Indiana University Athletics
Compliance Question Of The Week
Compliance Question Of The Week
Question:
What compliance rules should concern me, as an upstanding citizen and coach, in regards to the stack of adidas gear available to me?
Answer:
This answer is multi-faceted, and so I'll split it into two.
1. There are various contractual issues you need to know about your adidas gear - see equipment folk for those rules! There are also various compliance rules regarding equipment issue to your team, and these include:
a. ALL equipment used by IU student-athletes for practice or competition must be issued through the equipment room - either in Assembly Hall or the Football Complex. No exceptions!
b. Each SA must account for all his/her equipment issued and returned or kept. This is why coaches are asked by compliance to acknowledge and agree with what was issued, returned or kept at the end of each year.
c. SAs should not give their gear away - especially to prospects and their ilk.
d. Prospects may not borrow/loan any IU gear on their recruiting visits - nothing can be issued temporarily for open gym or scrimmage. etc. They wear their gear only.
e. We can issue apparel and equipment to returning and incoming SAs in summer - returners per coach and equipment room policy (must be in summer school), and incomers per the compliance office and equipment room policies.
f. "Travel gear" is not permitted other than a single shirt [16.8.1.9].
2. And the second part of this answer concerns situations where coaches and staff wish to, or have been asked to, donate and give-away our adidas equipment, etc. so here's that:
a. We have well-established compliance regulations for donations to charities and such - the paperwork goes to Ryan in compliance. Whenever you are donating equipment, apparel, tickets or any such benefit to an outside entity (or even an inside one), make sure your gift is compliant by running the proper paperwork through us in compliance. Specific form for donations from IU equipment are on the U:Drive, and we are working to PDF this, so check regularly for updates.
b. If you're the sort of individual who gives stuff away willy-nilly on your own, then you probably should think about that a little! Whose stuff are you giving away? Who is getting it? If it's benefiting anyone associate with prospects, their families, high schools, or AAU/Club teams/coaches, then we've got issues. Yes, I'm talking to you. No, not you - you.
c. The compliance office remains a tad stunned when it hears athletics department staff express surprise that "giving stuff away" to folks needs to be highly restricted and monitored. Even me dear old mum knows that giving stuff to prospects (in ANY fashion) is wrong, and inducing their "posse" with swag is a pretty fundamental and prohibited compliance rule. "Building relationships" is OK, but not if there's tangible benefits involved.
d. If you do have excess gear to share, and the staff folks here don't get it, then you must account for all that you give away and to whom you give it. Anything given to anyone who has any association with prospects will be problematic, so keep good records and good communication and let us help you. Talk to equipment and talk to Ryan or Jenna before giving anything away. It all has a price.
Question:
What compliance rules should concern me, as an upstanding citizen and coach, in regards to the stack of adidas gear available to me?
Answer:
This answer is multi-faceted, and so I'll split it into two.
1. There are various contractual issues you need to know about your adidas gear - see equipment folk for those rules! There are also various compliance rules regarding equipment issue to your team, and these include:
a. ALL equipment used by IU student-athletes for practice or competition must be issued through the equipment room - either in Assembly Hall or the Football Complex. No exceptions!
b. Each SA must account for all his/her equipment issued and returned or kept. This is why coaches are asked by compliance to acknowledge and agree with what was issued, returned or kept at the end of each year.
c. SAs should not give their gear away - especially to prospects and their ilk.
d. Prospects may not borrow/loan any IU gear on their recruiting visits - nothing can be issued temporarily for open gym or scrimmage. etc. They wear their gear only.
e. We can issue apparel and equipment to returning and incoming SAs in summer - returners per coach and equipment room policy (must be in summer school), and incomers per the compliance office and equipment room policies.
f. "Travel gear" is not permitted other than a single shirt [16.8.1.9].
2. And the second part of this answer concerns situations where coaches and staff wish to, or have been asked to, donate and give-away our adidas equipment, etc. so here's that:
a. We have well-established compliance regulations for donations to charities and such - the paperwork goes to Ryan in compliance. Whenever you are donating equipment, apparel, tickets or any such benefit to an outside entity (or even an inside one), make sure your gift is compliant by running the proper paperwork through us in compliance. Specific form for donations from IU equipment are on the U:Drive, and we are working to PDF this, so check regularly for updates.
b. If you're the sort of individual who gives stuff away willy-nilly on your own, then you probably should think about that a little! Whose stuff are you giving away? Who is getting it? If it's benefiting anyone associate with prospects, their families, high schools, or AAU/Club teams/coaches, then we've got issues. Yes, I'm talking to you. No, not you - you.
c. The compliance office remains a tad stunned when it hears athletics department staff express surprise that "giving stuff away" to folks needs to be highly restricted and monitored. Even me dear old mum knows that giving stuff to prospects (in ANY fashion) is wrong, and inducing their "posse" with swag is a pretty fundamental and prohibited compliance rule. "Building relationships" is OK, but not if there's tangible benefits involved.
d. If you do have excess gear to share, and the staff folks here don't get it, then you must account for all that you give away and to whom you give it. Anything given to anyone who has any association with prospects will be problematic, so keep good records and good communication and let us help you. Talk to equipment and talk to Ryan or Jenna before giving anything away. It all has a price.