Indiana University Athletics
Compliance Question Of The Week
Question: When is it permissible for a student-athlete to receive free or discounted admission to use local sports/recreational facilities for his or her own use such as the IU Golf Course, the IU Tennis Pavillion, Sportsplex, the Bloomington Country Club, Cascades Golf Course, Bryan Park Pool, Ski World, Hoosier Heights Indoor Climbing Facility, the Iron Pit Gym, etc.?
a. During the academic year.
b. During an official vacation period or during the summer.
c. Out of season.
d. If the student-athlete was using a facility associated with his or her own sport and the facility's owner knew that the student-athlete needed to use it for practice.
e. Never, unless this discount was available to all IU students, as this would be considered preferential treatment.
Answer: E - Unless it is a facility that our student-athletes need to use for practice at any time during the academic year (including out-of-season for voluntary workouts and vacation periods, excluding summer). In those cases, it is okay for IU to pay for the fees (or receive a gift-in-kind exchange for the use of the facility). It is not permissible for student-athletes to receive free or discounted admissions or to have IU pay for any usage fees during the summer for practice or at any time during the year if they are just using the facility for their own recreational use. The following "Hot Topic" was sent out by the NCAA to all conferences last week regarding this issue:
2003 Hot Topic #2
Preferential Treatment or Extra Benefits
Institutions should note that, pursuant to Bylaw 12.1.1.1.6, it is not permissible for an individual to receive preferential treatment, benefits or services because of the individual's athletics reputation or skill or pay-back potential as a professional athlete. Further, pursuant to Bylaw 16.12.2.1, it is not permissible for enrolled student-athletes to receive any benefit from an institutional employee or representative of athletics interests, unless otherwise permitted by NCAA legislation. It appears to be customary for golf student-athletes to play courses free of charge or at a discounted rate, particularly during vacation periods, simply by making the course aware that they play golf in college. Absent any other facts, this type of benefit would be considered preferential treatment and would jeopardize the student-athlete's eligibility. If there was involvement of an institutional staff member or athletics representative in providing this benefit, the arrangement would be considered an extra benefit and could jeopardize the student-athlete's eligibility. Please note that these types of "customs" may occur in other sports (e.g., tennis, basketball) and could jeopardize the eligibility of student-athletes.