides an official visit,
b. Arranges an in-person, off-campus visit with the prospect or the prospect relatives, or
c. Receives more than one telephone contact from Carolina.

Representative of Athletics Interests- an individual, independent agency, corporate entity (e.g., apparel or equipment manufacturer) or other organization who is known (or who should have been known) by a member of the institution's executive or athletics administration to:

a) have participated in or to be a member of an agency or organization promoting the institution's intercollegiate athletics program;
b) have made financial contributions to the athletics department or to an athletics booster organization of that institution;
c) be assisting or to have been requested (by the athletics department staff) to assist in the recruitment of prospects;
d) be assisting or to have assisted in providing benefits to enrolled student-athletes or their families; or
e) have been involved otherwise in promoting the institution's athletics program.

Once an individual, independent agency, corporate entity, or other organization is identified as such a representative, the person, independent agency, corporate entity or other organization retains that identity indefinitely.

Student-Athlete- a student whose enrollment was solicited by a member of the athletics staff or other representative of athletics interests with a view toward the student's ultimate participation in the intercollegiate athletics program. Any other student becomes a student-athlete only when the student reports for an intercollegiate squad that is under the jurisdiction of the athletics department.

A student is not deemed a student-athlete solely on the basis of prior high school athletics participation.

Telephone Call- For purposes of recruiting legislation, a telephone call does not include a facsimile or other electronically transmitted correspondence (e.g., electronic mail).

The use of a pager to contact a prospect is considered a telephone call.

If a page permits a text message to be displayed, an institutional staff member who leaves a message in excess of a greeting is considered to have made a telephone contact.

Transfer Student- a student who transfers from any collegiate institution after having met any one of the following conditions at that institution:
a. The student was officially registered and enrolled in a minimum, full-time program of studies in any quarter or semester of an academic year, as certified by the registrar or admissions office, provided the student was present at the institution on the opening day of classes;
b. The student attended a class or classes in any quarter or semester in which the student was enrolled in a minimum full-time program of studies, even if the enrollment was on a provisional basis and the student was later determined by the institution not be admissible;
c. The student is or was enrolled in an institution in a minimum full-time program of studies in a night school that is considered to have regular terms (semesters or quarters) the same as the institution's day school, and the student is or was considered by the institution to be a regularly matriculated student;
d. The student attended a branch school that does not conduct an intercollegiate athletics program, but the student has been enrolled in another collegiate institution prior to attendance at the branch school;
e. The student attended a branch school that conducted an intercollegiate athletics program and transfers to an institution other than the parent institution;
f. The student reported for regular squad practice (including practice or conditioning activities that occur prior to certification, announced by the institution through any member of its athletics department staff, prior to the beginning of any quarter or semester, as certified by the athletics director. Participation only in picture-day activities would not constitute "regular practice."
g. The student participated in practice or compete in a given sport even though the student was enrolled unless than a minimum full-time program of studies; or
h. The student received financial aid while attending a summer term, summer school or summer-orientation program. A recruited student in basketball who receives institutional financial pursuant to Bylaw 15.2.7.1.3 is subject to the transfer provisions, except that a basketball prospect (recruited or nonrecruited) who is denied admission to the institution for full-time enrollment shall be permitted to enroll at another institution without being considered a transfer student.

Violation, Major-
All violations other than secondary violations are major violations, specifically including those that provide an extensive recruiting or competitive advantage.

Multiple secondary violations by a member institution may collectively be considered as a major violation.

Violation, Secondary- a violation that is isolated or inadvertent in nature, provides or is intended to provide only a minimal recruiting, competitive or other advantage and does not include any significant recruiting inducement or extra benefit.

Multiple secondary violations by a member institution may collectively be considered as a major violation.

Visit, Official- visit to campus for 48 hours by a prospect financed by Carolina

Visit, Unofficial- visit to campus financed by the prospect

Waiver- an action exempting an individual or institution form the application of a specific regulation. A waiver requires formal approval (e.g., by the Management Council, an NCAA committee or a conference, as specified in the legislation) based on evidence of compliance with the specified conditions or criteria under which the waiver is authorized.

Marlynn R. Jones, Assistant Director of Athletics for Compliance, 803/777-9179 OR marlynnj@sc.edu