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.
Donating Athletics Equipment to High Schools & Prospects
With spring in the air, equipment rooms across Division I are invariably ready to be cleaned out, and many schools use this spring cleaning as an opportunity to give to the community. As such, an often-considered scenario is whether Division I athletics departments may donate equipment (used or new) to high schools.
Per Bylaw 13.15.1.6, a Division I institution may not provide athletics equipment to a high school. The idea being that, although altruistic, the recruiting advantage extends beyond the comfort level of the Division I membership.
However, Division I schools are permitted to provide athletics equipment to established, bona fide youth organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club or Boy or Girl Scout troops that may include high school prospect-aged individuals. The caveat to this permissible donation is that the discarding of equipment happens in accordance with the institution’s regular equipment policies.
Another permissible donation opportunity involves the allowance of Women’s Rowing programs to loan their rowing equipment to high school or junior club teams comprised of prospects. NCAA rules also permit Division I institutions to donate equipment or apparel to a prospect’s school that has suffered a catastrophic incident (e.g., hurricane/property damage), provided the equipment or apparel does not contain the Division I institution’s name, logo, or other identifiable markings and the Division I institution does not publicize the donation.
Recognizing COVID-19's jostling of the college sports enterprise these days, the donation of equipment to a permissible youth organization will necessitate additional sanitizing safeguards. The hope is that these extra steps will not reduce the frequency of such benevolence.
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.
