May student-athletes participating in the Division I Men’s & Women’s Basketball Final Fours miss class for practice activities at the tournament site?
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: May student-athletes participating in the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Final Fours miss class for practice activities at the tournament site?
Short answer, yes. The general NCAA rule holds that no class time shall be missed at any time (e.g., regular academic term, mini term, summer term) for practice activities. For home contests or for away contests or practices on the road when a team is traveling for an away-from-home contest, class may be missed.
Interestingly, at any conference or NCAA championship, student-athletes from the team representing the host institution shall be permitted to miss class time to attend practice activities conducted the day before the competition. In other words, if a “hometown team” makes the NCAA tournament site presumably near its campus, its student-athletes could miss class for practice associated with the championship. This scenario could have played out, for example, when Butler University’s men’s basketball team made the 2011 Final Four in Indianapolis (just miles from their campus), but to their credit, the Butler student-athletes were even in class the day of the National Championship game.
An active member institution is obligated to establish policies in all sports concerning student-athletes' missed class time due to participation in intercollegiate athletics and in athletics competition scheduled during final examination periods.
Notably, for basketball student-athletes participating in Final Fours who are considering a move to the pro ranks and, in turn, need to hire an agent for representation purposes, student-athletes may not miss class in conjunction with the agent selection process or to meet with an agent or professional team.
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.
