NCAA Compliance

for

Alumni, Faculty, Staff, Donors, Family and Friends

"What You Need to Know to Help the Quinnipiac Bobcats Succeed!"

• http://www.ncaa.org/

NCAA Rules Guide For Fans, Friends & Family (PDF Format)

Quinnipiac University's transition into Division I as a member of the Northeast Conference, ECAC Hockey and the Great Western Lacrosse League has been a resounding success. Our coaches and athletic staff strive every day to keep our teams at the top of their leagues.

To continue our quest for excellence, we need your help and support. A critical role of being on top is to capture the competitive edge, and by doing so, we need to play by the rules. The National Collegiate Athletic Association, also known as the NCAA, has governing rules that apply to coaches, staff, student-athletes, donors and supporters. Listed in this brochure are some helpful guidelines to help everyone maintain compliance with the rules.

Prospective student-athlete
Also known as a prospect or recruit, a prospective student-athlete is any high school student who has started classes for the ninth grade, regardless of his or her talent level.

Representative of athletic interests
Also known as an athletics representative or booster, a representative of athletic interests is anyone who:

• Has made financial contributions to Quinnipiac's athletic department, Quinnipiac's men's and/or women's athletic programs or to an athletic booster organization of Quinnipiac.

• Is assisting or has been asked by the athletic department staff to assist in the recruitment of prospective student-athletes.

• Assisted or is assisting in providing benefits to enrolled student-athletes (i.e., provided or helped arrange summer employment for enrolled student-athletes).

• Participated in or is a member of an agency or organization that promotes Quinnipiac's intercollegiate athletic program.

• Participated in or been a member of any group that promotes Quinnipiac's intercollegiate athletic program.

Note: once you have been identified as a representative of athletic interests, you retain that identity indefinitely.

Recruiting contact
A recruiting contact is any face-to-face encounter between a prospect or a prospect's parent or legal guardian and a Quinnipiac staff member or athletics representative during which any dialogue occurs other than an exchange of a greeting.

Extra benefit
An extra benefit is any special gift or arrangement provided to an enrolled student-athlete or to a student-athlete's relative or friend, that is not available to the general student body of that institution (i.e., transportation, meals, clothing,housing, service, entertainment, etc.).

What's permitted?

Under NCAA rules, a representative of athletic interests is permitted to:

• Identify outstanding student-athletes in your area by sending newspaper clippings to the coach or by calling the coach. Let the coach pursue the individual from there. You may not contact the prospect or his/her relatives or legal guardians directly, nor may you contact high school guidance counselors to get additional information, but you may attend a prospect's contest.

• Observe a contest of a prospect on your own initiative, but you may not have direct contact with the prospect, his or her parents, principal or guidance counselor(s). If contact is unavoidable, it must not be prearranged or take place at the site of the prospect's high school or practice, it cannot be for recruiting purposes, and only greetings should be exchanged.

• Continue established family relationships with friends and neighbors. Contacts with sons and daughters of these families are permitted so long as they are not for recruiting purposes or encouraged by Quinnipiac coaches.

• Speak to a prospect who initiates telephone contact. A representative can discuss the University, but the call cannot be for athletic recruiting purposes. The representative should refer all questions relating to athletics to the Quinnipiac athletic department staff.

• Offer assistance to Quinnipiac's coaching staff by providing lodging, meals and transportation to coaches when they come to your community to contact and evaluate prospects.

• Arrange to employ a prospect before he or she enrolls at Quinnipiac before the completion of the prospect's senior year of high school. The employment may not begin until after the prospect has graduated.

• Provide a student-athlete or the entire team in a sport an occasional family home meal under the following conditions:

• The meal must be provided in an individual's home (as opposed to a restaurant) and may be catered;

• Meals must be restricted to infrequent and special occasions; and

• A representative may provide reasonable local transportation to student-athletes to attend the meal function only if the meal function is at the home of that representative.

• Sponsor meals that are of reasonable cost to student-athletes when they are traveling with their team for an away game.

• Offer summer jobs and internships in your business or community. If you feel that a job would be suitable for a student-athlete, contact the athletic director for the names of those who may qualify (pay must be at the going rate for that position).

• Join the Bobcats Club. This group provides support and funding to teams and the athletic department for special trips and receptions at home and away contests.

For more information regarding "What You Need to Know to Help the Quinnipiac Bobcats Succeed", please contact Tracey Flynn, Associate Athletic Director for Compliance and Student Services at (203) 582-8767.

What's not permitted?

Under NCAA rules, representatives of athletic interests are restricted from:

• Participating in a telephone call that was pre-arranged by a member of the athletic department.

• Making in-person, on-campus or off-campus recruiting contacts, written or phone communications with a prospect or the prospect's relatives or legal guardian

• Loaning or giving a gift of cash or an automobile to a prospect, their parents or legal guardians. Co-signing a loan also is not permitted.

• Purchasing a gift for a prospect, parent or legal guardian, or treating them to a meal.

• Placing an advertisement or congratulatory note to a prospect in a high school game program, yearbook, recruiting publication or newspaper.

• Providing a student-athlete any benefit or special arrangement. An extra benefit would include the provision of any transportation, meals, clothes, entertainment, preferential loan terms or other benefit offered to a student-athlete that is not available to the general student population.

• Paying for or arranging for payment of room, board or any type of transportation for a student-athlete.

• Providing room, board or transportation costs for family or friends of an enrolled student-athlete.

• Using the name, picture or appearance of an enrolled student-athlete to advertise, recommend or promote sales or use of a commercial product or service of any kind. Any use of the name, picture or appearance of a student-athlete must receive authorization from the athletic department.

• Paying for travel expenses or loaning an automobile for a student-athlete to return home or to any location.

• Providing gifts or awards to a student athlete for any reason. All awards provided to student-athletes must first be approved by the Athletic Compliance Office and must meet all NCAA regulations.

• Providing an honorarium to a studentathlete for a speaking engagement. All speaking engagements must be approved in advance by the athletic department.

• Allowing a student-athlete, or his/her relatives or friends to use your telephone to make free calls.

What happens if a rule is broken?

It is important to remember that, according to NCAA rules, Quinnipiac University is responsible for the actions of all its representatives of athletic interests—including alumni and fans, University personnel, parents of student-athletes, coaches and student-athletes.

If compliance with NCAA rules is not maintained by a person or persons, Quinnipiac is required to investigate the circumstance, and if it is determined that a violation has occurred, report its findings to the NCAA. This is also true, even if a violation was unintentional. Consequences to committing a violation range from a reprimand, loss of eligibility of a student-athlete, forfeiture of a game(s), to required reduction of a team's athletic scholarships and disassociation of a representative from his/her relationship with the athletic department.

It is also important to keep in mind that any contact a representative of athletic interests has with prospective or current student-athletes could negatively affect the athlete's eligibility, so please ask questions if you are unsure, and familiarize yourself with NCAA regulations.

Because the NCAA rules and regulations are constantly changing, please visit the NCAA's official web site (www.ncaa.org) for complete and up-to-date rules and eligibility information.

The Quinnipiac University athletic department prides itself on strict compliance with all rules
and eligibility regulations of the NCAA. For more information regarding "What You Need to Know to Help the Quinnipiac Bobcats Succeed," contact the athletic department's compliance office at (203) 582-8767 .

NCAA Rules Guide for Fans, Friends & Family