The NCAA compliance information provided here will help you assist us in our efforts. NCAA compliance is everyone's job, so please ask before you act!
Norm Eash |
Director of Compliance, Head Football Coach, Associate Athletic Director
309-556-3344 |
neash@iwu.edu
NCAA Compliance at Illinois Wesleyan University
Compliance Responsibilities of IWU College Staff and Student Athletes
NCAA bylaw 2.8.1 states that each institution shall comply with all regulations of the Association in the conduct of its intercollegiate athletics programs. It shall monitor its programs to assure compliance and to identify and report to the Association instances in which compliance has not been achieved. In any such instances, the institution shall cooperate fully with the Association and shall take appropriate corrective actions. Members of an institutions staff, student-athletes, and other individuals and groups representing the institutions athletic interests shall comply with the applicable Association rules, and the member institution shall be responsible for such compliance.
"Rules of Thumb" for Boosters - You may not do anything for prospective or enrolled student-athletes without specific authorization from the IWU Athletic Director. If a student-athlete accepts any benefits based on his or her special consideration as an athlete or because of athletic skill, the student-athlete may lose all eligibility for intercollegiate athletic participation.
"Rules of Thumb" for Student-Athletes - If someone wants to take you out to dinner or buy something for you - if you have any feeling that it is because you are an Illinois Wesleyan athlete - refuse or check it out in advance with your coach, the Athletic Director, or the Faculty Athletic Representative.
Compliance Definitions and Guidelines
1. Prospective Student-Athlete (Bylaw 13.02.5) - A prospective student athlete is any student who has started classes for the ninth grade. Student-athletes enrolled in prep schools or two-year colleges are prospective athletes. An individual is considered a prospect until the first day of initial college enrollment or the first day he/she reports for practice, whichever comes first. All NCAA legislation governing prospects applies until this time.
Some helpful tips involving contact with prospects. You may:
- Attend games where prospects are competing, as long as no contact is made with the prospect or prospect's parents. However, you may not have contact with the prospect's coach, principal or counselor in an attempt to evaluate the prospect.
- Forward information, like newspaper clippings or online articles about outstanding prospects to the appropriate Illinois Wesleyan coach.
- Accept a phone call from a prospect, as long at the prospect initiates the call. Feel free to discuss IWU academic programs and campus life. No "recruiting discussions" can occur on the call; all questions regarding athletics should be directed back to the Athletic Department.
- Please be aware that the use of the internet is considered to be a form of communication, by means of e-mail, instant messenger services or chat rooms. These media should not be used to contact (directly or indirectly) a prospect, the prospect's parents or high school coaches.
2. Current Student-Athlete (Bylaw 13.02.3) - An individual becomes a student-athlete when he/she participates in an intercollegiate squad practice or contest that is under the jurisdiction of the athletics department.
3. Contact (Bylaw 13.02.2) - A contact is any face-to-face encounter between a prospective student athlete or the prospective student-athlete's relatives, guardian(s) or individual of a comparable relationship and an institutional athletics department staff member or athletics representative during which any dialog occurs in excess of an exchange of a greeting. Any such contact that is prearranged or that takes place on the grounds of the prospective student-athlete's educational institution or at the site of an organized competition or practice involving the prospective student-athlete's high school, preparatory school, two-year college or all-star team shall be considered a contact, regardless of the conversation that occurred.
4. Recruiting (Bylaw 13.02.6) - Recruiting is any solicitation of a prospective student athlete or a prospective student-athlete's relatives [or guardian(s)] by an institutional staff member or by a representative of the institutions athletic interests for the purpose of securing the prospective student-athlete's enrollment and ultimate participation in the institution's intercollegiate athletics program.
Actions by staff members or athletic representatives that cause a prospective student-athlete to become a recruited prospective student-athlete at that institution are:
- Providing the prospective student-athlete with an official visit;
- Having an arranged, in-person, off-campus encounter with the prospective student-athlete or the prospective student-athlete's relatives, guardian(s) or individual of a comparable relationship, or
- Initiating or arranging a telephone contact with the prospective student-athlete or the prospective student-athlete's relatives, guardian(s) or individual of a comparable relationship on more that one occasion for the purpose of recruitment.
Who is permitted to recruit for Illinois Wesleyan University?
Only IWU coaches may be involved in the recruiting process. Representatives of athletics interests may not make any recruiting contacts. This includes letters, email, telephone calls or face-to-face contact on or off campus with a prospect or prospect's relatives [guardian(s)].
