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.
Volunteer Coaches
One category of coaches defined in the NCAA Division I Manual are volunteer coaches. As the name implies, a volunteer coach is any coach who does not receive compensation or remuneration from the institution’s athletics department or any organization funded in whole or in part by the athletics department or that is involved primarily in the promotion of the institution’s athletics program (e.g., booster club, athletics foundation association).
Volunteer coaches can only be involved in sports other than bowl subdivision football and men’s and women’s basketball. In addition, the following provisions apply to volunteer coaches:
(a) The individual is prohibited from contacting and evaluating prospective student-athletes off-campus or from scouting opponents off-campus and may not perform recruiting coordination functions.
(b) The individual may receive a maximum of two complimentary tickets to home athletics contests in the coach’s sport.
(c) The individual may receive complimentary admission to a home athletics event in conjunction with a prospective student-athlete’s official or unofficial visit.
(d) The individual may receive complimentary meals incidental to organized team activities (e.g., pregame or postgame meals or occasional meals, but not training table meals) or meals provided during a prospective student-athlete’s official or unofficial visit, provided the individual dines with the prospective student-athlete.
(e) The individual may receive reasonable entertainment (but may not receive cash for such entertainment) in conjunction with entertainment provided to student-athletes.
The role of volunteer coach is a popular springboard in to the college coaching ranks. Often, former college and pro players and even lower-division, two-year college, and high school coaches will pursue a volunteer coach position at a Division I institution with the hopes of leveraging that experience into a paid coaching opportunity at the Division I level.
Most sports permitted to utilize the services of a volunteer coach are limited to just one; however,
Women's rowing may use the services of four volunteer coaches.
An institution that conducts separate men's and women's swimming programs with a combined men's and women's diving program may employ three volunteer coaches (one for men's swimming, one for women's swimming and one for diving).
An institution that only sponsors either men's swimming and diving or women's swimming and diving may use the services of two volunteer coaches, one for swimming and one for diving.
An institution that sponsors cross country, indoor track and field, or outdoor track and field as separate sports may use the services of one volunteer coach for each of the sports that it sponsors.
An institution that competes in pole vault may use the services of one additional volunteer coach (to coach both genders), limited to coaching pole vault.
The time and energy expended as a Division I volunteer coach can be demanding, especially considering it is time spent not earning income. However, there are permissible paths for a Division I institution to help a volunteer coach earn income -- namely through revenue generated from camps and clinics run by the sport program’s coaches.
Division I volunteer coaches may also earn income from a Division I institution by working in a position outside of athletics, such as an admissions counselor or university fundraiser. Further still, volunteer coaches may earn income by working non-institutional sport camps run by outside entities as well pursuing other, general outside employment unrelated to their Division I institution.
To no one’s surprise, the earning landscape for volunteer coaches working summer 2020 camps and clinics sits on thin ice at this time. With campus and facility closures beholden to COVID-19, only time will determine whether sports camps and clinics take place this summer across the country. For now, prospective campers and coaches must play the waiting game.
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.
