NCAA staff members are continuing to work state by state to regulate athlete agents by promoting uniform athlete-agent legislation that ultimately would afford student-athletes the same protection nationwide.

The NCAA agent, gambling and amateurism activities staff, and the NCAA government relations staff in Washington, D.C., are working together to make the Uniform Athlete Agent Act (UAAA) a reality in every state. The act was developed after the NCAA and several major institutions urged the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) in 1997 to consider drafting a model law that would provide a uniform system for regulating athlete agents.

The NCCUSL, an organization that drafts uniform and model state laws, convened an 11-person drafting committee that conducted sessions over a three-year period before completing its work in the fall of 2000.

In 2001, the first legislative cycle in which the NCAA and NCCUSL sought state introduction and adoption of the UAAA, 27 states introduced the legislation and 12 jurisdictions adopted it, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Tennessee, U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah and West Virginia.

In 2002, the District of Columbia already has adopted the act, and it has been introduced in 12 more states, including California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, South Carolina, Washington and Wisconsin. The legislation also is pending in several other states.

In February 2002, the UAAA has seen substantial movement within state legislative bodies. In Michigan, the bill passed through a house subcommittee unanimously after strong testimony from Deana Garner of the NCAA's agent, gambling and amateurism activities staff, and in Illinois and Wisconsin, the bill also moved quickly through committees and seems headed toward passage.

"We are working exceptionally hard to reach out to state government leaders and stress the importance of this legislation," said Abe L. Frank, the NCAA's director of government relations. "We have had early successes in 2002, but we still realize the huge task ahead of us due to other priority issues and short legislative sessions during this election year."

The UAAA contains a number of important provisions that will protect and educate student-athletes so they are well informed of their available options when they discuss their future. The UAAA requires an athlete agent to provide information that enables student-athletes, their families and university personnel to better evaluate the prospective agent.

The UAAA also requires that written notice be provided to member institutions when a student-athlete signs an agency contract before his or her eligibility has expired. In addition, the UAAA gives authority to the Secretary of State to issue subpoenas that would allow the state to obtain relevant information and material that ensures compliance with the act by an athlete agent.

"But what many perceive as the most important aspect of the UAAA," Frank said, "is the state's ability to impose criminal, civil and administrative penalties with enforcement of the act."

Since 1981, at least 28 states have had some type of statutes regulating athlete agents. Bill Saum, NCAA director of agent, gambling and amateurism activities, said many of those were vague and often varied considerably from state to state, which had an impact on the number of agents registering with the states. The UAAA would provide an athlete agent one uniform process for each state and would close the loophole allowing athlete agents to contact student-athletes in states that do not have such a law.

"The most important and recognizable benefits of the UAAA are the protections it affords student-athletes," said Saum. "For every athlete agent with the highest level of integrity, there are dozens more that would jump at the opportunity to ensnare a student-athlete with even the slightest possibility for a professional career.

"Unfortunately, the illicit practices of some of these athlete agents and their runners have caused serious problems for student-athletes and their institutions as these agents aggressively pursue the money that accompanies representation of a professional athlete."

Saum said some of the protections include prohibiting agents from giving deceptive information or promises with the intent to induce a student-athlete into signing an agent contract. In addition, he said, agents are prohibited from furnishing anything of value to a student-athlete before signing a contract. Of even greater importance, an agent may not even initiate contact with a student-athlete unless the agent is properly registered under the act.

Also, for those student-athletes who enter into a contract before their eligibility expires, the legislation provides them the right to cancel the contract within two weeks, taking the control out of the agent's hands and giving it back to the student-athlete.

While the main purpose of the UAAA is to protect student-athletes, Frank said NCAA member institutions also benefit from the new legislation.

"The UAAA requires both agents and student-athletes to notify the college or university within 72 hours of signing an agent contract," he said. "The act also provides member institutions with a right of civil action against the agent or former student-athlete for any damages caused by a violation of this act."

More information on the UAAA can be found on NCAA Online (www.ncaa.org). Click on "enforcement and reinstatement" and then "agents and amateurism" and then the "Uniform Athlete Agent Act."