5. Representative of Athletics Interest (Bylaw 13.02.7) - A "representative of the institution's athletics interests" is an individual who is know (or who should have been know) by a member of the institution's executive or athletics administration to:
- Have participated in or to be a member of an agency or organization promoting the institution's intercollegiate athletics program;
- Have made financial contributions to the athletics department or to an athletics booster organization of that institution;
- Be assisting or to have been requested (by the athletics department staff) to assist in the recruitment of prospective student-athletes;
- Be assisting or to have assisted in providing benefits to enrolled student-athletes, or
- Have been involved otherwise in promoting the institution's athletics program.
Note: Once an individual is identified as such a representative, the person retains that identity indefinitely (Bylaw 13.02.7.1)
Extra Benefits Definitions and Guidelines
Definition: Extra Benefit (Bylaw 16.02.3) - An extra benefit is any special arrangement by an institutional employee or a representative of the institution's athletic interests (including fans) to provide a student-athlete or the student-athlete's relative or friend a benefit not expressly authorized by the NCAA legislation. Extra benefit regulations pertain to prospects as well.
According to Bylaw 16.01.1, receipt by a student-athlete of an award, benefit, or expense allowance not authorized by NCAA legislation renders the student-athlete ineligible to compete while representing the institution in the sport for which the improper award, benefit, or expense was received. If the student-athlete receives an extra benefit not authorized by NCAA legislation or an improper award or expense allowance in conjunction with competition that involves the use of overall athletic skill (e.g., "superstar" competition), the individual is ineligible for all sports.
Exception for Benefits Available to Other Students (Bylaw 16.01.3) – The receipt of a benefit by a student-athlete or his or her friends that is not authorized by NCAA legislation is not a violation if it is demonstrated that the same general benefit is available to the institution's students, their relatives, and friends determined on a basis unrelated to athletics ability.
Guidelines:
- You may not provide a prospect of a current student-athlete with money, gifts, loans, flowers, etc.
- You many not pay prospects of current student-athletes a fee for speaking engagements, give them free or reduced costs for professional services, pay fees for sports camps, or provide discount merchandise.
- You may not allow prospects of current student-athletes the use of an automobile, provide them tickets to athletic or community events, or provide favorable housing arrangements, reduced rent or lodging of any kind.
- A student-athlete or the entire team in a sport may receive an occasional meal from an institutional staff member or representative of athletics interest under the following conditions:
- The meal may be provided in any location in the locale of the institution;
- Meals must be restricted to infrequent and special occasions;
- Transportation to attend such meals may be provided.
- Please contact the IWU Athletic Director to arrange this.
- An institution may provide or arrange for occasional meals to team members provided by the relative of a student-athlete at any location.
Ethical Conduct
Sportsmanship, Unethical Conduct and Gambling Activities
Standards of Honesty and Sportsmanship (Bylaw 10.01.1) – Individuals employed by (or associated with) a member institution to administer, conduct or coach intercollegiate athletics and all participating student-athletes shall act with honesty and sportsmanship at all times so that intercollegiate athletics as a whole, their institutions and they, as individuals shall represent the honor and dignity of fair play and the generally recognized high standards associate with wholesome competitive sports.
Unethical Conduct (Bylaw 10.1) - Unethical conduct by a prospective or enrolled student-athlete or a current or former institutional staff member may include, but is not limited to, the following:
- Refusal to furnish information relevant to an investigation of a possible violation of an NCAA regulation when requested to do so by the NCAA or the individual's institution;
- Knowing involvement in arranging for fraudulent academic credit or false transcripts for a prospective or an enrolled student-athlete;
- Knowing involvement in offering or providing a prospective or enrolled student-athlete an improper inducement or extra benefit or improper financial aid;
- Knowingly furnishing the NCAA or the individual's institution false or misleading information concerning the individual's involvement in or knowledge or matters relevant to a possible violation of an NCAA regulation;
- Receipt of benefits by an institutional staff member for facilitation or arranging a meeting between a student-athlete and an agent, financial advisor or a representative of an agent of advisor (e.g., "runner"), or
- Knowing involvement in providing a banned substance or impermissible supplement to student-athletes, or knowingly providing medications to student-athletes contrary to medical licensure, commonly accepted standards of care in sports practice, or state or federal law.
Gambling Activities (Bylaw 10.3) - Staff members of a member conference, staff members of the athletics department of a member institution and student-athletes shall not knowingly:
- Provide information to individuals involved in organized gambling activities concerning intercollegiate athletic competition;
- Solicit a bet on any intercollegiate team;
- Accept a bet on any team representing the institution;
- Solicit of accept a bet on any intercollegiate competition for any item (e.g., cash, shirt, dinner, etc.) that has tangible value, or
- Participate in any gambling activity that involves intercollegiate athletics or professional athletics, through a bookmaker, a parlay card, or any other method employed by organized gambling.
Banned Substances
Division III student-athletes are subject to drug testing in conjunction with championships. This
link takes you to the NCAA list of banned substances.
Note: Division III is considering expanding their program to year-round testing.
