The NCAA News - News & Features

Increased number of calls slows staff review

Calls from member institutions, student-athletes, family, friends, attorneys and elected officials are compounding the problems of an already burdened staff.

"The volume of calls is a problem this year," said Stacey F. Herman, the legislative assistant who is coordinating the waiver-review process. "One case can have the institution, the high school and the student-athlete's family all calling.

"There is no way to process the cases in a timely fashion and give daily updates to the institution, the high school, and the student-athlete and his or her family."

The staff has attempted to relay information to student-athletes and their families through the NCAA member institution making the appeal, Herman said.

That approach is based on factors other than relieving pressure on the staff. The NCAA staff cannot legally give out information on a waiver request to anyone other than the student-athlete or the member institution. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (more commonly known as the Buckley Amendment) prohibits release of information about an individual's case to anyone else unless a waiver is signed by the student.

"Because of the Buckley Amendment, we cannot discuss the case with anyone but the institution and the student-athlete himself -- not with an attorney or the student-athlete's parents," Herman said. "We can only confirm or deny that the waiver request was received and a decision has or has not been made."

But even if a student signs a release permitting information to be given to someone else, the time required to answer calls is a problem for the staff.

"We understand their frustration with not understanding our process and with their wanting to talk to the person handling the case, but it's not feasible," Herman said.

Calls have been received from attorneys and members of Congress to get updates on specific cases or to encourage a particular outcome. But the calls do not influence the outcome, Herman said.

"Outside forces have no effect on cases -- in their treatment or their timing," she said. "The cases are treated in the order they come in without influence of any outside sources."

And the NCAA Council Subcommittee on Initial-Eligibility Waivers, which handles appeals of staff decisions, is not informed of telephone calls received about a particular request when it is being reviewed, said Robert J. Baugh, chair of the subcommittee.

"We try to keep separate from all of that," he said.