INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION

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1 PAC-12 REPORT ON STUDENT-ATHLETE TIME DEMANDS MAY 2016

2 INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION A core value of the Pac-12 Conference is to support the academic mission of its member universities and to ensure the primacy of academics in the experience of Pac-12 student-athletes, regardless of sport or scholarship status. To enable studentathletes to take full advantage of the college experience academically and socially it is essential that meaningful and enforceable limits be placed on the time they are required to devote to their sports. The Pac-12 and its members have played a leading role in the effort to review and revise the existing rules governing the time demands that may be placed on studentathletes. Its 12 university presidents and chancellors have demonstrated vision on this issue in discussions within the NCAA, as well as in discussions among their colleagues throughout the Pac-12 s peer conferences (the ACC, the Big Ten, the Big 12, and the SEC) to which limited rulemaking autonomy was granted by the NCAA in Furthermore, the Conference has participated in important research conducted by the NCAA in recent years, the results of which are summarized in this paper. The Pac-12 has also undertaken its own research, demonstrating its commitment to leadership and innovation in the continuing effort to reform and modernize intercollegiate athletics. That research, which was commissioned by the Conference and carried out by a nationally recognized research firm, resulted in an April 2015 report and subsequent seminar that is also summarized in this paper. This research provides a framework for the Pac-12 s latest step in its mission to fully understand the issue and develop solutions: a listening tour undertaken by Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott to discuss these issues first-hand with student-athletes at the Conference s member institutions. The goal was to gain a better understanding of the context around the results seen in the research, including taking into account the specific circumstances on different campuses and in different sports. The Commissioner visited all 12 campuses and spoke directly with more than 250 student-athletes. Student-athletes were asked to share their views on a range of time- and schedule-related issues, including several potential approaches to addressing them, and were encouraged to share open and honest feedback, resulting in uninhibited and productive conversations on each campus. 2

3 INTRODUCTION Some of the main topics of conversation on each campus included: Whether (and how) student athletes experience academic challenges and are forced to make academic sacrifices as a result of their athletically related time demands. Whether Countable Athletically Related Activities (CARA) should be redefined to include certain currently excluded activities, and whether the total permissible number of CARA hours should be changed. Whether sport-specific rules would benefit student-athletes by providing greater flexibility and recognition of their sport s particular needs. Whether more attention should be given to the time demands of pre- and post-practice activity, including treatment for injuries and travel to practice facilities. Whether adjustments to the times and scheduling of competitions would be helpful. Whether voluntary activities are truly voluntary. Whether limitations on out-of-season activities are working well. Whether additional days off, and/or time off after travel, would be helpful. Whether last minute schedule changes are a problem, and how they might be avoided. Whether the expectation to assist in recruiting, participate in community service activities, attend team-bonding sessions, and/or other extra time commitments are a problem. The impact of travel on overall time demands. The impact of athletically related time demands during the summer and winter breaks. The listening tour confirmed that Pac-12 student-athletes, across all sports, are an admirably dedicated, motivated group of young people, determined to excel not only in their chosen sport, but also academically, as they prepare for careers that, in the vast majority of cases, will relate to their academic rather than athletics pursuits. Several clear themes and beneficial insights emerged from this listening tour and will be outlined later in this paper. As the Conference and its members move forward in the process of modernizing college athletics for the good of all studentathletes, the issue of time demands will be at the forefront. Several ideas for possible legislative action and/or best practices in the area of time demands are included at the end of this paper. 3

4 BACKGROUND BACKGROUND Existing NCAA Rules Governing Time Demands on Division I Student Athletes Current NCAA rules address time demands on student-athletes prior to, during, and after the playing season as well as during the summer. While there are many complexities, the overall intent of these rules is to limit the amount of time student-athletes are required to devote to athletically related activities, both to maintain the primacy of the academic role of the university and to enable student-athletes to participate in other aspects of campus life. NCAA Division I bylaws 1 limit studentathletes to 20 hours per week of athletics activity during the season and eight hours per week while out-of-season. This 20-hour rule was established at the NCAA Convention in 1991 with the goal of limiting time demanded of student-athletes. The impetus for this rule change was a survey of studentathletes, one of the first of its kind, wherein student-athletes expressed concern that too much of their time was mandated for athletics. Up until this point, there were no limitations on the hours that student-athletes could be required to spend on their sport. Central to the current rules is the concept of CARA Countable Athletically Related Activities. The NCAA defines these to include athletically related activities undertaken at the direction of, or supervised by, one or more coaches. In general, CARA excludes voluntary activities, such as individual conditioning and strength training. CARA also excludes time spent traveling to and from practices, and a variety of other activities ancillary to participation in intercollegiate athletics. As shall be discussed later in this paper, some of the perceived shortcomings of the current time restrictions relate to what is, and what is not, counted within CARA. 1 See appendix for full explanation of current rules governing student-athlete time demands 4

