The NCAA News - News & Features

Right to write?

Communications Committee seeks to allow student-athletes to publish articles under their own names

Student-athletes soon may have the opportunity to put their journalistic skills to use by writing articles for commercial and noncommercial publications.

At its July 17-19 meeting in Sun Valley, Idaho, the NCAA Communications Committee voted to ask the NCAA Council to sponsor legislation at the 1997 Convention permitting student-athletes to write for commercial and noncommercial publications without compensation.

The committee, which first reviewed the issue at its February 1996 meeting, agreed to submit the proposal to the Council after soliciting input from the NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The SAAC urged the committee to propose legislation allowing student-athletes to write and publish athletics and nonathletics articles under their own name.

Currently, NCAA Bylaw 12.5.2.1 prohibits a student-athlete from accepting any remuneration for or permitting the use of his or her name or picture to advertise, recommend or promote directly the sale or use of a commercial product or service. Further, the bylaw prohibits a student-athlete from receiving remuneration for endorsing a commercial product or service through the individual's use of such product or service.

The NCAA Interpretations Committee has permitted student-athletes to write for such publications only if the student-athletes use a pseudonym and are not acting in a capacity to promote their athletics ability or reputation. Further, no references to the student-athlete's institution are permitted.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Communications Committee
July 17-19/Sun Valley, Idaho

* Expressed concern how future communications issues will be handled, given that the current NCAA restructuring plan provides for such issues to be decided by the Strategic Planning Cabinet in Division I and the Management Councils in Divisions II and III. Specifically, the committee expressed concern regarding how communications issues impacting the Association will be handled, who will handle such issues and whether any communications experts will be included on the Division I cabinet and Divisions II and III councils. The committee will write to Joseph N. Crowley, chair of the Oversight Committee on the NCAA Membership Structure, regarding its concerns.

* Heard a report from a representative of ESPN regarding the Division I Women's Basketball Championship.

* Reviewed the status of the NCAA World Wide Web site.

* Requested that the national office research staff review the possibility of including information about the number of student-athletes who left their institutions in good standing in its NCAA Division I Graduation-Rates Report. It is the sense of the committee that including transfer student-athletes in the report would provide a more accurate assessment of graduation rates.

* Reviewed the NCAA Football Forum and discussed several options on how to better promote collegiate football.