The NCAA News - News and Features

January 27, 1997

Bylaw 14

Legislative reference: 14.1.3

Proposal No. 135-A: Positive Drug Test -- Non-NCAA Athletics Organization

Intent: To authorize NCAA testing of student-athletes who test positive for banned substances by a non-NCAA athletics organization.

Effective date: August 1, 1997

Result: Adopted 439-197-15

Legislative reference: 14.1.3.1

Proposal No. 98-H: De Minimus Violations -- Prospective and Enrolled Student-Athletes

Intent: To specify instances in which a de minimus violation will not render a prospect or enrolled student-athlete ineligible while retaining the fact that such a violation shall be considered an institutional violation.

Effective date: Immediately

Result: Adopted (Paddle)

Legislative reference: 14.1.3.1.1 [New]

Proposal No. 60: Vehicle Registration -- Division I Football and Basketball

Intent: To require counters in the sports of Division I football and basketball to register with the department of athletics any vehicles owned or regularly used by the student-athlete and to include such a requirement as part of the Student-Athlete Statement.

Effective date: August 1, 1997

Result: I-A -- Defeated upon reconsideration 13-102-0. I-AA -- Defeated 18-101-2. I (basketball) -- Defeated 134-180-2.

Legislative reference: 14.1.3.1.1 [New]

Proposal No. 61: Agent Documents -- Parents and Relatives

Intent: To require student-athletes and their parents and relatives to provide relevant documents to authorized institutional representatives related to an agent inquiry and include such a requirement as part of the Student-Athlete Statement.

Effective date: August 1, 1997

Result: Withdrawn

Legislative reference: 14.1.3.3 [New]

Proposal No. 94: Student-Athlete Statement -- Family Educational Rights And Privacy Act

Intent: To ensure that confidential, personally identifiable information about student-athletes provided to the NCAA by member institutions is accorded the protections against public disclosure established in the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 USC Section 1232g, et seq., the "Buckley Amendment").

Effective date: August 1, 1997

Result: Withdrawn

Legislative reference: 14.1.4.1

Proposal No. 98-I: De Minimus Violations -- Prospective and Enrolled Student-Athletes

Intent: To specify instances in which a de minimus violation will not render a prospect or enrolled student-athlete ineligible while retaining the fact that such a violation shall be considered an institutional violation.

Effective date: Immediately

Result: Adopted (Paddle)

Legislative reference: 14.1.6.1.6

Proposal No. 95: Eligibility -- Practice Opportunities For Olympics

Intent: To permit a graduate student to practice with an institution's team, provided the individual's participation is recommended by the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) or the national governing body; the practice takes place only at the institution(s) the individual currently attends or previously attended as a graduate student; the participation involves an individual sport or the sport of rowing or synchronized swimming; the individual does not participate in any coaching activities; and, in the case of a student-athlete with eligibility remaining, the participation occurs during the academic year immediately preceding the Olympic Games.

Effective date: August 1, 1997

Result: I -- Adopted (Paddle). II -- Adopted (Paddle). III -- Adopted (Paddle).

Legislative reference: 14.1.7.2 [New]

Proposal No. 73: Graduate Student -- Division III Transfer Exception

Intent: To permit a student-athlete who is enrolled in a Division III graduate or professional school of an institution other than the institution he or she previously attended as an undergraduate to use the Division III transfer exceptions.

Effective date: August 1, 1997

Result: Withdrawn

Legislative reference: 14.2.4.5

Proposal No. 71: Eligibility -- Participation After 21st Birthday

Intent: To specify that in Division II, as in Division I, any participation by an individual in organized competition during any 12-month period after the individual's 21st birthday and prior to initial full-time enrollment at a collegiate institution counts as a year of competition in that sport.

Effective date: August 1, 1997; for those student-athletes first entering a collegiate institution on or after August 1, 1997.

Result: Withdrawn

Legislative reference: 14.2.5

Proposal No. 142: Eligibility -- Hardship Waiver

Intent: To specify that the percentage calculation for purposes of meeting the hardship waiver in those sports that are subject to date-of-competition limitations shall be based on the institution's number of completed dates of competition (as opposed to varsity events).

Effective date: August 1, 1997

Result: I -- Adopted (Paddle). II -- Adopted (Paddle). III -- Adopted (Paddle).

Legislative reference: 14.3.1.3.1.1 [New]

Proposal No. 92: Initial Eligibility -- Core-Curriculum Time Limitation

Intent: To permit students with learning disabilities to use all core courses completed prior to initial full-time collegiate enrollment as specified.

Effective date: August 1, 1997

Result: Adopted (Paddle)

Legislative reference: 14.3.1.3.4

Proposal No. 91: Initial Eligibility -- Core-Curriculum Requirements -- Students With Disabilities

Intent: To clarify that the NCAA Academic Requirements Committee (as opposed to the high-school principal) has final authority to determine whether high-school courses for students with disabilities are core courses; further, to delete all references to the word "handicapped" in Bylaw 14.3.1.3.4.

Effective date: August 1, 1997

Result: I -- Adopted (Paddle). II -- Adopted (Paddle).

Legislative reference: 14.3.1.3.6

Proposal No. 90: Pass-Fail Grades

Intent: To permit the use of individual core courses graded on a pass/fail basis for purposes of satisfying the core-curriculum requirements, with the understanding that the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse shall assign the course the lowest passing grade at that high school, which in some instances could be a grade of "D."

