Question about possible NCAA rules violation

Far be it from me to defend the NCAA, and its rules are certainly onerous, but it's pretty hard to get in real trouble with them. Lots of wrists get slapped, lots of harrumphing, but very few schools get their asses handed to them unless they are handing out cash to kids or are repeat violators. In 99.9 percent of cases, schools self-report violations, the NCAA sends out an official notice clarifying the rule that was violated and it's over.

The place where it usually gets frustrating is when there is any money involved, like in the case of the German kids at Nebraska and Washington State last year. Both played for a German club team where some athletes -- but not them -- were paid. Both lost a year.

 

As long as we're on the topic of NCAA violations I'd like to point out that it's still illegal to send money to a recruit via Emery Express.

 

And just how many scholarships will Cleveland State lose for said infringement?

 

Best advice:

Call the compliance guru of the school in question. He/she should be able to give you an answer without consulting the 945-pound NCAA manual.

 

If the athlete doesn't take any money or prizes, it's not a violation.

 

Couldn't the $20 trophy be considered a prize? At least in the NCAA's eyes?

 

No.

 

Never say never with the NCAA, but I don't think so.

 

Yes, wrists get slapped if its a couple, maybe even a couple dozen minor rules infractions. The problem is the NCAA can't monitor all of these schools. So, when a school like -- and I'm just tossing out names here -- Alabama State goes five years with an understaffed compliance office, allowing hundreds of minor rules violations to pile up, the next thing you know you've got a big problem.

The big schools, and even the mid-majors in most cases, would catch these things before they get out of control. But a lot of the lower-tier D-I schools don't. Not because they don't want to. It's simply because they don't have the funds to hire enough competent people to monitor their athletic departments.

Sometime when you think about it, take a few minutes and compare the athletic support staffs of any major college to a lower-tier D-I program. I know for a fact that several of the majors have more employees in their compliance office than the lower-tiers have in their entire athletic department (not counting coaches, of course). Yet, when you compare the number of athletes at each of the schools, the numbers aren't so different.

And a lot of these schools have absolutely been crushed by the NCAA recently. Florida A&M reported over 200 violations a few years ago and the NCAA determined that not one of them was because a coach or player tried to cheat. Same for Alabama State. Over 1,000 violations, and there might be one, maybe two, violations against coaches. FAMU lost a ton of scholarships and had to give back trophies and take down banners. ASU has already given up 30 scholarships and will likely give up more.

 

Wrong.
It doesn't matter whether the athlete is paid or not.
Sanctioned or unsanctioned. The NCAA sanctions offseason activities all the time. If one plays in an organized competition that is unsanctioned, one faces the possibility of minor penalties (such as a one-game suspension) from the NCAA.

 

A Midwest tailgating phenomenon. They're EVERYWHERE at Bengals games.

 

and NASCAR (well at the one race I attended).