Indiana University Athletics
Compliance Question Of The Week
Question:
Is it permissible for Indiana to pay for long-distance charges for a student-athlete to have access to the web to complete homework that is due either while he/she is away competing or immediately upon his/her return to campus?
Answer:
Yes! The charges must be necessary to enable the student-athlete to complete academic course work that is required to be completed while the student-athlete is away from campus on official team travel or within a reasonable time thereafter. Remember, the student-athlete may not use the internet under these circumstances (at our cost) for personal reasons! See below for the "official" interp (from 2/16/00).
2002 Column No. 2
Payment of Internet Access and Long-Distance Charges during Official Team Travel
Date Issued: Jan 21, 2002
Type: LA Col.
Item Ref: 2002 Column No. 2 - 3
Interpretation: Division I institutions should note that Bylaw 16.3 of the NCAA manual details mandatory, permissible and nonpermissible academic and other support services for student-athletes.
Additionally, Division I institutions should note that during its February 16, 2000, telephone conference, the NCAA Division I Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet Subcommittee on Legislative Review/Interpretations determined that it is permissible for an institution to pay a student-athlete's Internet access charges and long-distance charges incurred during official team travel that are necessary to enable the student-athlete to complete academic course work, provided the academic course work is required to be completed while the student-athlete is away from campus on official team travel or within a reasonable period of time thereafter. The subcommittee noted, however, that if an institution elects to provide such expenses, the institution remains responsible for ensuring that the student-athlete's use of the Internet is not for personal reasons. [Emphasis added.]