National Collegiate Athletic Association

Comment

March 31, 1997

Guest editorial -- Strong institutional plan aids in agent control

BY BRIAN MAND
Florida State University

Florida State University recently completed a one-year probationary period imposed by the NCAA Committee on Infractions for failure to adequately monitor and investigate the involvement of sports agents with student-athletes who received impermissible benefits.

In assessing the penalties, the Committee on Infractions recognized that, both prior and subsequent to the discovery of the amateurism violations, the university had been a leader in developing educational and monitoring programs to prevent sports agent involvement with student-athletes.

Among the recommendations recently made to the NCAA Council by the Special Committee on Agents and Amateurism were the (1) development of an intensive educational program for student-athletes and athletics departments that will explain the nature and magnitude of the problems caused by agents and (2) increased regulation and monitoring of contacts between student-athletes and agents.

Florida State has been and will continue to be committed to providing the best services and programs to its student-athletes who aspire to continue their athletics careers in the professional ranks.

The following is a summary of the educational and monitoring programs that have been conducted at Florida State over the past several years and which I believe may be of interest to other NCAA members. These programs are conducted under the auspices of the athletics department and the Florida State professional sports counseling panel in accordance with NCAA Bylaw 12.3.4:

Educational programs

  • Individual meetings and group seminars are arranged for student-athletes with panel members, as well as representatives of professional organizations, league offices, advisory committees and players associations, in which factual information is provided about the draft process, collective bargaining, agreements, an individual's potential draft status, salaries, selecting an agent, contract negotiations, financial management, disability insurance and other topics.

  • A three-hour credit class, which I teach, was established this past year to cover the same material presented in the meetings and

    seminars, only in greater detail. Guest speakers for the class include NCAA and players association representatives, agents and financial managers, front-office personnel, and shoe and equipment manufacturers representatives. Tests are given on NCAA and State of Florida agent/amateurism regulations, and a research paper or project is required. Sample papers and projects cover topics such as "Agent Interview and Selection Process," "Preparing for a Playing or Administrative Career in Professional Athletics" and "The Decision-Making Process for Early Entry into a Professional Draft."

    I have found the class to be the most optimal learning environment since the educational process is extended and reinforced over a longer period of time and the athlete is required to demonstrate knowledge of the material covered. The class featuring mock interviews between athletes and agents (to prepare athletes for Agent Day) was well-received by both athletes enrolled in the class and others who voluntarily audited it. I strongly believe that as players become more educated about the transition from college to professional athletics, they are more apt to allow athletics department officials and members of the panel help them navigate through this complex process.

  • Group seminars similar to those presented to the players are also conducted for their families and the information presented to family members who cannot attend. These seminars have become quite popular with the players' families; attendance has more than doubled in the past two years.

  • Coaches and athletics administrators are encouraged to attend educational seminars and are provided the same materials given to student-athletes and their parents. They are also tested on their knowledge of NCAA agent, amateurism and extra-benefit legislation.

    Player-agent registration/monitoring and contact program

  • Prospective agents who desire to contact players with eligibility remaining must register with and be licensed by the State of Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. This includes passing an examination about laws and rules related to athlete agents and posting a surety bond.

  • The Florida State Professional Sports Counseling Panel requires registration not only of prospective agents who wish to contact and represent current players, but also of agents who represent former Florida State players in the professional ranks. In addition, letters are sent to former players requesting that they notify the professional sports counseling panel of any agent or financial advisor referral they make to a current player. Former teammates are often the agent's or financial advisor's best recruiter!

  • The agent registration packet includes NCAA and State of Florida agent, amateurism and eligibility guidelines and a registration form in which the agent provides information about his or her educational and professional references. Agents must also indicate which student-athletes they plan to contact in the upcoming year. They sign an agreement to abide by NCAA and the State of Florida agent and amateurism rules and to notify the athletics department compliance office or professional sports counseling panel of any personal contact with athletes who have eligibility remaining.

  • A list of properly registered agents/firms, with clients they represent, is provided to student-athletes on a regular basis and individual agent files are maintained in the compliance office for review by the players.