5 BACKGROUND Recent Time Demands Developments Pac-12 student-athletes want to succeed at the highest level both in the classroom and on the field, and concerns have been raised periodically over their ability to do so given the time demands necessary to balance both priorities. Various studies indicate that Division I studentathletes are spending between 29 and 42 hours per week on their sports, though not all that time is countable as CARA under current rules. In the last several years, greater attention has been paid both within higher education and externally as to whether excessive time demands are being placed on student-athletes, whether they are considered by their universities as primarily athletes, whether the NCAA and other organizations are enforcing existing time limitations effectively, and whether other adjustments such as changes to schedules or seasons -- need to be made to reduce the time demands placed by athletics on participants. In 2014, the five biggest conferences the Pac- 12, the Big Ten, the Big 12, the SEC, and the ACC sought rule-making autonomy in several areas of the NCAA rulebook, in large part so that they could address these concerns as part of a broader effort to modernize intercollegiate athletics. In May 2014, the presidents and chancellors of the Pac-12 s member institutions (herein known as the CEO Group ) took a leadership role by sending a letter to their peers in the other four conferences requesting their support for a 10-point reform plan. The 10-point plan covered myriad issues related to student-athlete welfare, and specifically addressed the issue of time demands, urging that changes be made to: Decrease the time demands placed on the student-athlete in-season, and correspondingly enlarge the time available for studies and full engagement in campus life, by doing the following: Prevent the abuse of organized voluntary practices to circumvent the limit of 20 hours per week. More realistically assess the time away from campus and other commitments during the season, including travel time. Similarly, decrease time demands out of season by reducing out-of-season competition an practices, and by considering shorter seasons in specific sports. The 10-point letter served as a stimulus for change across intercollegiate athletics and several of its goals have been achieved in the last two years. For example, the Pac-12 and its peers increased scholarship amounts to cover the full cost of attendance as their first major change after receiving some rule-making autonomy from the full NCAA Division I governance structure. As a conference, the Pac-12 has increased healthcare coverage for former student-athletes, liberalized transfer rules, guaranteed four-year scholarships, and added student-athletes to its official governance structure. One of the few issues listed in the 10-point letter that has yet to be addressed legislatively by the Pac-12 is time demands an issue on which the Conference and its members have taken a leadership role and are determined to solve. Reducing student-athlete time demands is one of the legislative areas over which the Pac-12 and its peers have some autonomy from the NCAA. In January 2016, at the second meeting of the Autonomy 5 conferences, the Pac-12 proposed two rule changes, and the Big Ten proposed one, that sought to reduce time spent on athletics. Those proposals were then referred to the governance structure for more robust consideration, as the group passed a resolution vowing to create a more comprehensive set of proposals to vote on in January

6 RESEARCH TO DATE RESEARCH TO DATE An extensive effort has been made to develop an empirical as well as experiential basis for addressing the question of time demands. Four research efforts are particularly relevant: A survey on Student-Athlete Time Demands commissioned specifically by the Pac-12 Conference and conducted in the spring of The findings report was issued in April 2015 in conjunction with a symposium designed to give Pac-12 student-athletes, coaches, faculty, and administrators an opportunity to discuss time demands issues. The NCAA GOALS (Growth, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Learning of Students in College) study, most recently unveiled in early 2016, which included time demands as one of several areas of inquiry (Previous GOALS studies were conducted in 2006 and 2010.) The Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Time Demands Study, conducted roughly contemporaneously with the GOALS study and intended to complement it. An extensive study on time demands conducted by the NCAA across all of Division I, with a report in April The Pac-12 Student Athlete Time Demands Survey (April 2015) The Pac-12 s report found the following: Pac-12 student-athletes are generally satisfied with their collegiate experience. They are spending an average of 50 hours a week on athletics in-season (not all CARA hours). Their lack of free time and challenges to their ability to succeed academically are their two biggest time-related concerns. The number-one thing time demands keep them from doing is getting adequate sleep; they are averaging hours per night. Student-athletes would like to experience more aspects of the college experience but their athletic demands are limiting their social experience. Voluntary practices and other voluntary activities aren t truly voluntary, and failure to participate in them is noted by coaches and can have negative consequences. In terms of potential reforms, student-athletes are most interested in making it easier to find part-time jobs, ensuring voluntary activities are truly optional, and extending non-practice hours. 6

