The Division I Transformation Committee’s Recommendations Get Adopted And Will Spur More Local Decision-Making Around Student-Athlete Benefits
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The Division I Transformation Committee’s Recommendations Get Adopted And Will Spur More Local Decision-Making Around Student-Athlete Benefits
Executive Summary
The Division I Board adopted a group of recommendations from the Transformation Committee that creates more campus-level decision-making autonomy around benefits for student-athletes.
The expanded flexibility at the campus-level is intended to center on providing benefits supporting student-athlete health, safety and well-being in limited and extenuating circumstances without the need to file a waiver with the NCAA.
The adopted changes also begin to eliminate certain long-standing compliance rules in areas like how complimentary admissions are administered and location restrictions for booster-provided occasional meals.
Division I schools will encounter more local decision-making forks-in-the-road when the NCAA rules don’t say “no."
Athletics budget-capacity decisions related to whether to fund specific student-athlete benefit scenarios will become more common now that more benefit-related scenarios would be permissible for a school to cover.
This wave of legislative transformation includes more discretion around student-athlete support and experience areas including academics; reasonable entertainment; transportation; elite outside competition and training; and specialty insurance.
Last week, the NCAA announced the Division I Council adopted a package of recommendations tied to Bylaw 16— the NCAA bylaw governing benefits and awards for student-athletes. Specifically, the Co-Chairs of the Division I Transformation Committee— Julie Cromer, Director of Athletics, Ohio University, and Greg Sankey, Commissioner, the Southeastern Conference— released the following joint statement:
“We are pleased the Division I Board of Directors' approval of the Transformation Committee's recommendations on benefits will immediately empower schools to provide greater support for student-athletes' personal health, safety and well-being. Schools can now pay for more to support a student's academic pursuits, purchase insurance such as critical injury or illness and loss-of-value, and fund participation in elite-level training, tryouts and competition. These important changes will quickly and meaningfully enhance the experience of our student-athletes.
The Transformation Committee heard the helpful feedback of the Board of Directors and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee on the broader transfer proposal. Based on that dialogue, we will work to refine our proposal to address how transfer policies align with ongoing academic eligibility and degree progress requirements and deal with current and emerging issues facing college athletics. Additionally, we will have the chance to learn more about the latest input from student-athletes around transfer windows. We share the commitment of creating a system that provides student-athletes with opportunity for mobility while maintaining academic and athletic integrity. We will continue our work as a committee and be prepared to share a revised framework with the Board of Directors at its next meeting Aug. 31.”
The first section in this newly adopted proposal capturing the Transformation Committee’s work makes the express point of giving Division I schools the license to make local-decisions around providing certain benefits and support for the health, safety, and well-being of their student-athletes.
The legislative changes in Bylaw 16 were made with health, safety, and well-being in mind and included permitting schools to buy various insurance beyond medical insurance based on a student-athletes participation in college sports. Such insurance policies could include disabling or critical injury or illness and loss of value insurance/policies– policies NCAA schools were not permitted to pay directly unless using NCAA Student-Assistance Fund (SAF) dollars. The NCAA also noted the type of insurance is not limited noting the insurance market as it relates to elite athletes may evolve and new insurance products created.
Although student-athletes’ access to meals, snacks, and nutrition had seen greater flexibility in recent years, bylaws were red-lined to make it clear that schools may now provide food to student-athletes at any time. This includes any meals or snacks for basic nutritional needs.
In the area of “occasional meals”, boosters may now pay for a team meal at restaurants on special occasions– the location of booster-provided meals was previously limited to the university’s campus or the booster’s home. Interestingly, meals with boosters and student-athletes may also become more commonplace in the NIL environment as business owners (who may also be boosters at your school) could provide meals to student-athletes as part of an NIL deal compensation.
Schools may provide student-athletes with cash to cover meal expenses incurred while they are required to be at school during a vacation period, consistent with how expenses are covered for staff. From a financial aid quality control standpoint, the athletics compliance office is responsible for working with its school’s financial aid office to ensure food provided to student-athletes does not impact the student-athlete’s cost of attendance.
The recommendations also touched student-athlete housing. From a housing standpoint, student-athletes living off-campus may continue to receive a board stipend.
On the academic success front, schools may cover additional expenses related to academics (e.g., parking, cap/gown expenses, transportation to school). Although flexibility with providing transportation has been extended, schools may not provide student-athletes with a car or use of a car. The NCAA noted that federal regulations protect against the excessive provision of benefits.
Also on the transportation front, one of the more significant changes included in this grouping is to now permit schools to provide transportation (e.g., mileage reimbursement; flight) for student-athletes to arrive to campus to begin enrollment or begin athletics participation. These arrival expenses were historically borne by the student athlete.
In the area of competition related expenses, a student-athlete may receive expenses to travel with their team to competition, so long as they are eligible to practice. This permissibility seems driven by ability for schools and in particular coaching staffs to be more inclusive of bringing student-athletes on road-trips that otherwise might feel distanced from the team.
In terms of other training opportunities, the Transformation Committee reinforced schools’ ability to cover expenses for student-athletes to participate in elite-level training, tryouts and competition.
In terms of complimentary admissions and other entertainment, there no longer is a requirement for guests of student-athletes to provide identification to receive comp tickets. Schools may also issue digital comp tickets to those designated by student-athletes (in the past, hard tickets were required by rule). Further, schools may allow student-athletes to buy tickets at face value for any athletics event, although student-athletes are still not allowed to resell comp or purchased tickets.
Schools may provide reasonable entertainment to student-athletes at any time during the year– and not just during the academic year, preseason, or in-season. Examples of reasonable entertainment expenses that are typically provided by schools include mini golf, ropes courses, go kart, and movies.
Inevitably, administrators and coaches at Division I schools will be prone to wonder if there are limits on their discretion or whether the discretion is limited to pre-determined scenarios. The NCAA has stated that institutional discretion should be exercised when providing specific and limited expenses and benefits to a student-athlete for the purpose of health, safety and well-being and that the NCAA legislation does not specify the type or category of benefits and expenses that may be provided or the length of time such expenses could be provided.
Athletics Veritas is presented for information purposes only and should not be considered advice or counsel on NCAA compliance matters. For guidance on NCAA rules and processes, always consult your university’s athletics compliance office, conference office, and/or the NCAA.
