KNOW THE RULES. New Legislation

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1 Follow us on Saint Mary s College Coaches & Athletic Administration Newsletter February 2015 IMPORTANT DATES February 1 (11:59p.m.PST) SMC Admissions Deadline for Fall 2015 enrollees February 4 Signing period for Soccer begins February 15 FAFSA priority deadline for Fall 2015 enrollees This Month in Compliance: New Legislation Gambling Reminder Recent Interp: Can you publicize skill instruction? Compliance in the News: Academic Infractions on the Rise February Reminders KNOW THE RULES. New Legislation Below are some highlights of several NCAA proposals that were recently passed at the 2015 NCAA Convention. We will provide more detailed information regarding select legislation once it becomes available Concussion Safety Protocol specifies that an institution shall: (1) Submit its written concussion procedures and protocol to a Concussion Safety Protocol Committee for review on an annual basis, including a written certificate of compliance signed by the athletics director; (2) Review its concussion procedures annually; and (3) Provide information to the committee, as the committee may request, concerning any incident in which a SA may have suffered a concussion; further to establish the Concussion Safety Protocol Committee and its duties Maximum Limit on Financial Aid Other Expenses Related to Attendance Up to Cost of Attendance specifies that a full grantin-aid is financial aid that consists of tuition and fees, room and board, books, and other expenses related to attendance at the institution up to the cost of attendance as determined using federal methodology and institutional policies consistent with those used for all students Terms and Conditions of Awarding Institutional Financial Aid No Athletics Reasons in Reduction or Nonrenewal After Period of Award specifies that if a SA receives athletically-related financial aid in the academic year of his or her initial full-time enrollment at the certifying institution, athletics ability, performance or contribution to a team s success; an injury, illness or physical or mental medical condition; or any other athletics reason shall not be considered in the reduction or nonrenewal of athletically related financial aid for the following academic year or years of the SA s five-year period of eligibility. 1

2 Sports Wagering Reminder! NCAA bylaws prohibit student-athletes, coaches, conference staff members, athletic administrators, and nonathletics staff who have responsibilities within or over athletics departments from engaging in sports wagering activities. Sports wagering is defined as putting something at risk, such as an entry fee or tangible item, with the opportunity to win something in return. Therefore, all studentathletes, coaches, conference staff members, athletic administrators, and nonathletics staff who have responsibilities within or over athletics departments may not participate in sports wagering activities where there is an entry fee and an opportunity to win a prize. This would include Fantasy Leagues, Super Bowl pools, and March Madness brackets. Recent Interp: Can you Publicize Skill Instruction? No. Per NCAA Bylaw s and , Skill-related instruction shall NOT be publicized and shall not be conducted in view of a general public audience. This means that during your 8-hour periods, the two hours spent on skill-related instruction (i.e., individuals, batting, ball drills) cannot be publicized. This means no non-athletics personnel can be invited to attend and no photos or video should be posted to institutional websites or social media. The following questions and answers provided by the November 4, 2014 NCAA Educational Column are designed to assist member institutions in applying the legislation regarding the viewing of skill-related instruction that is permissible outside the playing season in all sports other than football: Question 1: May prospective student-athletes view skill-related instruction while on official or unofficial visits? Answer: Yes. It is permissible for prospective student-athletes to view skill-related instruction during official or unofficial visits, provided the skill-instruction has not been publicized and is not held in view of a general public audience. Question 2: May individuals accompanying prospective student-athletes on official or unofficial visits (e.g., parent, sibling, coach) view skill-related instruction? Answer: Yes. It is permissible for individuals accompanying prospective studentathletes on official or unofficial visits to view skill-related instruction, provided the skill instruction has not been publicized and is not held in view of a general public audience. Question 3: May an institution invite individuals (e.g., boosters, high school coaches) to watch a team's skill-related instruction or in basketball, an informal practice scrimmage? Answer: No, if an institution were to invite an individual or individuals to a skillrelated instruction session or an informal practice scrimmage it would be considered publicizing the activity, which is prohibited by the legislation. Question 4: May a member of the general public walk into a facility and watch skillrelated instruction? Answer: Yes. A member of the general public could walk into a facility where a team is involved in skill-related instruction on his or her own without the instruction being considered in view of a general public audience. However, an institution could not arrange to conduct skill-related instruction in a facility or at a time in which the institution had reason to believe that the skill instruction session would be conducted in view of a general public audience. For example, it would not be permissible for an institution to conduct skill instruction for its basketball team on the football field immediately following a home football game. This situation would constitute conducting skill-related instruction in view of a general public audience.

