Indiana University Athletics
Compliance Question Of The Week
Compliance Question Of The Week
Question:
If a Varsity Club member, or a generous donor, or (let's say) a wonderful community member who endows a scholarship wishes to bond and meet with various student-athletes - including their named scholarship recipient, can they do this? May they buy them gifts, or take them to lunch? What about when the student-athlete has exhausted eligibility - does that change anything?
Answer:
A BRILLIANT and timely question, Coach Shankly. The answers are: Yes, no, yes and no. In more detail (of course - this is Ian: did you meet me yet?)
a. A donor, (which we shall now refer to as a representative of IU athletics or booster) may certainly interact with and get to know our current student-athletes. They may especially become fans of the recipients of their endowed scholarships (VC folk - forgive me if I'm butchering the terminology here). The more of these folks that we can get involved in IU athletics, the better for all.
b. BUT (you knew there'd be a "but" right?), there are definite limits to what these reps can do - here's some things they CAN do
i. They can buy tickets, make general donations to the department, occasionally travel with your team (if the deal is right), and give the athletes a birthday card or similar. They can be a friend and a fan. You can even give them the occasional gift - assuming it's for their personal use only (involving no prospects).
ii. They can have the athlete(s) over to their home for a meal - and even provide transportation. ("home" must be within the IU community).
OK, there's one or two more things they can do, but that's basically it. What they CANNOT do is:
Buy the athlete any tangible gift or give them money. Buy them a meal at a restaurant or anywhere other than their home (home meal CAN be catered though....) Host the team for a meal when the team is travelling out of the IU Community. Do ANY recruiting whatsoever. Provide funds for a former student-athlete. Provide no other tangible benefits, be they financial, academic or social.
c. The NCAA believes many things, and one of them is this: Once a student-athlete, ALWAYS a student-athlete. So, even those who have exhausted eligibility may not receive most of the benefits which are denied above. After graduation (for which they cannot receive a tangible gift), I agree that this is tough to track, but it is what it is. At this point, the NCAA says grads can receive benefits of a "nominal" nature, so there's a bit more leeway for meals out, occasional shelter and/or rides, etc. Even a wedding present of reasonable value is permissible, if it's the case that the donor gives gifts of equal value to those at all weddings they go to. So, there it is. Educate your peeps. And ask if you have more specific situations.
Question:
If a Varsity Club member, or a generous donor, or (let's say) a wonderful community member who endows a scholarship wishes to bond and meet with various student-athletes - including their named scholarship recipient, can they do this? May they buy them gifts, or take them to lunch? What about when the student-athlete has exhausted eligibility - does that change anything?
Answer:
A BRILLIANT and timely question, Coach Shankly. The answers are: Yes, no, yes and no. In more detail (of course - this is Ian: did you meet me yet?)
a. A donor, (which we shall now refer to as a representative of IU athletics or booster) may certainly interact with and get to know our current student-athletes. They may especially become fans of the recipients of their endowed scholarships (VC folk - forgive me if I'm butchering the terminology here). The more of these folks that we can get involved in IU athletics, the better for all.
b. BUT (you knew there'd be a "but" right?), there are definite limits to what these reps can do - here's some things they CAN do
i. They can buy tickets, make general donations to the department, occasionally travel with your team (if the deal is right), and give the athletes a birthday card or similar. They can be a friend and a fan. You can even give them the occasional gift - assuming it's for their personal use only (involving no prospects).
ii. They can have the athlete(s) over to their home for a meal - and even provide transportation. ("home" must be within the IU community).
OK, there's one or two more things they can do, but that's basically it. What they CANNOT do is:
Buy the athlete any tangible gift or give them money. Buy them a meal at a restaurant or anywhere other than their home (home meal CAN be catered though....) Host the team for a meal when the team is travelling out of the IU Community. Do ANY recruiting whatsoever. Provide funds for a former student-athlete. Provide no other tangible benefits, be they financial, academic or social.
c. The NCAA believes many things, and one of them is this: Once a student-athlete, ALWAYS a student-athlete. So, even those who have exhausted eligibility may not receive most of the benefits which are denied above. After graduation (for which they cannot receive a tangible gift), I agree that this is tough to track, but it is what it is. At this point, the NCAA says grads can receive benefits of a "nominal" nature, so there's a bit more leeway for meals out, occasional shelter and/or rides, etc. Even a wedding present of reasonable value is permissible, if it's the case that the donor gives gifts of equal value to those at all weddings they go to. So, there it is. Educate your peeps. And ask if you have more specific situations.