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Legislative assistance

Travel to NCAA championships and postseason bowl games during vacation period

NCAA institutions should note that an institution may provide team transportation for a student-athlete to travel from campus to the site of an NCAA championship or a postseason bowl game and back to campus. The following are exceptions to this principle:

1. Student-athlete does not use team transportation. If the student-athlete goes home during the vacation period, the institution may provide (in lieu of team transportation) the greater of the transportation cost for the student-athlete to travel from:

a. Campus to the event site and back to campus;

b. Campus to the student-athlete's home and back to campus; or

c. The student-athlete's home to the event site and back home. [Note: Each of these options represents a formula, and the institution may utilize any of these alternatives at its discretion.]

2. Student-athlete uses "leg" of team transportation. An institution that provides one "leg" of actual team transportation (i.e., campus to the event site or from the event site back to campus) must deduct the value of the actual transportation cost of that "leg" from the allowance provided the student-athlete in (1) above.

3. Second trip home. If a student-athlete either uses team transportation to travel from campus to the event site and back to campus or participates in an event that takes place in the institution's home community and also has personally paid for a round-trip ticket home during that same vacation period, that student-athlete may be provided actual transportation expenses to travel between campus and home on a second occasion during that same period.

NCAA Bylaw 16.8.1.6
Incidental expenses at championships and certified bowl games

NCAA institutions may provide $20 per day to each member of the squad to cover unitemized incidental expenses during travel and practice for championship events during a period limited to the maximum number of days of per diem allowed for the involved championship or, for certified postseason bowl contests, for a period not to exceed 10 days. The per diem may be provided only after the institution's team departs for or reports to the site of the championship or postseason bowl contest.

Bylaw 16.8.1.6.1
Excessive per diem subsidies

When a sponsoring agency provides a per diem in excess of a student-athlete's actual and necessary expenses, it is not permissible for the institution to provide the student-athlete with the cash differences between the amount allocated for per diem by the sponsoring agency and the actual cost of the individual's room and board expenses.

Next week: Travel to regular-season contests during vacation period.

This material was provided by the legislative services staff as an aid to member institutions. If an institution has a question or comment regarding this column, such correspondence should be directed to Richard C. Perko, legislative assistant, at the NCAA national office. This information is available on the Collegiate Sports Network.