Effective date: August 1, 1997

Result: I -- Adopted (Paddle). II -- Adopted (Paddle).

Legislative reference: 14.3.1.6

Proposal No. 93: Initial Eligibility -- Early Admissions Program Waiver

Intent: To permit a student to receive a waiver of the initial-eligibility requirements pursuant to an early admissions program, even if the student has not satisfied the core-course requirements in the area of English (i.e., lacking four years of English).

Effective date: August 1, 1997

Result: I -- Adopted (Paddle). II -- Adopted (Paddle).

Legislative reference: 14.3.2.1.1

Proposal No. 67: Initial Eligibility -- Partial Qualifier -- Division I

Intent: To revise the definition of partial qualifier to include students who present a core-curriculum grade-point average of 2.500 and an SAT score of 810 or an ACT score of 67 and to include students who present core-curriculum grade-point averages from 2.475 to 2.250 and SAT scores of 820 or above or ACT scores of 68 or above.

Effective date: August 1, 1997; for those student-athletes first entering a collegiate institution on or after August 1, 1997.

Result: Defeated 86-230-6

Legislative reference: 14.3.3.1 [New]

Proposal No. 68: Initial Eligibility -- Partial Qualifier -- Division I

Intent: In Division I, to permit a partial qualifier to earn a fourth season of competition, provided the student-athlete receives a baccalaureate degree prior to the beginning of the fifth academic year following the student-athlete's initial, full-time enrollment.

Effective date: August 1, 1997

Result: Adopted 173-145-7

Legislative reference: 14.4.3.1.3.1 [New]

Proposal No. 70: Satisfactory Progress -- Hours Earned During Regular Academic Year

Intent: To reduce from 75 percent to 62.5 percent the minimum number of satisfactory-progress credit hours that a freshman student-athlete must earn during the academic year, and to increase from 25 percent to 37.5 percent the minimum number of satisfactory-progress credit hours that a freshman student-athlete may earn during the summer.

Effective date: August 1, 1997

Result: Withdrawn

Legislative reference: 14.5.1.4

Proposal No. 72-A: Division III Exception to Transfer Residence Requirement

Intent: To permit a student-athlete who previously participated in intercollegiate athletics to transfer to a Division III institution and be immediately eligible for competition only if the student-athlete was academically and athletically eligible for competition at his or her previous institution at the time the student-athlete transferred from that institution.

Effective date: August 1, 1997

Result: Adopted 292-9-3

Legislative reference: 14.5.4.1

Proposal No. 69: Two-Year College Transfers -- Partial Qualifier or Nonqualifier -- Division I

Intent: In the sports of football and men's and women's basketball, to require a two-year college transfer student who was not a qualifier to fulfill one academic year in residence at the certifying institution prior to being eligible for competition.

Effective date: August 1, 1997; for those students first entering a two-year collegiate institution on or after August 1, 1997.

Result: Withdrawn

Legislative reference: 14.5.5.3.1

Proposal No. 72-B: Division III Exception to Transfer Residence Requirement

Intent: To permit a student-athlete who previously participated in intercollegiate athletics to transfer to a Division III institution and be immediately eligible for competition only if the student-athlete was academically and athletically eligible for competition at his or her previous institution at the time the student-athlete transferred from that institution.

Effective date: August 1, 1997

Result: Adopted 303-3-1

Legislative reference: 14.7.1.1.2 [New]

Proposal No. 96-A: Outside Competition -- Division I Soccer and Women's Volleyball

Intent: To permit student-athletes in the sports of men's and women's soccer and women's volleyball to compete on outside teams during the spring outside of the institution's playing and practice season as specified.

Effective date: August 1, 1997

Result: Adopted (Paddle)

Legislative reference: 14.7.5

Proposal No. 5-A: Eligibility -- Outside Competition

Intent: To eliminate the requirement that the NCAA Council approve waivers of specified national and international outside competitions.

Effective date: August 1, 1997

Result: Adopted (Paddle)

Legislative reference: 14.7.5.2

Proposal No. 97-A: Exceptions To Outside Competition -- Summer Basketball -- Division II

Intent: In Division II, to remove the restrictions on outside basketball competition that occurs during the summer.

Effective date: August 1, 1997

Result: Adopted 137-91-5

Legislative reference: 14.7.5.3 [New]

Proposal No. 5-B: Eligibility -- Outside Competition

Intent: To eliminate the requirement that the NCAA Council approve waivers of specified national and international outside competitions.

Effective date: August 1, 1997

Result: Adopted (Paddle)

Legislative reference: 14.7.6

Proposal No. 5-C: Eligibility -- Outside Competition

Intent: To eliminate the requirement that the NCAA Council approve waivers of specified national and international outside competitions.

Effective date: August 1, 1997

Result: Adopted (Paddle)

Legislative reference: 14.7.6.3

Proposal No. 5-D: Eligibility -- Outside Competition

Intent: To eliminate the requirement that the NCAA Council approve waivers of specified national and international outside competitions.

Effective date: August 1, 1997

Result: Adopted (Paddle)

Legislative reference: 14.10.2

Proposal No. 98-J: De Minimus Violations -- Prospective and Enrolled Student-Athletes

Intent: To specify instances in which a de minimus violation will not render a prospect or enrolled student-athlete ineligible while retaining the fact that such a violation shall be considered an institutional violation.

Effective date: Immediately

Result: I -- Adopted (Paddle). II -- Adopted (Paddle). III -- Adopted (Paddle).