7 RESEARCH TO DATE The GOALS and SAAC Studies The GOALS and SAAC studies were conducted contemporaneously in 2015 and early The most recent GOALS study (like its predecessor studies in 2006 and 2010) sought data on time commitments among a wide range of topics, including finances and the academic experience. The SAAC study was focused specifically on time demands, and was intended not to duplicate the time demands questions of the GOALS study but rather to complement them by exploring possible changes to CARA limits, practice legislation, and competition schedules. For that reason, it is useful to summarize them together:pac-12 student-athletes are generally satisfied with their collegiate experience. CARA ISSUES: The GOALS study reported that Division I student-athletes were spending 34 hours a week inseason on athletics in 2015, up from 32 hours per week in Football players spent the most amount of time per week on their sports, at a median 42 hours per week in-season. The SAAC study found that although competition days are counted as three hours across all sports, student-athletes reported spending four to nine hours on mandatory athletics activities during a typical day of competition, with considerable variation depending on sport. In the SAAC study, just under half of football and men s basketball players support raising daily CARA caps but only 13 percent support moving above 20 hours/week. The study did not address whether CARA should be redefined to include activities currently excluded, such as traveling to and from practice. There are only a few sports (one of them being men s golf because of the length of play) where a majority of student-athletes support increasing the daily or weekly CARA cap, and most female Division I student-athletes oppose raising the caps. Division I women were reported in GOALS as more likely to state a preference for spending less time on athletics. ACADEMICS: The GOALS study found that the average student-athlete is reporting more time spent on academics than athletics, and that missed class time was low and generally the same as in In the GOALS study, more than three quarters of NCAA men and women (all divisions) said their academic experience had been positive, and 60 percent in Division I felt positive about their ability to keep up with classes in-season. While over a third of all student-athletes said athletics prevented them from taking desired classes, the percentages were down from previous studies, possibly the result of the availability of online classes, which 59 percent of Division I studentathletes said they took advantage of. Compared with the 2010 GOALS study, slightly higher percentages of Division I student-athletes said their athletics participation has prevented them from majoring in their preferred subject, but few say they regret their choice. However, only 10 percent of Division I student-athletes have participated or will participate in a study abroad program, while 33 percent of Division I studentathletes say they would like to, but cannot because of their athletics participation. The GOALS study said over two-thirds of student-athletes (all divisions) have developed a close relationship with at least one faculty member, and more than 80 percent in each division believes their coach cares about whether or not they graduate. 7

8 RESEARCH TO DATE TIME AWAY FROM ATHLETICS: The GOALS study reported that nearly two-thirds of men and three-quarters of women (with the highest proportions in Division I) wanted more opportunities to visit home and family. High percentages wanted more time for socialization and relaxation, especially in Division I, and time reported socializing decreased 2.4 hours per week from Sleep time was down 13 minutes per night from 2010, but aligns with reports from college students generally. The SAAC study found that most student-athletes support requiring at least one day away from practice and competition per week, and more than 40 percent of football players and men s and women s basketball players would prefer two off-days per week. There is a strong preference by student-athletes in all sports that those off-days not include travel. The SAAC study found that a majority of student-athletes support a mandatory break (prohibiting organized team activities) when the competition season ends, with most sports preferring a twoweek break. EXPECTATIONS: The GOALS study said student-athletes generally reported that their expectations about college academics and time demands were accurate. Expectations about athletics and social experience were more often reported as less accurate. The SAAC study also found that most student-athletes felt they were honestly informed about time demands by their coach during the recruiting process, with football (43 percent) having the highest percentage of student-athletes who said that the time demands were more than what they were told during the recruiting process. The SAAC study said many student-athletes support requiring coaches to discuss time demands during recruiting and requiring incoming student-athletes to attend an orientation or training session on managing time demands. 8

9 RESEARCH TO DATE The NCAA Division I Report In February 2016, building on the foregoing research, the NCAA conducted the Division I Time Demands Survey in collaboration with the Autonomy 5, the Division I Council, and Division I SAAC. Responses were received from 44,058 Division I student-athletes. Others completing the survey included 192 athletics directors (55%), 219 senior woman administrators (63%), 179 faculty athletics representatives (52%), and 1,855 other administrators (mainly compliance staff). Additionally, 3,071 (52%) head coaches completed the survey. Response rates varied by sport and by conference. The following is a summary of its findings: COUNTABLE ATHLETICALLY RELATED ACTIVITIES (CARA) DEFINING CARA: While the activities currently covered under CARA were endorsed by a vast majority of studentathletes, coaches, and administrators as countable athletically related activities, a majority of student-athletes indicated that three additional items should be covered under CARA: travel to and from competition, compliance meetings, and organized team promotional activities. With the exception of FAR responses, most head coaches and administrators indicated that they believe these activities should not be countable. Participants were asked whether they would support increasing a limit on CARA hours if the definition was to expand, and while a strong majority of coaches and administrators supported this concept, student-athletes were more mixed in their support (for example, 38% of football student-athletes support this concept as compared to 69% of student-athletes who participate in skiing). LIFTING THE WEEKLY CARA CAP: While a majority of coaches support lifting the weekly cap on CARA if its definition were to be expanded, most student-athletes and administrators do not. With the exception of skiing and men s golf, few student-athletes or coaches believe that the maximum amount of time spent on mandatory athletically related activities per day should exceed four hours. CONCEPTS FOR CARA LIMITATIONS: A strong majority of student-athletes, head coaches, and administrators support requiring a minimum of eight hours overnight between CARA periods. Support for setting CARA limits during pre-season practice while classes are not in session and during academic breaks varies widely across men s sports, while a majority of women in every sport but cross country support these concepts. Coaches are not as supportive of these concepts and in some cases their responses are strongly misaligned with their student-athletes (for example, 66% of football student-athletes and 68% of women s volleyball student-athletes support pre-season CARA limits, while 11% and 10% of head coaches, respectively, share such support). 9