  • Individual or small-group player-agent interviews are arranged by the compliance office, upon request and the mutual consent of players and agents. In addition, an annual Agent Day is conducted in which registered agents are invited to meet with players and members of the panel. Members of the panel and compliance office generally sit in on all arranged meetings between players and agents.

  • Student-athletes with eligibility remaining are required to inform the compliance office of their initial contact with an agent and must sign affidavits at least three times a year agreeing to do so and acknowledging their liability if they violate either the State of Florida or NCAA agent, amateurism or eligibility regulations.

  • Student-athletes are required to notify the compliance office when they do sign with an agent and must sign an affidavit that they have not received any compensation, loans or other benefits from an agent and that their athletics grant-in-aid will be adjusted or discontinued if they do so in the future.

  • Providing or arranging for disability insurance for elite athletes is a vehicle often used by agents and financial advisors to establish a business relationship with student-athletes. The financial arrangements to secure the loan to pay for the insurance can lead to violations of NCAA amateurism and extra-benefit regulations if the agent or financial advisor is involved. We have taken a proactive approach to this potential problem by periodically obtaining quotes of coverage amounts on behalf of selected student-athletes through the NCAA Exceptional Athlete Program and other disability insurance underwriters. Direction is also provided on securing a loan for those athletes who decide to obtain coverage. We also have found that athletes who qualify for disability insurance coverage are often those most likely to be contacted by agents and financial advisors.

    Coaches, administrators and other representatives of athletics interests are constantly reminded of their obligation to assist the compliance office and professional sports counseling panel with the monitoring and reporting of any player-agent interactions and to encourage players and their families to participate in the educational programs provided for them.

    We feel strongly that the educational programs, registration and regulation of agents, and the monitoring of their contact with student-athletes meets not only the requirement but also the spirit of the institutional-control guidelines of the Committee on Infractions.

    The university can and should attempt to regulate the interactions between athletes and agents. However, until uniform state or federal laws governing agents are enacted and enforced and professional players' associations decertify agents who violate ethical codes of conduct in their dealings with college athletes, the source of the problem, the agents, will continue to operate under their own code of conduct.

    Brian Mand is director of educational and compliance service programs at Florida State University, where he also is an assistant professor of sports administration and a member of the professional sports counseling panel. He will be among those making presentations at an NCAA regional rules-compliance seminar April 23-25 in New Orleans.

    Letter to the editor --Time to rethink wrestling weight classes

    How long has it been since college weight classes have been changed? I wrestled in college 20 years ago and the same weight classes were used then.

    My point is that since high-school weights have gone through some recent changes for the better, why hasn't anybody in the college ranks thought of doing the same?

    This wouldn't bother me so much if I didn't have a 6-foot-5, 215-pound son wrestling in college and suffering to drop to 190 pounds every year because he doesn't want to go head-to-head against his brother at heavyweight.

    Considering the differences in all the lower weights, it seems only logical that a 215- or 220-pound weight class is needed in the gap between 190 pounds and 275 pounds. I can't believe that it could be a financial reason. Come on, one more weight class on a college team can't be that expensive.

    The 215-pound weight class in high school has been a great success in my view. It has given the smaller heavyweights a chance to compete on an even basis instead of butting heads with much bigger heavyweights.

    Mike Frye
    Head Wrestling Coach
    Summerville (South Carolina) High School

    Editor's note: The last changes in weight classes at the NCAA Divisions I and II Wrestling Championships occurred in 1970. The Division III championships began in 1974; weight classes in that division have not changed.

    Opinions -- Let agents take care of athletes' incidental expenses

    Peter Finney, columnist
    New Orleans Times-Picayune

    "My feeling all along has been this: When you talk about taking care of the student-athlete who supposedly has been financially shortchanged because of the money he generates for the university, you're talking of a very small percentage. At a time when true amateurism is a myth, why not allow any student-athlete who wishes to sign on with an agent of his choosing? Let the agent take care of 'pizza money' and incidentals for his client.

    "Meanwhile, let the school focus on trying to educate the athlete, assuming the athlete wants a dividend for his $20,000 scholarship."

    Gambling

    The Rev. Tom Grey, executive director
    National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling
    Chicago Sun-Times

    "In a society where eight out of 10 people gamble, (the office pool becomes not necessarily harmful). But it's a matter of degree.

