Earlier this month at the 2013 NCAA Convention, Division I of the NCAA adopted 25 of 26 proposals aimed at establishing a streamlined rulebook with a focus on more meaningful, enforceable, and student-athlete welfare-oriented legislation. NCAA president Mark Emmert stated, "these new rules represent noteworthy progress toward what can only be described as more common sense rules that allow schools more discretion in decision-making...This vote by the Board of Directors refocuses our attention on the things that really matter, the core values of intercollegiate athletics.” The deregulation included several areas of NCAA legislation, including NCAA Bylaw 11 (personnel), 12 (amateurism), 14 (recruiting), 15 (financial aid), and 16 (awards, benefits and expenses). The proposals will be effective on August 1, 2013. While much of the talk surrounding deregulation has focused upon the impact from the perspective of an institution's administrators and coaches, little discussion has occurred on the impact deregulation will have on both prospective and current student-athletes.
- 11-2: will eliminate the rules defining recruiting coordination functions that must be performed only by a head or assistant coach.
Student-Athlete Impact: Paired with Proposal 13-3, this Proposal will likely increase the amount of communications between a prospective student-athlete and an institution by allowing any institutional staff member the ability to contact and evaluate recruits. Prospective student-athletes often grow tired of the recruiting process, and this change could potentially further that burden. Off-campus recruiting activities, however, will still need to be conducted by coaches.
- 11-3-B: will prohibit the live scouting of future opponents except in limited circumstances.
- 11-4: will remove limits on the number of coaches who can recruit off-campus at any one time.
- 12-1: will establish a uniform definition of actual and necessary expenses.
- 12-2: will allow the calculation of actual and necessary expenses to be based on the total over a calendar year instead of an event-by-event basis for both prospective and enrolled student-athletes.
- 12-3: will allow a student-athlete to receive $300 more than actual and necessary expenses, provided the expenses come from an otherwise permissible source.
- 12-4: will permit individuals to receive actual and necessary competition-related expenses from outside sponsors, so long as the person is not an agent, booster or representative of a professional sports organization.
- 12-5: will allow student-athletes in sports other than tennis to receive up to actual and necessary competition-related expenses based on performance from an amateur team or event sponsor.
- 12-6: will allow student-athletes and prospects to receive actual and necessary expenses for training, coaching, health insurance and the like from a governmental entity.
- 13-1: will allow schools to treat prospects like student-athletes for purposes of applying recruiting regulations once a National Letter of Intent or signed offer of admission or financial aid is received.
- 13-3: will eliminate restrictions on methods and modes of communication during recruiting.
- 13-4: will eliminate the requirement that institutions provide materials such as the banned-drug list and Academic Progress Rate data to recruits.
- 13-5-A: will eliminate restrictions on sending printed recruiting materials to recruits. Conferences still will be prohibited from sending printed recruiting materials.
- 13-7: will eliminate restrictions on publicity once a prospective student-athlete has signed a National Letter of Intent or written offer of financial aid or admission.
- 13-8: will deregulate camps and clinics employment rules related to both recruits and current student-athletes. Senior football prospects will be allowed to participate in camps and clinics.
- 14-1, which will eliminate academic regulations that are covered elsewhere and directly supported by institutional academic policy.
- 16-1: will allow institutions, conferences or the NCAA national office to provide an award to student-athletes any time after initial full-time enrollment.
- 16-2: will allow conferences, an institution, the U.S. Olympic Committee, a national governing body or the awarding agency to provide actual and necessary expenses for a student-athlete to receive a non-institutional award or recognition for athletics or academic accomplishments. Expenses can also be provided for parents/legal guardians, a spouse or other relatives.
- 16-3: will allow institutions, conferences or the NCAA to pay for other academic support, career counseling or personal development services that support the success of the student-athlete.
- 16-4: will allow institutions, conferences or the NCAA to pay for medical and related expenses for a student-athlete.
- 16-5: will (except in limited circumstances) change all Bylaw 16 references to a student-athlete’s spouse, parents, family members or children to “family member,” establish a specific definition of “family member,” and permit specified benefits to such individuals.
- 16-6: will allow institutions to provide reasonable entertainment in conjunction with competition or practice.
- 16-7: will allow schools to provide actual and necessary expenses to student-athletes representing the institution in practice and competition (including expenses for activities/travel that are incidental to practice or competition) as well as in noncompetitive events such as goodwill tours and media appearances.
- 16-8: will allow student-athletes to receive actual and necessary expenses and “reasonable benefits” associated with a national team practice and competition and also will allow institutions to pay for any number of national team tryouts and championship events.