10 RESEARCH TO DATE COMPETITION TIME DEMANDS CONCEPTS IMPACTING THE COMPETITION SEASON: The survey asked respondents to weigh in on possible changes to the competition season, and little support was expressed for any proposed changes by student-athletes, coaches, or administrators (for example, reducing competition, lengthening season, moving to a two-season model). The sole exception is in men s soccer where a majority of student-athletes and head coaches support both lengthening the competition season and moving to a two-season model. While a majority of women s soccer head coaches also support these concepts, women s soccer student-athletes do not. Fewer than half of student-athletes, head coaches, and administrators support a uniform start date for all fall sports. BREAKS IN COMPETITION: A majority of student-athletes support an in-season break from practice and competition, but there is wide variation by sport: for example, women s basketball (78% support) v. men s gymnastics (19% support). Fewer than one in five coaches support this concept, and a majority of administrators do not support any changes in this area. Most student-athletes indicated that a one to three day in-season break would be appropriate, while just over a third of coaches and administrators feel similarly. A majority of student-athletes in men s and women s basketball, ice hockey, fencing, and bowling support a mandatory no-athletics period during winter break. With the exception of bowling (55%), there is not similar majority support from head coaches regarding this concept. When asked about the appropriate length for such a break, higher numbers of coaches and studentathletes responded one to three days, with women s bowling and women s basketball (four to six days) being the exception. DAY OF COMPETITION: Approximately a third of male student-athletes and just over 40% of female student-athletes support limiting the length of time prior to weekday home competition that a student-athlete could be required to report for pre-competition activities. Only about one in five head coaches supported this concept. 10

11 RESEARCH TO DATE OUT OF SEASON TIME DEMANDS POST-SEASON BREAK: Student-athletes strongly support a mandatory no-activity period at the end of the competition season. Overall, a majority of coaches support this concept as well, however within some sports there is not majority coach support (for example, FCS football, 31%; men s swimming, 33%; men s gymnastics, 0%; women s swimming, 24%). A two-week post-season break is preferred by student-athletes, although there is less than majority support for this from coaches in most sports. Most coaches split their support between a 1-week or 2-week break. POST-SEASON CARA LIMITS: A majority of student-athletes would like to devote fewer than eight hours to required athletics activities in the post-season. The average number of preferred hours varies widely by sport (for example, men s basketball, four hours; men s gymnastics, seven hours). In almost all cases, head coaches would prefer more hours per week than student-athletes. How coaches and student-athletes prefer to split these hours by skill-related workouts and strength and conditioning also varies widely by sport. A belief that that these limits should vary by sport received the strongest preference from administrators, but did not reach majority support. Support for requiring athletics activities over the summer is very mixed, with a majority of coaches supporting the concept and student-athlete support varying widely by sport (men s lacrosse, 18%; baseball, 58%). A slight majority of athletics directors and senior woman administrators do not support any changes in this area. DAYS OFF: A majority of student-athletes, coaches, and administrators are comfortable requiring two days off per week out of season. However, in some sports, over a third of student-athletes would prefer three days off per week (men s basketball, football, men s fencing, men s lacrosse, men s water polo, wrestling, women s basketball, equestrian, women s golf, women s gymnastics). Cross country, men s gymnastics, and skiing are outliers here, as a majority would prefer zero to one days off per week. In determining time off out of season, a majority of student-athletes believe that coaches and student-athletes should jointly make such decisions, while half of all administrators and threequarters of coaches believe that this should be a decision made solely by head coaches. OPPORTUNITIES FOR CAREER AND EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: A majority of athletes, coaches and administrators support allowing student-athletes to take a period of no-activity outside of the playing season to participate in an educational or career development opportunity. However, coach support is lower in some sports. A majority of student-athletes and coaches would prefer that this opportunity be limited to two to four weeks. 11

