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: Occasional Meals
Thanksgiving Day is next week, and some of your institution’s teams are in-season and staying near campus to practice and compete instead of traveling home. May your institution provide, for example, your men’s and women’s basketball teams with a Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, mash potatoes, vegetables, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie?
Yes, under Division I's “occasional meal” provision. Specifically, a student-athlete or the entire team in a sport may receive an occasional meal in the locale of the institution on infrequent and special occasions from an institutional staff member. An institutional staff member may provide reasonable local transportation to student-athletes to attend such meals. A student-athlete or the entire team in a sport may receive an occasional meal from a representative of athletics interests (aka booster) on infrequent and special occasions under the following conditions:
The meal may only be provided in an individual's home, on campus or at a facility that is regularly used for home competition and may be catered; and
A representative of the institution's athletics interests may provide reasonable local transportation to student-athletes to attend the meal function only if the meal function is at the home of that representatives.
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.
