The NCAA News - News and FeaturesAugust 18, 1997
Legislative assistance
1997 Column No. 30
Recruiting calendar changes
Division I women's basketball
Division I institutions should note that during its July 23 telephone conference, the NCAA Administrative Committee used its authority pursuant to 5.3.1.1.1 (noncontroversial amendment) to amend 30.11.2 (effective immediately) in the sport of Division I women's basketball as follows:
1. Amended 30.11.2-(e) to indicate that an institution may be permitted to contact prospects on 16 "person days," as opposed to the current eight single days of contact (i.e., according to this amendment, two coaches making contacts on the same day would use two contact days). This amendment represents a change that is similar in nature to the "40 recruiting opportunities" legislation that was enacted last year.
2. Amended 30.11.2-(b) to change the current women's basketball contact period in Division I from September 10-29 to September 9-29.
Satisfactory-progress waiver process
The following information is intended to assist Divisions I and II institutions regarding the satisfactory-progress waiver process conducted by either the NCAA Division I Committee on Satisfactory-Progress Waivers or the NCAA Division II Academic Requirements Committee Subcommittee on Satisfactory-Progress Waivers. Member institutions are encouraged to review and apply these reminders and suggestions immediately. Adherence to these policies and procedures will ensure a swifter review of each case by the staff and the committee or subcommittee, respectively.
Procedures:
Contacting the NCAA. Member institutions are encouraged to allow three working days to expire prior to contacting the national office for an update on the status of a case. This time frame will permit the staff to provide an accurate status report on the disposition of the case.
Staff responsibilities. The national office staff will notify institutions of any issues that need to be resolved (e.g., additional materials needed) to permit the staff or the committee to properly evaluate the application and its accompanying materials.
Time frame. The committee/subcommittee reviews cases on telephone conference calls, which are conducted as often as necessary (usually on a weekly basis during the months of August and September). Cases reviewed by the committee/subcommittee generally will be resolved within two to three weeks of receipt of the proper information.
Appropriate signatures. All completed waiver application forms must include the appropriate signatures before a case can be processed. For cases involving a disability, a properly submitted application will include the following signatures: either the chief executive officer or the faculty athletics representative and either the director of athletics or the senior woman administrator. A case that does not involve a disability may be signed by any appropriate institutional representative.
Designation of contact person. Member institutions are asked to note on the application form a campus-contact person for the waiver, along with the individual's title and telephone number. The staff would prefer to work only with the primary contact person in its review of a waiver and suggests that the institution serve as the communications link with the student-athlete's family. (The volume of telephone calls from a student-athlete's family combined with the staff working with several administrators from an NCAA institution results in duplication of work effort and slows the review of a particular waiver.)
New waiver application. Divisions I and II institutions should note that the current satisfactory-progress waiver application can be located either in the 1997-98 NCAA Guide to Rules Compliance under the section entitled "Waivers Other Than Initial Eligibility" or on the NCAA web site (www.ncaa.org).
In this regard, institutions are strongly encouraged to discard any old application or review guidelines that currently are in their files and immediately begin to use the new application form to submit waiver requests. Institutions also are reminded to complete each section of the application before sending it to the national office. A properly completed application form will reduce the processing time and permit a swifter review of the waiver request.
Submission of premature waiver request. Institutions are asked to submit the waiver request only after all courses that are needed in determining total hours are completed. Not only does this ensure that the correct number of deficient hours or grade points are listed, but it prevents an institution from prematurely submitting waivers that are moot upon completion of the courses.
Applicable bylaws. Pursuant to NCAA Bylaw 14.4.3.9, the Division I Committee or Satisfactory-Progress Waivers or the Division II Academic Requirements Committee Subcommittee on Satisfactory-Progress Waivers has the authority to waive satisfactory-progress requirements based on objective evidence that demonstrates circumstances that warrant the waiver of the normal application of these guidelines. Accordingly, an application may include a waiver request for any of the following regulations:
a. 14.1.6.2.2.1.3 [full-time enrollment for students with disabilities]
b. 14.4.3.1 ["12-/24-hour" rule]
c. 14.4.3.1.3 ["75/25"]
d. 14.4.3.2.1 ("50 percent" for student-athletes entering a collegiate institution on or after August 1, 1991, but prior to August 1, 1992]
e. 14.4.3.2.2 ["25/50/75"]
f. 14.4.3.3.1 [Division I grade-point average ("90/95")]
g. 14.4.3.3.2 [Division II grade-point average (1.600/1.800/2.000)]
h. 14.4.3.8 ["12-/24-hour" for students with disabilities]
Please note that the NCAA Administrative Review Panel has jurisdiction for those waivers submitted related to the one-time transfer exception, when a student's only deficiency under that regulation relates to the student's good academic standing and satisfactory-progress status at the institution from which the student is transferring.
Submission of waivers for students with disabilities. For waivers related to students with disabilities, institutions must submit along with the waiver application their policy that permits all students with disabilities to take less than a full-time course load and still be considered full time for purposes of extracurricular activities. Without the existence of such an institutional policy, the committee will not consider the waiver request.
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 or Kristen L. Davis, membership services representatives, at the NCAA national office. This information is available on the Collegiate Sports Network.
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