12 RESEARCH TO DATE ACADEMICS LIMITING COMPETITION DURING EXAM PERIODS: A majority of student-athletes, coaches, and administrators support limiting the number of contests during exam periods. PAUSING THE ELIGIBILITY CLOCK FOR STUDY ABROAD OR INTERNSHIPS: A strong majority of student-athletes and administrators support pausing a student-athletes eligibility clock to allow for a study abroad or internship experience. While a majority of head coaches in some sports supported these concepts, overall they garnered support from just over a third of head coaches. TRAVEL POST-TRAVEL REST PERIOD: There is strong support from student-athletes, coaches, and administrators to require a minimum rest period between returning from travel and permitting practice or competition. Studentathletes, coaches, and administrators prefer a minimum rest period of at least seven hours. TRAVEL DURING A DAY OFF: A majority of student-athletes do not feel that the current rule permitting travel on a day off to be appropriate, while a large majority of coaches are comfortable with the current rule. Administrators are more mixed in their opinions, with a slight majority of athletics directors in favor of the current rule, while a majority of senior woman administrators, faculty athletics representatives, and other administrators believe the current rule is inappropriate. Student-athletes indicated a preference that off days not involve any form of travel, even if travel spans a two-day period (arriving after midnight). Coaches in some sports (men s and women s fencing, men s water polo, wrestling, equestrian, women s ice hockey, women s rugby, and women s water polo) indicated a similar first choice, but generally most coaches did not prefer this option. A quarter to a third of student-athletes would prefer to allow the institution to count the latter day as a day off provided that student-athletes have 24 consecutive hours of time off, and administrators strongly prefer this approach as well. However, a majority of coaches would prefer to maintain the current rule allowing return travel to count as a day off. 12

13 THE PAC-12 LISTENING TOUR THE PAC-12 LISTENING TOUR From Feb. 24 April 14, 2016, Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott visited each Pac-12 campus on a listening tour to hear first-hand from the Conference s studentathletes on the time demands issue in order to gather feedback to develop practical proposals aimed at providing studentathletes with a well-rounded experience. These conversations provided contextual information that could not be gleaned via surveys, and especially helped the Conference understand some important differences between various sports. The tour shed light on the realities of time demands for Pac-12 student-athletes: not only what needs fixing, but also what is working well and might be emulated elsewhere both within and outside the Conference. Commissioner Scott met with 260 students on the tour, many of whom were leaders on their campuses and were well-informed on the issue at hand; almost all of them are members of their school s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). The meetings were open forums in which student-athletes were encouraged to bring up anything they d like to discuss, and to be completely open and honest in their feedback. The conversations were structured around six main topics: In-season athletically related activities Travel to and from away contests Out-of-season athletically related activities Summer athletically related activities Voluntary athletically related activities Academically-related time demands issues Recurring Themes of the Listening Tour While feedback varied from school to school and sport by sport, some themes remained consistent across the tour: For the most part, Pac-12 student-athletes are very pleased with their college experience and their opportunity to compete athletically and succeed academically at the highest level. Many coaches and administrators are making good common sense decisions and putting student-athletes first, but student-athletes recognize that it s necessary to have rules in place to ensure that everyone can have the kinds of experiences that the majority of Pac-12 student-athletes enjoy. Student-athletes desire more flexibility and control over their lives, but do not want to commit less time to either sports or academics. Student-athletes want to reduce some of the challenges and stress faced when managing their time by receiving greater transparency, increased efficiency, and more effective communication from coaches and administrators. 13

14 THE PAC-12 LISTENING TOUR Key Learnings from the Listening Tour Beyond those recurring themes, the observations of the student-athletes at the Pac-12 campuses produced 10 important learnings applicable to future development of rules and policies on time demands. 1 CARA does not reflect the time student-athletes are devoting to their teams. The following non-countable activities are taking up significant student-athlete time: voluntary practice hours, competition times beyond three hours, travel to away games and to and from practices locally, time spent in the training room before and after practices, team meetings, time watching film, and myriad non-athletic events. Student-athlete quotation: Hey, how long was our practice today? It s a running joke because coaches just pick an arbitrary period of time to count it as and that number rarely matches reality. 2 Prospective student-athletes don t always know what they re getting themselves into and are often unaware of the time required of them to succeed both athletically and academically at a Pac-12 school. Student-athlete quotation: In our recruitment, we never talked about time demands. 3 Student-athletes are not always fully versed in the rules that govern time demands and do not know who they can turn to for help when they believe the rules are not being followed. More than one student-athlete said their team s time demands are exactly the same year round and never decrease from the in-season 20-hour CARA limit to the offseason eight-hour limit. There is no practical difference between the competition season and the off-season. Student-athletes explicitly asked whom to tell when these rules are not being followed. 4 5 The off-season is generally more demanding both athletically and academically. Student-athletes choose to take more challenging courses in the off-season because there is no missed class time for travel and no stress related to competition. However, during the off-season they are still putting in long practice hours and completing intense conditioning to prepare for their seasons, often practicing more and harder than they do in-season. Student-athletes need time to recover from road trips and do not think their travel day should count as a day off. Student-athletes feel that travel is exhausting and they find it difficult to use travel time to catch up on the academic demands they ve missed while on the road. Upon return from a road trip, student-athletes desire a true rest period, free from mandatory athletically related activities. 14

