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.
Clear Line of Demarcation
One of the NCAA’s long-standing core principles is the concept of amateurism. In the most basic sense, amateurism is the counterpoint to professional sports. Pro athletes are paid, college athletes participate in sports as an unpaid avocation to facilitate life-long learning through athletic, academic, and social experiences buoyed by effort.
NCAA Constitution 2.9 states:
“Student-athletes shall be amateurs in an intercollegiate sport, and their participation should be motivated primarily by education and by the physical, mental and social benefits to be derived. Student participation in intercollegiate athletics is an avocation, and student-athletes should be protected from exploitation by professional and commercial enterprises.”
One NCAA turn of phrase that attempts to illustrate and encapsulate this amateurism principle is ‘clear line of demarcation.'
Division I Bylaw 12.01.2 states that member institutions’ athletics programs are designed to be an integral part of the educational program. The student-athlete is considered an integral part of the student body, thus maintaining a clear line of demarcation between college athletics and professional sports.
The line of demarcation has been drawn in a variety of ways over the years:
To what extent pro sports teams and leagues could advertise at college arenas (NCAA said yes provided the pro team or organization wasn’t recognized as an official sponsor of the college competition and the advertisement opportunity was available to the general public)
Whether a pro athlete could appear with a college student-athlete in an institutional promotional poster (NCAA said yes they may)
Whether a student-athlete, during a tryout with a professional team, could represent the professional team in outside competition and still maintain NCAA eligibility (the NCAA said no, impermissible)
Interestingly, the NCAA posited in 1990 that institutions would not be permitted to print point spreads in its game programs, reaffirming this clear line of demarcation. However, fast-forward to 2020, and broadcast partners of the NCAA and Division I conferences are not being shy about covering (pun intended) over/under and point-spread information as an integral component to their broadcasts of college sports.
With the anticipated changes surrounding a student-athlete's name-image-likeness and the proliferation of sports wagering and other recent allowances impacting amateurism rules (e.g., permitting Division I baseball and basketball student-athletes to sign with agents with conditions), the ‘clear line’ will likely be redrawn time and again in the future.
