Term-in-ology. College athletics is not immune to industry acronyms or opaque concepts that can throw off the scent. With that in mind, Term-in-ology seeks each week to educate our readers on key NCAA definitions, terms of art, and policies and procedures encapsulating modern-day college athletics. If you are connected in any way to higher education, the business of education, or simply a college sports fan---this weekly morsel can help you decode college sports.
Voluntary Athletically Related Activity
Last week, the NCAA Council Coordination Committee decided that Division I student-athletes may return to campus to participate in voluntary athletically related activities (VARA) on the premise that all state and local public health and governmental guidelines and directives are also followed.
This was a proverbial, albeit measured, step forward toward returning to normalcy in the summer time as far as Division I athletics goes. Normally during the summer months, Division I student-athletes would have the opportunity to utilize their school’s athletic facilities (e.g., weight room; track; pool) to conduct their own voluntary workouts.
NCAA legislation allows VARA to occur only if all of the following conditions are met:
The student-athlete must not be required to report back to a coach or other athletics department staff member (e.g., strength coach, trainer, manager) any information related to the activity. In addition, no athletics department staff member who observes the activity (e.g., trainer, manager) may report back to the student-athlete's coach any information related to the activity;
The activity must be initiated and requested solely by the student-athlete. Neither the institution nor any athletics department staff member may require the student-athlete to participate in the activity at any time. However, it is permissible for an athletics department staff member to provide information to student-athletes related to available opportunities for participating in voluntary activities (e.g., times when the strength and conditioning coach will be on duty in the weight room or on the track). In addition, for students who have initiated a request to engage in voluntary activities, the institution or an athletics department staff member may assign specific times for student-athletes to use institutional facilities for such purposes and inform the student-athletes of the time in advance;
The student-athlete's attendance and participation in the activity (or lack thereof) may not be recorded for the purposes of reporting such information to coaching staff members or other student-athletes; and
The student-athlete may not be subjected to penalty if he or she elects not to participate in the activity. In addition, neither the institution nor any athletics department staff member may provide recognition or incentives (e.g., awards) to a student-athlete based on his or her attendance or performance in the activity.
VARA rules are driven by the notion that year-round required activities would not be in the best interest and health of student-athletes. Something as self-evident as “voluntary” needs definition because of the unspoken workarounds that can arise from coaches pressuring student-athletes to work out on their own. The legislated separation or “downtime” from coaches directing a student-athlete’s participation week after week is a positive. Those motives needed refortification in recent years through the time management legislation that Division I adopted a few years ago to more holistically protect student-athletes’ downtime and off days.
As with many NCAA policies, though, there are exceptions to the VARA rules. Specifically, exceptions are carved out regarding if and when coaches and other staff may be present for a student-athlete’s voluntary workouts.
First, strength staff responsible for monitoring the use of a weight-room, for example, are permitted to be present for a student-athlete’s VARA on the premise of safety. A strength and conditioning coach may conduct voluntary weight-training or conditioning activities with student-athletes provided the strength coach has current certification in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. If a member of the institution's sports medicine staff (e.g., athletic trainer, physician) is present during voluntary conditioning activities conducted by a strength and conditioning coach, the sports medicine staff member must be empowered with the unchallengeable authority to cancel or modify the workout for health and safety reasons, as he or she deems appropriate.
For sports with inherent physical risks (e.g., rowers on water; swimmers in the water; field or hurdle events in track and field), there is a “safety exception” that permits coaches in those sports to be present for monitoring voluntary workouts as a measure of enhancing safety around the activity.
Further, during vacation periods and the summer, a coach of an “individual sport” (e.g., cross-country; swimming; fencing; equestrian; etc) may participate in individual workout sessions with student-athletes from the coach’s team provided the request for such assistance is initiated by the student-athlete. This exception to allow coaches to be present for VARA during vacation periods and the summer break was adopted noting many student-athletes may not be able to return home during a vacation period due to distance (e.g., international student-athletes), time or budget constraints. Such student-athletes may wish to use vacation periods for athletic improvement while other student-athletes may simply wish to take advantage of additional opportunities to train with their coach. This carve-out has allowed student-athletes in an individual sport the opportunity to request and receive additional instruction and guidance from a countable coach when there are fewer demands on the student-athlete's time.
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.