15 THE PAC-12 LISTENING TOUR 6 For some student-athletes, practice and competition schedules change significantly at the last minute, sometimes in ways that feel arbitrary and disrespectful of studentathletes academic priorities. Student-athlete quotations: We ve gotten texts 15 minutes before practice changing schedule times or location. We don t even know our schedule until 10 p.m. the night before and we have no idea what s going to happen in the morning. I stay up in bed refreshing my because I don t know what time to wake up. One student-athlete said that on her team, people don t know if they re on the travel roster until a day or two days before. This results in having to tell professors at the last minute that they re missing class, something professors tend to frown upon. She didn t believe there was any reason for this besides coaches wanting to hold off to get the best out of you. It was described as a head game coaches are playing. 7 Voluntary practices aren t voluntary. Many student-athletes are not even aware when practices are voluntary or not; some have never even heard their coach use the word voluntary. There are repercussions for missing voluntary practices on many teams. However, most student-athletes do feel that this extra work is critical to their athletic success. Student-athlete quotations: Our coaches can be at our [voluntary] practices, so we don t have any optional practices. (Swimmer, noting safety exception) Quoting a coach- Practice is two hours today, but if we go over, it s voluntary. They re judging you, judging your commitment. It s not necessarily punishment, but it affects you. I ve never heard the word voluntary and thought oh I don t have to go to that. One student-athlete said his team was not informed whether practices were voluntary or mandatory until they were already at the practice. One coach has the student-athletes rank each other on commitment level (voluntary practice attendance), and considers that ranking when making the starting roster. 15

16 THE PAC-12 LISTENING TOUR 8 Time commitments to one s team extend beyond athletic activities. Many teams participate in community service events, have mandatory team bonding activities, host recruits, and participate in fundraising and media events. None of this time is counted or limited in any way, and there can be repercussions for not participating. Additionally, these events are sometimes scheduled or communicated about to the team at the last minute. Student-athlete quotation on non-athletic activities: I d never risk not going; I m scared. One student-athlete said that members of her team were temporarily kicked off the team for not attending a team-bonding movie night Student-athletes are not taking much time off from their sports during the off-season, the summer, or other school breaks. Student-athlete quotation: I just never have free time, I don t feel like I m in college. Pro-athletes have way more time. Academic sacrifices are being made. It is not uncommon for student-athletes to be forced to change their majors due to practice and competition schedules, either because they cannot schedule the classes and other requirements they need, or they cannot keep up with their academic demands due to their sport s time demands. Student-athletes are also discouraged from taking certain majors from the outset due to their athletic demands. Many student-athletes struggle to schedule all the classes they need so as not to conflict with practice time. This becomes increasingly challenging as they specialize in their academic careers. Student-athletes in most sports are also missing significant class time due to travel and competition. Another major issue is that student-athletes find it very difficult to attend labs, participate in required internships, study abroad, and complete required clinical or observation hours. Student-athlete quotation: When I tried to major in Economics, they told me you re either going to miss a lot of class or a lot of practice; it didn t sound like an option. One injured student-athlete said she could only go to get treatment at very specific times causing her to miss all but one class during a certain week. Many student-athletes told stories of changing majors, sometimes well into their academic careers, and not being able to graduate on time due to their sport s time demands. 16

17 THE PAC-12 LISTENING TOUR Implications of What Was Heard on the Tour With the listening tour completed, the Pac-12 synthesized the information learned on the 12 campuses and came up with a list of the goals that any new rules and/or best practices should aim to achieve: Prioritize academic demands Make voluntary practices truly voluntary Regulate non-athletic team activities Manage expectations of future time demands for prospective student-athletes Educate current student-athletes and coaches on rules and enforcement Provide student-athletes more time off both in-season and out-of-season Make schedules more transparent and effectively communicated Reactions to the Listening Tour From CUBuffs.com, quoting Colorado student-athlete Connor Winter: It was really valuable to be able to see where we ve come from and how we ve been able to really make the improvements for the student athletes, Winter said. People are really looking at what can we do to make the experience the absolute best. We know we ve got champions and we know we ve got great students and great athletes, so we want to set them up for success. That s really what this does. The legislation sets us up for success. From the Daily Camera, quoting Colorado student-athlete Connor Winter: I thought (the meeting) was really valuable, to be able to see where we ve come from and how we ve been able to really make the improvements for the student-athletes and that they re at the forefront of the legislation, said CU senior Connor Winter, a cross country and track and field standout who was one of several athletes in Wednesday s meeting. Us being involved is huge, because it s not just people in a room that are older and don t know exactly what we re going through day to day. From the CU Independent, quoting Colorado student-athlete Connor Winter: It s really encouraging to see him here, and then the way he is able to accomplish things in that we are the forefront of what he s interested in, Winter said. 17

