National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

July 20, 1998

Division I approved legislative proposals effective August 1

Several Division I legislative proposals that have been approved through the new Division I governance structure will become effective August 1.

The legislative proposals are the first with an August 1 effective date to be approved by the Division I Board of Directors since the Association restructured in August 1997.

Among the new legislation is 1998 Convention Proposal No. 98-9, which allows academically eligible Division I student-athletes to earn up to $2,000 beyond the amount of a full grant-in-aid through on- or off-campus employment.

The employment-earnings legislation originally was scheduled to become effective August 1, 1997, but the Board voted to delay the effective date for one year to permit further evaluation and development of guidelines. The revised legislation also specifies that the first $2,000 of employment earnings shall be considered non-institutional aid and thus exempt from the team limitations in the applicable sport, provided the employment (other than employment in the institution's recreational unit) is not in the institution's athletics department or an athletics facility owned or operated by the athletics department.

Among other legislation scheduled to become effective August 1 is the elimination of employment restrictions, including the five-year length of service, related to the restricted-earnings coach in the sport of basketball.

Other noteworthy legislative items with an August 1 effective date include:

Proposal No. 97-12, which in football allows for a Division I-A school once every four years to count a win against a Division I-AA school toward the six wins required for bowl eligibility so long as the Division I-AA opponent has averaged 60 financial aid equivalencies in football during the three preceding academic years.

Proposal No. 97-20, which adds conference staff members to the list of those individuals specified under NCAA Bylaw 10.3 related to gambling activities.

Proposal No. 97-23, which decreases the number of circumstances in which an institution is required to declare a prospective or enrolled student-athlete ineligible (as a result of the prospect's or student-athlete's involvement in a violation of NCAA rules) in instances in which the prospect or student-athlete did not receive a benefit and little or no recruiting advantage occurs.

Proposal No. 97-37, which grants partial qualifiers a fourth season of competition when the student-athlete has completed requirements for a degree after to the beginning of his or her fifth academic year of initial full-time collegiate enrollment.

Proposal No. 98-31, which adds the month of September to the current fall evaluation period in which nine evaluation days may be used.

Following is the complete list of Division I legislation that becomes effective August 1:

97-1 (Restricted-Earnings Coach -- Division I Basketball)

Intent: Eliminates the employment restrictions (i.e., five-year length of service, no previous employment as head or assistant basketball coach in Division I) set forth in 11.02.3.1 and 11.02.3.1.1 related to the restricted-earnings coach in the sport of basketball.

97-2 (Scouting of Opponents -- Division I Basketball)

Intent: Permits in the sport of Division I basketball the scouting of future opponents during a regular-season double-header event.

97-3 (Educational Expenses -- National Governing Bodies)

Intent: Permits U.S. national governing bodies to award educational expenses to individuals (i.e., prospective student-athlete or enrolled student-athletes) as specified.

97-4 (Expenses for Participation in Olympic Exhibitions)

Intent: Permits individuals to receive actual and necessary expenses to participate in Olympic tours/exhibitions involving Olympic team members and members of the national team.

97-11 (Division I Men's and Women's Golf Committee)

Intent: Expands the Division I Men's and Women's Golf Committee from 10 to 12 members by including two additional members to represent women's golf interests.

97-12 (Postseason Bowl Certification -- Division I-A Football)

Intent: Permits a Division I-A institution, once every four years, to count a win against a Division I-AA opponent in the sport of football toward meeting the six-win requirement for purposes of being considered for postseason bowl competition, provided the Division I-AA opponent has averaged 60 financial aid equivalencies in football during the three preceding academic years.

97-20 (Gambling Activities)

Intent: Specifies that the provisions of NCAA Bylaw 10.3 are applicable to staff members of member conferences.

97-21 (Off-Campus Recruiting -- Men's Volleyball)

Intent: Permits two coaches in the sport of men's volleyball to contact and evaluate prospective student-athletes off campus at any one time.

97-23 (Evaluations -- De Minimis Violations)

Intent: Specifies that violations of 13.1.9 shall not render a prospective student-athlete ineligible while retaining the fact that such a violation shall be considered an institutional violation.

97-24 (Unofficial Visit -- National Girls and Women in Sports Day)

Intent: Specifies that National Girls and Women in Sports Day activities held on an institution's campus are exempt from the limitations on providing entertainment to a prospective student-athlete.

