National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2003
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The Division I Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee has directed the NCAA staff to treat individuals who violate amateurism legislation as a result of the United Kingdom Football Scholarship Programme the same as student-athletes who compete with professionals, accept impermissible money from a professional team and sign professional contracts.
Student-athletes who have been involved with the program and enroll in a Division I institution will have their reinstatement cases reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
The committee modified its policy because the program, previously known as the Youth Training Scheme, has changed from a standardized educational system to a system that focuses on each individual's educational abilities, personal and social needs and soccer capabilities.
Until this year, student-athletes who participated in the Football (Soccer) Scholarship Programme were charged with the loss of two contests. Now, the new definition of a professional team (see the October 14, 2002, issue of The NCAA News) will be triggered when the Football (Soccer) Scholarship Programme pays any participant the incentive or bonus as outlined within the agreement since the incentive would be above the 40 to 45 pounds per week provided for actual and necessary expenses.
For Division II, program participants would lose one year of eligibility for every year of organized competition, without respect to compensation. In Division III, participants also would lose a year of eligibility for every year of organized competition, with overall eligibility consequences if any salary or incentive was accepted.
Other actions
The Division I Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee also directed the staff to restart the five-year period of eligibility for student-athletes who have transferred to an NCAA institution and triggered their five-year period of eligibility due to enrolling in the United Kingdom's Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) national diploma program before the 2002-03 academic year. For Divisions II and III, the committees directed the staff to waive the use of any semesters used of the 10-semester period of eligibility while enrolled in the BTEC program.
In September 2001, the NCAA Foreign Student Records Committee determined that beginning with the 2002-03 academic year, the BTEC diploma program would be considered a secondary, rather than postsecondary, education program (see the January 7, 2002, issue of the News).
On a separate issue, the Divisions I, II and III committees discussed the fact that the staff has entered into numerous repayment plans with institutions when student-athletes are required to repay the value of an impermissible benefit and don't have the financial resources to make repayment.
All three committees determined that if a student-athlete defaults on a repayment plan, the institution will be penalized by not being permitted to enter into other repayment plans for student-athletes over a four-year period. A school may appeal the institutional penalty.
The three committees also recommended that certain recruiting violations be classified as restitution as long as the value of the benefit does not exceed $100 for Division I and $50 for Divisions II and III. They also recommended that certain recruiting violations regarded as de minimis when no tangible benefit is provided to the prospect.
Division I
Regarding amateurism, the Division I committee clarified several issues related to changes in reinstatement conditions effective for student-athletes first enrolling at an NCAA institution on or after August 1, 2003. The committee:
Determined that actual and necessary expenses should be calculated consistent with the calculation of actual and necessary expenses for extra-benefit violations.
Discussed that an institution's failure to provide a professional contract signed by a student-athlete will result in permanent ineligibility.
Discussed situations in which an individual withdraws from high school to compete on a professional team to circumvent the intent of the reinstatement condition of competing beyond the first opportunity to enroll in college. The committee determined if a student-athlete competes beyond his or her first opportunity to enroll based on his or her expected high-school graduation date, the student-athlete will be ruled permanently ineligible consistent with the directive. That will prevent student-athletes from intentionally delaying high-school graduation dates to compete on professional teams.
Discussed situations involving the receipt of prize money when the student-athlete does not actually receive the benefit. In these situations, the condition may not result in permanent ineligibility if the student-athlete has no control over the distribution of the money and did not directly benefit from the prize money that was forwarded.
Discussed student-athletes who graduate in December and whose first opportunity to enroll in college is January. If the individual competes on a professional team beyond January, he or she would be permanently ineligible, consistent with the directive's treatment of professional competition violations.
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