18 THE PAC-12 LISTENING TOUR From the Salt Lake Tribune, quoting Utah student-athlete Jessica Sams: It s difficult to express for people who haven t done it just how much time your sport takes up, she said. It s not just practice. Your practice might be three hours, but that also means you have to go to the training room, you have to cool down, you have to go to bed earlier to get your recovery. And you end up having to make these choices: Do I work late on this paper? Or do I get my sleep so I can do well in my sport? From the Seattle Times, quoting Washington student-athlete Faith Morrison: Everyone was really transparent and honest and did a good job reflecting on their experiences, which is really encouraging to see, Morrison said. You always want everyone to be able to feel safe to talk about their experiences, and it was great that they were able to do it in that setting. From the Daily Trojan, quoting USC student-athlete Kamali Houston: We had a very open and honest conversation about time demands and what s going on in our daily lives, Houston said. Houston proposed an idea of mandating a 12-hour break after competitions for rest and recovery. Scheduling, making sure that coaches are open and transparent with the schedule and athletes are ready to expect what s going to happen with their week and can plan ahead, Houston said as another talking point in the meeting. From USCTrojans.com, quoting USC student-athlete Max Browne: [This] was a great opportunity for us to share our thoughts on the time demands required of student-athletes, said USC QB Max Browne, a member of the student-athlete group that met with the commissioner on Friday. It s awesome to know that the conference is looking to better the experience of student-athletes while at the same time not taking away the drive to be great within each of our sports. From GoDucks.com, quoting Oregon student-athlete Ali Scharkey: Today was really helpful just to get a wider range of student-athletes understanding what the issues are, said lacrosse player Ali Scharkey, a member of Oregon s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and the Pac-12 s Student-Athlete Leadership Team. A lot of time today was spent discussing that voluntary and involuntary (difference), and finding that balance between wanting to be champions and wanting to be great, but also being great off the field as well. From the Arizona Republic, quoting Arizona State student-athletes Heather Udowitch and Brandon Mills: I appreciate it so much to know the conference cares about we think individually, ASU gymnast Heather Udowitch said. That s huge. Knowing that I have that support is the best feeling in the world and means a lot to me. Swimmer Brandon Mills was struck by a comment from Scottie Graham, ASU senior associate athletics director, about how when he played football at Ohio State that athletes put in 40 mandatory hours per week (instead of 20 now) and had no input into decision making. It s really cool to actually have a voice, especially at this magnitude, Mills said. The university is using our voices for good instead of just listening them and not applying our opinion. 18

19 POTENTIAL NEXT STEPS POTENTIAL NEXT STEPS After listening to student-athletes from around the Conference and discussing different possibilities for alleviating some of the stress that athletically related time demands puts on student-athletes, the Conference has aggregated a list of best practices based on what is going right on Pac-12 campuses as well as a list of potential legislative concepts to advance. Potential Best Practices: The listening tour shed light on many positive practices in the area of time demands that occur on Pac-12 campuses. A goal coming out of this process is to share some of those best practices both inside and outside of the Pac-12. Some practices worth emulating: Flexibility: Student-athletes on several teams said their coaches are very considerate of academic demands and allow for sufficient flexibility when it comes to conflicting athletics and academics time demands. For example, many student-athletes were allowed to miss all or part of practice to fulfill academic demands. Education: Many student-athletes said their compliance staffs are communicating frequently and clearly on CARA and other rules governing time demands with both coaches and student-athletes. Ombudsman Programs: Student-athletes at campuses that have strong ombudsman programs have a better understanding of how to handle situations where the rules may not be followed appropriately. Student-athletes should know that they can report concerns about CARA and other time demands issues to council members or their compliance staff confidentially and without fear of repercussions. Institutions might consider a third-party ombudsman to help with this process. Other Academic Opportunities: Some campuses are finding creative ways to help facilitate internships, study abroad opportunities, and other important college experiences for student-athletes. Ideas include student-athlete-only opportunities and pausing the eligibility clock for these kinds of experiences. Monitoring: Some campuses are performing greater due diligence than others when it comes to monitoring potential abuses of the current rules associated with voluntary practices. Scheduling: Student-athletes were appreciative of coaches who were as transparent and prompt as possible when it come to communicating travel rosters and travel times/ itineraries so that they could properly alert professors of upcoming missed class times and plan their schedules accordingly. Study Time: In men s and women s basketball, per Pac-12 regulations 2, teams are required to participate in mandatory study sessions while on the road, and some other teams build similar sessions into their road trip schedules. Student-athletes were very appreciative of being given personal time away from mandated team activities to study and focus on other priorities. Enabling Class Schedules: Student-athletes were grateful for coaches efforts to make sure they could take every class they need and want, even classes that are only offered in very specific time windows. When possible, coaches should consider scheduling practices in a way that alternates the time of day a team has available for classes. For example, have morning practices in the fall and afternoon practices in the spring. This way, student-athletes can take any class they might need at some point during the year. Off-Days on Weekdays: Student-athletes preferred that their off-days be weekdays, not weekends so that they can take advantage of the time off to schedule meetings with professors, meet with groups to work on group projects, and meet other academic requirements. 2 Pac-12 SPR 2-1-3: When classes are in session or during final examinations period, a team may not depart campus before 3:00 p.m., or the latest flight out that day, whichever is earlier, the day before a game, and the traveling team shall be required to hold a mandatory study period on the day(s) between games while the team remains on the road. 19

