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Interpretations Committee minutes

Acting for the NCAA Council, the committee issued the following interpretations:

Promotional Activities

1. Corporate Trademark/Logo on Billboard. It is permissible for the regular officially registered trademark or logo of a commercial company to appear on a billboard as part of a permissible promotional activity that includes the name or picture of a student-athlete with remaining eligibility, inasmuch as a billboard is considered a printed material as set forth in NCAA Bylaw 12.5.1.1-(b). [Reference: 12.5.1.1-(b) (institutional, charitable, educational or nonprofit promotions).]

Residence Requirement/Learning-Disabled

2. Academic Year of Residence/Learning-Disabled and Handicapped Student-Athletes (Divisions I, II and III). A student-athlete diagnosed with a learning disability or handicap, who is subject to the one-year residence requirement, may satisfy such a requirement even though the student is enrolled in less than 12 semester or quarter hours during each term of an academic year, provided the certifying institution defines full-time enrollment for that student-athlete to be less than 12 hours to accommodate for his or her learning disability or handicap. The committee noted that an institution must continue to seek a waiver of the general satisfactory-progress requirements set forth in 14.4.3.8. [References: 14.1.6.1 (requirement for practice), 14.1.6.2 (requirement for competition), 14.1.6.2.2.1.3 (learning-disabled and handicapped student-athletes), 14.3.4 (residence requirement -- partial qualifier or nonqualifier) and 14.5.1.2 (determination of year of residence).]

Transfer/Partial Qualifier

3. Issues Related to Transfers Who Are Not Qualifiers (Divisions I and II). The committee reviewed issues related to transfer student-athletes who are not qualifiers and determined the following:

a. The committee recommended that the NCAA Council use its authority pursuant to 5.4.1.1.1 to modify the provisions of 14.5.5.1.2 to permit a partial qualifier who transfers from a Division I or II institution to another Division I or II institution prior to satisfying an academic year in residence to engage in practice sessions only on campus or at an institution's regular practice facility during the first academic year at the new institution.

b. A student-athlete who is enrolled at a Division II institution and has satisfied Division II initial-eligibility requirements may not use any of the transfer exceptions set forth in 14.5.5.3 upon transfer to a Division I institution, unless the student-athlete has satisfied the Division I initial-eligibility requirements or has satisfied an academic year in residence at the Division II institution.

[References: 14.3.2.1.1.1 (eligibility for aid, practice and competition -- Division I); 14.3.2.1.2.1 (eligibility for aid, practice and competition -- Division II); 14.5.5.1.2 (attendance for less than one academic year); and 14.5.5.3 (exceptions or waivers).]

Evaluations/Basketball

4. Visit to Prospect's Educational Institution During July Evaluation Period (Division I). The provisions of 13.1.5.1.3, which restrict institutional staff members to visiting a prospect's educational institution on not more than one occasion during a particular week within an evaluation period in Division I basketball, are not applicable during the summer (i.e., the July evaluation period). [Reference: 13.1.5.1.3 (visit during evaluation period -- Division I basketball).]