    "Gambling is a predatory enterprise that takes advantage of the availability and accessibility to big-time betting. There are people who cannot control themselves in just an office pool. And when government promotes gambling as a revenue source, the line is crossed."

    Youth basketball leagues

    John Callaghan, associate professor
    Director, sports studies program
    University of Southern California
    Los Angeles Times

    Discussing the downside of providing youth basketball league players benefits such as athletics shoes and clothing:

    "They start to believe that things will always be given to them, and people will always fawn over them, because they can make a shot. They think life is going to be laid out for them. But the reality is that very few of them will ever make it in professional sports....Then many of them fall by the wayside and are finished."

    Professional sports careers

    Allen Sanderson, sports economist
    University of Chicago


    Cable News Network

    Discussing why so many African-American males think a professional sports career is a realistic option:

    "Well, I think the real question is: What's the alternative? Most of them are faced with fairly dismal educational opportunities in elementary and secondary schools, and even in high schools -- or in colleges.

    "So playing in the NBA or the NFL may seem very attractive, because they have very few alternatives."

    Discussing the influence of media:

    "Well, the -- what one sees is the upside -- you rarely see the downside. And we have magazines that are called 'Life' and 'Fortune.' We don't have magazines that are called 'Death' and 'Misfortune.'

    "And for every Chris Webber or Ron Mercer, there are thousands of young black men who have fairly dismal employment prospects."

    Discussing if college athletics contribute to unrealistic expectations:

    "Well, they do. And, unfortunately, I think it's negative. If you're going to play in the NFL or the NBA, college athletics is the gateway. You have to go through there for all practical purposes.

    "It doesn't have to be an either/or situation. They could theoretically get education and get a good foundation and a degree while they're there to complement the athletics.

    "But they don't. We know that the incentive structure is wrong. The incentive structure says, stay in the gym, not the library.

    "The beneficiaries are the coaches, the advertisers, the colleges themselves, the TV networks. And the losers are really the players, the majority of whom are Black."

    Sports officials

    John Hirschbeck, umpire
    Referee magazine

    Reacting to criticism that baseball umpires have become too confrontational:

    "That's the people in the media and the people in the booth trying to stir up crap. That's the guys who can hit, pitch, manage, coach, umpire, GM -- they can do it all, but they never step on the field when the game is going on. Those are the guys who think umpires are more aggressive today. There's never been any better time between umpires and players."

    Benefits of competition

    Joe Kelley, president of American General Life
    and Accident Insurance Company
    The Nashville Banner

    "High-school athletics reinforces core values and develop character traits that make a difference in life. There are many parallels between family life, a career and the world of athletics. With each, responsibility is key.

    "Understanding the responsibility of being a member of a team means being accountable for your actions. It means consistently reporting to practice or work on time. It means knowing what the coach or boss expects and adhering to team or company rules. It means timely fulfillment of family obligations.

    "All athletes learn that on the playing field, they are part of a much bigger picture. They must play by the rules and uphold those rules because violations impact the whole team. Many of us call this citizenship.

    "I played college sports many years ago, and learned more about leadership, responsibility and citizenship from my coach -- the legendary Paul 'Bear' Bryant -- than I learned football skills. My life is more disciplined now because of him. We believe young people who receive consistent coaching from concerned adults also lead more disciplined lives and make better choices.

    "I recently read that more than 50 percent of Fortune 500 companies are headed by individuals who participated in high-school and college athletics. It makes sense."

    Women's basketball appeal

    Jim Davis, women's basketball coach
    Clemson University
    Baton Rouge (Louisiana) Morning Advocate

    "Society, for a long time, thought girls couldn't stand up, physically, to the strain of a 94-foot game. People now see they can run, jump, shoot and handle the ball. It's an exciting game. The 30-second clock makes it a fast-paced game....

    Discussing what must happen to move women's basketball to a "higher level" of fan appeal:

    "(Administrators) must make a commitment to promote women's basketball.

    "We have to appeal to young families, senior citizens and students -- the students, that is the key. We have 17,000 students on campus, and we can't get them to come to our game. We've got to do something to get our students involved."