20 POTENTIAL NEXT STEPS Legislative Next Steps: The following three time demands-related proposals were referred for more robust consideration at the January 2016 Autonomy Session, but are expected to be adopted in some form in January 2017, along with a more comprehensive slate of reforms: Specify that a travel day related to athletics participation will not be considered an official day off. Prohibit CARA for a two-week period beginning the day after the conclusion of the championship segment. Prohibit CARA other than competition (and associated activities) during an eight-hour period between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. overnight. Potential Legislative Initiatives: The ideas that follow could end up in the form of Autonomy proposals, full Division I legislative proposals, Pac-12 Conference-specific rules or guidelines, or best practices to be communicated both inside and outside of the Pac-12, or a combination of the above-mentioned. 1. Apply daily/weekly CARA limits and day off requirements to official institutional vacation periods. Additionally, apply the day off requirement to the preseason practice period prior to the start of classes or the first contest (whichever is earlier). 2. Throughout the academic year, provide student-athletes with designated rest days, in addition to required days off during which no required athletically related activities can occur. 3. Establish a time period directly after student-athletes return to campus from athletically related travel during which required athletic activities are prohibited. 4. Outside of the declared competition season, require coaches to provide student-athletes with at least three days off from CARA each week. 5. Prohibit practices from occurring during an institutional vacation period when the practices are part of a sport s non-championship segment (or the spring practice period in the sport of football). 6. Amend the current voluntary athletically related activities definition and safety exception legislation in order to curtail perceived abuses related to voluntary and safety exception workouts. Current legislation provides staff members with sufficient interpretive wiggle room to abuse Bylaw 17 to the point that these workouts are not voluntary. Potential amendments include: Limit a coach s ability to engage in skill instruction during a safety exception workout Emphasize that all individuals, not just the student-athlete in question and institutional staff members, are prohibited from reporting back to a coach regarding the presence or absence of a student-athlete from a voluntary activity, or the progress of a student-athlete engaged in a voluntary activity 7. Prohibit student-athletes from being required to report for home contests earlier than four hours before the start of a contest (for example, 3:00 p.m. call time for 7:00 p.m. game). 8. Require coaches to schedule practice dates/times at least one month in advance. If a coach needs to make a change to a scheduled practice time, he/she must request the change at least three days in advance with administrative/compliance approval. Changes resulting from extreme circumstances, such as inclement weather, would not need to be approved. 9. Require institutions to provide prospects with information that accurately reflects what their daily/weekly athletics schedules will likely entail once they matriculate. 10. Establish a term-by-term limit on the number of hours devoted to required non-athletic team activities and increase transparency by requiring coaches/administrators to schedule non-athletics activities at least one month in advance. 20

21 CONCLUSION CONCLUSION The now-substantial body of research, together with the results of the listening tour, strongly suggests that the Pac-12 CEO Group was correct to focus on time demands when it articulated its 10-point reform plan in May The Pac-12 is the winningest conference in the country and is proud of its tradition as the Conference of Champions, but is even prouder of the academic standing of its member universities and the incredible accomplishments of Pac-12 studentathletes. Maintaining elite status in both academics and athletics is not an easy balance to strike on an institutional or a personal level, but Pac-12 schools are determined to do just that and to give their student-athletes every opportunity to succeed. The Pac-12 is grateful to the studentathletes who participated in the listening tour and provided their telling insights and expressed their candid concerns, which in every case stemmed from a deep commitment to academic and athletic excellence. The Conference is also appreciative of the many coaches, athletics directors, administrators, faculty members, and others who contributed to the research that have brought the reform effort to this point. Now, it is time for action. The next steps outlined in this report are a blueprint for moving forward as the Pac-12 and its membership seek to provide studentathletes with the balance they need. The opportunities that intercollegiate athletics presents to student-athletes are plentiful, and the goal now must be to ensure that those student-athletes are granted the time and the flexibility to take advantage of every possible opportunity. 21