3 Compliance in the News: NCAA Academic Infractions on the Rise 1/28/15 Associated Press Academic misconduct is on the rise in college athletics and the NCAA enforcement department currently is investigating 20 cases, the head of NCAA enforcement said. Jon Duncan, vice president of enforcement, said Wednesday the cases involve both prospective and incoming athletes trying to become eligible for college competition, and enrolled athletes receiving impermissible assistance from university and athletic department personnel. Eighteen of the cases involve Division I schools, though NCAA policies preclude Duncan from revealing which programs are under investigation. North Carolina has been the focus of the NCAA s most high-profile infractions case involving academics. Last year an independent investigator found hundreds of Tar Heels athletes over nearly two decades were steered toward sham classes that gave out high grades for little work. Duncan said reasons for the uptick are impossible to pinpoint, but he speculated potential contributors are raised academic standards for athletes and recent reforms that tie academic performance to a team s postseason eligibility. Having more digital and online courses creates opportunities for mischievous behavior, Duncan said. Though electronic fingerprints and digital trails can also aide in investigations. Also, cheating seems to be more common campus-wide, not just in the athletic department, Duncan said. Academic misconduct investigations can be challenging because not all cheating by a student-athlete breaks NCAA rules. Notre Dame had four football players suspended all of last season because of academic misconduct. The school needed to report the incident to the NCAA, though ultimately it was a violation of the university s honor code that cost the players the season. For academic impropriety to become an NCAA violation at least one of three factors must be involved: 1. Involvement by members of an institution or athletic department staff. 2. An athlete is treated differently than the general student population. 3. Academic misconduct led to an award of credit that allowed an athlete to compete when he or she would have otherwise been ineligible. It s easy to talk about those different buckets and categories in sort of scholarly, academic conversation, but they don t come to us packaged and labeled as falling into and out of those categories, Duncan said. We have to spend a lot of time, dedicate a lot of resources, look at a lot of paper and perhaps conduct a number of interviews to determine whether we re in one of those categories or not. West Virginia University director of compliance Keli Cunningham said the challenge for those on campus comes in the tracking. It s not like monitoring areas such as a prospect s visit to campus where you can see an expense statement and know if someone received a meal and shouldn t have or monitoring phone calls where you can see a coach s phone bill and know if he/she made too many phone calls, Cunningham said. If a staff member works closely with a student-athlete and that student-athlete receives a high grade for the course, that doesn t mean that the staff member acted unethically and triggered academic misconduct. Kathy Sulentic, who leads the NCAA s academic integrity unit, said they are seeing two themes in the academic cases being investigated. What we re seeing are people who have an association with the program, by people it could be anybody from a professor, a campus adviser, a registrar, a teaching assistant, who has a relationship with the athletic department or a particular sports program and they use that relationship in an effort to and I m using air quotes here to help a student-athlete engage in misconduct, she said. The second scenario stems from coaches delivering directives to coaching and support staff members about an athlete s academics. And the coach will say, We need to get this student athlete eligible. Not telling them exactly what to do but saying we need this young man or young women and some sort of academic misconduct occurs, Sulentic said. Enforcement staff does not make NCAA bylaws though it can 3 help guide membership to where it wants to go with legislation. The NCAA has been going through a stage of deregulation as it tries to simplify its bylaws, but that s not necessarily the case when it comes to academics.