97-26 (Initial Eligibility -- Multiple High-School Attendance)

Intent: Permits the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse to receive the official transcript from a student's original high school(s) or the high school from which the student-athlete graduated for purposes of certifying the student's initial-eligibility core-curriculum requirements in those instances in which a student has attended multiple high schools.

97-27 (Outside Competition -- Field Hockey)

Intent: Permits student-athletes in the sport of field hockey to compete on an outside team during the spring term outside the institution's playing and practice season under specified conditions.

97-28 (Financial Aid -- Outside Sources)

Intent: Permits a student-athlete (recruited or nonrecruited) who is the recipient of a permissible outside financial aid award administered pursuant to 15.2.5.3 and 15.2.5.4 to receive such an educational award directly from the awarding agency, provided the aid is awarded prior to the recipient's initial enrollment at a member institution and the awarding agency provides written notification of the award to the institution.

97-29 (Playing and Practice Season -- Swimming and Diving)

Intent: Permits a Division I student-athlete who is a diver to engage in diving practice sessions beyond the conclusion of the institution's swimming and diving playing season, provided any student-athlete does not engage in more than a 144-day playing and practice season.

97-30 (Championships -- Emerging Sports)

Intent: Permits a National Collegiate Championship or a division championship to be established through the 2003-04 academic year for those emerging sports in which the Association does not already conduct a championship if at least 40 institutions sponsor the sport.

97-37 (Partial Qualifier -- Waiver)

Intent: Specifies that the Division I Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet Subcommittee on Continuing-Eligibility Issues shall have the authority to grant partial qualifiers a fourth season of competition in circumstances in which the student-athlete has verifiably completed requirements for a degree subsequent to the beginning of his or her fifth academic year of initial full-time collegiate enrollment.

97-38 (Contest Exemptions -- Division I-AA Football)

Intent: Permits Division I-AA institutions to exempt competition in a conference-sponsored, season-ending postseason tournament in the sport of football from the maximum contest limitations.

97-40 ("Restricted Membership" Status -- Waiver)

Intent: Permits an institution that has been placed in the "restricted membership" category by the Division I Committee on Athletics Certification to seek an immediate removal of such status through a waiver to be acted upon by the Division I Board of Directors.

98-9 (Financial Aid -- Division I Employment Earnings)

Intent: Permits an academically eligible Division I student-athlete subsequent to the first academic year in residence at the certifying institution to earn legitimate on- and off-campus employment income during semester or term time, provided such income in combination with other financial aid included in the student-athlete's individual limit does not exceed the value of a full grant plus $2,000 at the institution; further, to permit a student-athlete to receive on- or off-campus employment earnings up to $2,000 without considering such aid to be institutional financial aid, provided the employment (other than employment in the recreational sports unit up to $2,000) is not in the athletics department or an athletics facility (owned or operated by the athletics department).

98-27 (Playing and Practice Seasons -- Contest Exemptions -- Sports other than Football)

Intent: Requires that in sports other than football, the NCAA institution sponsoring the exempted contest is responsible for team selection, which must be open to all NCAA Division I members.

98-28 (Playing and Practice Seasons -- Contest Exemptions -- Football)

Intent: Requires the sponsoring organization of an exempted football contest to be an active or affiliated member of the Association; further, for exempted events in Alaska, Hawaii or Puerto Rico, the sponsoring agency must be an active NCAA member located in that state or territory.

98-29 (Playing and Practice Seasons -- Contest Exemptions -- Sports other than Basketball and Football)

Intent: Prohibits an institution in sports other than football and basketball from participating in more than one certified exempted contest in the same sport during the same academic year.

98-30 (Playing and Practice Seasons -- Contest Exemptions -- Sports other than Football)

Intent: Requires in sports other than football the trademark of a contest, if any, to be held by an NCAA institution in order for the contest to receive certification as an exempted event.

98-31 (Recruiting Calendar -- Football)

Intent: Adds the month of September to the current fall evaluation period in which nine evaluation days may be used.

98-45 (Provisional Membership -- Application Fee)

Intent: Establishes a $2,500 application fee (in addition to annual dues) as a requirement for provisional membership.