Athletics Veritas is a weekly series aimed at helping higher education executives, faculty, and other stakeholders stay tuned in on trending national issues impacting college athletics, especially NCAA Division I. Athletics Veritas is created by senior DI athletic administrators around the nation.
Term-in-Ology: Training Expenses from U.S. Olympic Committee, a National Governing Body, or Governmental Entity
The Summer Olympic Games return this summer after being postponed last summer due to the pandemic. Let’s take a closer look at policy related to Olympic-hopeful NCAA student-athletes receiving training expenses and support without jeopardizing their NCAA eligibility under NCAA Bylaw 12 amateurism rules.
The NCAA determined in 2019 that an individual is permitted to receive actual and necessary expenses [including grants, but not prize money, whereby the recipient has qualified for the grant based on performance in a specific event(s)] to cover developmental training, coaching, facility usage, equipment, apparel, supplies, comprehensive health insurance, travel, room and board training expenses from a separate entity that is affiliated with the U.S. Olympic Committee, a national governing body or governmental entity (e.g., governmental assistance program, regional training center, local swimming committee), provided:
1. The U.S. Olympic Committee, the national governing body or governmental entity specifically identifies the amounts and recipients consistent with their policies and procedures for access to training expenses; and
2. The use of such a program or affiliated entity is one of the normal processes for raising and distributing the funds of the U.S. Olympic Committee, the national governing body or governmental entity.
The reason why the above clarification was made in 2019 is that the long-standing training expenses exception was permissible if provided directly by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, the appropriate national governing body in the sport (or, for international student-athletes, the equivalent organization of that nation) or a governmental entity. The long-standing exception, though, did not specify that such permissible training expenses could come from an affiliate entity which had become more prominent as regional sport associations, provincial government agencies, and coaches associations, among others, were emerging as legitimate funding sources for these permissible training expenses.
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.