4 FAQs About the NCAA Eligibility Center Applies to PSAs Enrolling Before When should a student register with the NCAA Eligibility Center? Students should register with the NCAA Eligibility Center at the beginning of their junior year in high school. At the end of the student's junior year, a transcript, including six semesters of grades, should be sent to the NCAA Eligibility Center from the high school. Additionally, students should have their SAT or ACT scores forwarded directly to the NCAA Eligibility Center (by using code"9999") whenever they take the exam. What is the fee to register? The registration fee for U.S. students is $65; and $95 for international students. Is this fee refundable? All fees are nonrefundable after successful registration. No refunds will be given due to nonparticipation or disinterest at an NCAA Division I or II college or university. In the event a duplicate registration was completed and duplicate payment was processed, you may be eligible for a refund of the duplicate registration fee(s). A completed refund request form must be sent to the NCAA Eligibility Center for consideration. You can find the form by going to clicking the link to enter for NCAA College-Bound Student-Athletes. You will then click Resources at the top of the page and then Forms. What requirements do I need to be able to practice, play and get a scholarship at an NCAA Division I or II college or university? You need to complete the following: 1. Graduate from high school; 2. Complete a minimum of 16 (for Division I) or 14 (for Division II) core courses; 3. Present the required grade-point average (GPA) (for complete details, see the Freshman Eligibility Standards Quick Reference Sheet for Division I or a minimum 2.0 GPA for Division II); 4. Present a qualifying test score on either the ACT or SAT (for complete details, see the Freshman Eligibility Standards Quick Reference Sheet); and 5. Request final amateurism certification (beginning April 1 for fall enrollees or beginning October 1 for spring enrollees). How do I know if the courses I am taking will count as core courses? You need to look at your high school's list of NCAA courses. Follow these steps: 1. Go to the NCAA Eligibility Center website at 2. Click on the "NCAA College-Bound Student-Athletes" link to enter; 3. Click on "Resources"; 4. Click on "U.S. Students"; 5. Click on List of NCAA Courses ; 6. Input your high school's CEEB code (if you know it) or search by your high school's name and state; and 7. Review the list. *Very important: If a core course you took is not on the list, it will not be used in your eligibility determination. Courses that appear on your transcript must exactly match what is on the list. What is the lowest grade that will be used for a course to count as a core course? Follow your high school's policy regarding its lowest passing grade. If the NCAA Eligibility Center does not have this policy, the lowest passing grade that will be used is D. How is the NCAA core GPA different from a student's overall GPA? The NCAA core-course GPA is calculated using only NCAA-approved core courses in the required number of core units. High school GPAs generally include the grades from most or all courses attempted in grades nine through 12. May courses taken at high school "A" be accepted if they appear on high school "B's" transcript? No. High school "A" may provide the NCAA Eligibility Center with an official copy of high school "B's" transcript, but grades from one high school cannot be accepted on another high school's transcript. How are students prioritized for processing at the NCAA Eligibility Center? Students who have their status requested by an NCAA college or university are prioritized by the NCAA Eligibility Center for processing. If a student's eligibility status is never requested by a college or university, the NCAA Eligibility Center may not process such a student's certification.

5 Saint Mary s College Compliance Staff Stephanie Shrieve-Hawkins Piper Brewster Nicole Vargo Courtney Johnson Assistant A.D. for Director of Compliance Director of Compliance Compliance Coordinator Compliance cyj2@stmarys-ca.edu PHONE: PHONE: PHONE: (925) (925) (925) ses6@stmarys-ca.edu pb9@stmarys-ca.edu nlv2@stmarys-ca.edu SPORT Basketball (Early Period) Basketball (Regular Period) Soccer & Cross Country All Other Sports (Early Period) All Other Sports (Regular Period) NLI SIGNING DATES INITIAL FINAL SIGNING SIGNING DATE DATE November 12, 2014 November 19, 2014 April 15, 2015 May 20, 2015 February Reminders February 4, 2015 August 1, 2015 November 12, 2014 November 19, 2014 April 15, 2015 August 1, 2015 Squad List Update ADDITIONS/REMOVALS With the close of Jan Term, please notify Compliance of anyone who quit or is cut from the team this past semester. Compliance will then send the SA the Squad List Removal Form via JumpForward. For removals, the SA must first meet with the sports administrator, then Athletics Training and then Compliance. Financial Aid and terms of a release should be discussed by the head coach with Compliance prior to the SA meeting with Compliance. All Spring additions must by notifying Compliance. Initial Eligibility Certification If you have Spring additions/transfers, please notify the Compliance office ASAP to begin tracking their initial eligibility certification for Spring semester. Also, notify Compliance of any recruited walk-ons for so they can be tracked along-side all NLI signees. Winter Recruiting Calendar (Sports Subject to Recruiting Calendar) Baseball: Men s Basketball: Women s Basketball: Softball: Cross Country/ Track: Volleyball: Lacrosse: Men s & Women s Soccer: February 1 February 2-5 February 6-28 Quiet Period Recruiting Period Evaluation Period Dead Period Admissions Reminder Please have your recent signees officially apply to SMC using the Common Application located at The SMC application is due February 1, 2015 for incoming Freshman. The FAFSA for is available online at All incoming and returning SAs should complete the FAFSA regardless of whether they are on athletic scholarship. The FAFSA is due February 15, FAFSA is now available! Saint Mary s College Athletics Compliance Office 1928 Saint Mary s Rd Moraga, CA Fax: (925) Office of Athletics Compliance is located in Madigan Gym. Follow us on