All IU staff members have a role in NCAA compliance

By Jennifer Brinegar, Assistant Athletics Director, Compliance Services, IU Bloomington

Indiana University believes in the concept of shared compliance responsibilities. Members of the IU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, other institutional staff members and student-athletes, as well as all individuals and groups representing Indiana ’s athletics interests (“boosters”) are responsible for ensuring our commitment to integrity and rules compliance. IU is committed to the principle of institutional control in operating its athletics program in a manner that is consistent with the letter and spirit of NCAA, the Big Ten Conference and university rules and regulations. IU’s commitment is to maintain control of its athletics programs through cooperation among responsible administrators, coaches, faculty, all institutional staff members, stud ent-athletes and boosters.

Compliance Services is charged with coordinating, monitoring and verifying compliance with all NCAA, Big Ten Conference and institutional rules and regulations, and to educate the various constituencies of the university (e.g., coaches, administrators, fa culty, staff, student-athletes and boosters) regarding these rules and regulations. Early and frequent education is a key component of maintaining the principle of institutional control. Here is some important information that all faculty and staff should know:

• In all sports, only specific coaches are permitted to contact prospects off campus. Faculty members may contact prospects for recruiting purposes in all sports but only on campus. All institutional staff members (e.g., faculty members, athletics departm ent staff members and administrators) may write prospects except in the sport of football.

• The NCAA also has specific regulations regarding the receipt of “extra benefits” by currently enrolled student-athletes or their relatives or friends. An extra benefit is any special arrangement to provide a student-athlete (or their relatives or friend s) a benefit not authorized by NCAA legislation. Receipt of an extra benefit by a student-athlete may result in that student-athlete being declared ineligible for competition. No one, including a coach, faculty member or other athletic department or insti tutional staff member may provide or make arrangements to provide an extra benefit to a student-athlete. The one exception to this rule is that an institutional staff member may provide a student-athlete an occasional meal in the locale of the institution (as well as transportation to this meal) on special and infrequent occasions.

http://www.iuhoosiers.com/compliance