The Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee has indicated strong support for a package of amateurism proposals developed by the Agents and Amateurism Subcommittee of the Division I Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet.

The SAAC endorsed the package during its June 9-10 meeting in Long Beach, California.

Among the proposals the SAAC supported was one permitting prospective student-athletes to accept educational expenses from any individual or entity paid directly to the educational institution. The proposal also was supported by the Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet just days before the SAAC meeting.

Most of the proposals in the package received the SAAC's unanimous approval. The SAAC also supported an extension of the timeline for the package that would target October 2001 as the earliest date for final approval from the Division I Board of Directors.

The SAAC did request, however, that one of the proposals dealing with postenrollment issues be pulled from the package and voted on within the regular legislative calendar. The SAAC asked the Management Council to act separately on the fee-for-lessons proposal, which would allow student-athletes to be paid for teaching or coaching sports skills on a fee-for-lesson basis because it is a student-athlete welfare issue.

Overall, however, the group believes the amateurism deregulation package is necessary for the Association to embrace.

"We understand that there might be a tendency for some to resist these significant changes," said SAAC Chair Brian Dillon, a golf student-athlete from the University of the Pacific (California). "But the package isn't about competitive equity, it's about equitable treatment of prospective student-athletes, which we're all for."

In addition to the group's review of amateurism legislation, the SAAC also reviewed other legislative proposals that are in the comment period after having been initially approved by the Management Council in April. Among the proposals the SAAC supported were several relating to student-athletes participating in Olympic Games competition, including one that would permit student-athletes to receive nonmonetary awards associated with participation in the Games, regardless of whether the student-athlete is enrolled at the time.

The SAAC also supported Proposal No. 2000-26, which would permit the Management Council to waive the minimum sports sponsorship requirements necessary to establish a National Collegiate Championship in an emerging sport for women.

Proposals the committee did not support included a one-time transfer exception for a student-athlete who transfers from a Division I-AA school that offers financial aid in football to a Division I-A school that does not. The proposal is part of a larger concern the committee has with the Association's transfer rules in general, a topic the committee wants to review further at its January meeting.

'Voluntary' workouts

Two other issues that have been ongoing concerns for the committee received another round of review. One involves parameters surrounding voluntary workouts for student-athletes and the other concerns the issue of missed class time, particularly for student-athletes in sports with a large number of contests per season.

The SAAC's concern with voluntary workouts stems from Proposal No. 99-74, which would permit strength and conditioning coaches to conduct voluntary workout programs during the academic year as well as during the summer months without the workout being considered as a countable athletically related activity.

The SAAC has supported this proposal but wants to more clearly define what constitutes "voluntary" participation. Toward that end, the group is asking the Management Council to sponsor legislation that would define "voluntary" within the following parameters:

* That participation in the activity is at the request of the student-athlete;

* That the student-athlete's attendance or performance during the activity not be reported back to the coach;

* That no attendance records be kept;

* That no penalty be established for not attending the activity; and

* That no specific schedule be established for the activity (for example, scheduled time slots in the weight room, etc.)

The group asked that the NCAA staff draft legislation based on those parameters and forward it to the Management Council as part of the committee's report.

As for the issue of missed class time, the SAAC has requested that the NCAA research staff collect data on the amount of missed time in various sports, particularly in men's and women's basketball, softball, baseball, and men's and women's golf -- sports in which student-athletes typically are required to be away from campus frequently and for extended periods of time due to numerous contests during one road trip.

The SAAC wants to review the data and determine possible solutions or ways in which the amount of missed class time in those sports might be alleviated. The group agreed to discuss the matter further at its next meeting in January.

In other action, the committee:

* Discussed possible expansion of the special assistance fund to provide for travel from home to school for up to $300 per year, and to pay for costs associated with certification or professional exams (for example, teacher certification or GRE, LSAT and GMAT exams). The committee also recommended elimination of the provision that a student-athlete must be receiving athletically related financial aid in order to apply for funds and agreed that any student-athlete who has demonstrated financial need should be eligible to use the fund.

* Discussed the issue of hazing and other initiation rites and agreed that a more comprehensive review should be undertaken jointly by all three SAACs. The Division I SAAC is proposing that the issue be on the joint SAAC meeting agenda in January and that the groups work together to increase awareness and understanding of the issue among all student-athletes and to suggest possible solutions or ways in which to discourage the practice.