SoCalHoops Recruiting News

NCAA Sets New Policy On "Impermissible"
Expenses & Reinstatement--(May 23, 2000)

As if the NCAA regulations weren't already clear enough (man, we've got to get that tongue which is so firmly planted out of our cheek), today the NCAA issued new regulations which affect athlete reinstatement and the penalties applicable for student athletes and recruits who have accepted "impermissible" education and expense payments, either before or during college.

We prefer to think of this as the NCAA's "Jaron-Rush Amnesty" legislation.

Actually we haven't had a chance to fully study what the NCAA actually did today, but we wanted to get the word out as quickly as possible, so here's the AP story which was released today announcing the changes in the rules.   We'll have more on this in the next few days.

NCAA Sets Education Expense Regs

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ College athletes and recruits who received impermissible expenses to attend high school or prep school will be subject to a reduced penalty if they disclose the expenses to the NCAA.

An NCAA subcommittee on student-athlete reinstatement advised all Division I members last week that those who disclose the payments before Aug. 1 will be kept out of 10 percent of their regular-season games without having to repay the expenses. The university must submit a request for reinstatement within 30 days of the date the athlete signs a disclosure statement. Those who have accepted benefits before Aug. 1 but have not disclosed them within 30 days of signing the statement likely will be reinstated after being withheld from competition, but will have to repay the benefit. Those who receive expenses after Aug. 1 likely will be withheld from regular-season competition and will be required to repay the benefit.

Among the players who missed games last season and were ordered to repay the amount of the financial help for prep school tuition were Erick Barkley of St. John's and DerMarr Johnson of Cincinnati.

The NCAA also issued an "official" press release on the subject, and it explains in a little more detail what the powers that be did today with this action:

NCAA ESTABLISHES REINSTATEMENT PROCEDURE FOR IMPERMISSIBLE EDUCATIONAL
EXPENSES


INDIANAPOLIS---Student-athletes or prospects who received impermissible educational expenses to attend high school or preparatory school and who disclose acceptance of such expenses will receive a reduced penalty under a one-time reinstatement procedure established by the NCAA Division I Subcommittee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement.

The subcommittee sent a directive to all Division I members on May 16, establishing a reinstatement procedure to be used in cases involving impermissible educational expenses. Individuals who disclose receiving such impermissible expenses before August 1, 2000 for attendance at a high school or preparatory school before that same date will be withheld from 10 percent of his or her team's regular-season contests. Repayment of the impermissible expenses will not be required.

The NCAA's student-athlete reinstatement staff processed several eligibility cases involving acceptance of impermissible benefits during the past academic year. Because of those cases and concerns that there are other enrolled student-athletes who have received such benefits, the subcommittee issued its directive.

"There are more and more cases of student-athletes who have received impermissible expenses while prospective student-athletes," said Craig Littlepage, subcommittee chair and senior associate director of athletics at the University of Virginia. "The cases we handled this year are a small number of the potential cases there might be. We believe that being proactive will take care of not only those who already have been through the reinstatement process but future student-athletes who can avoid making similar mistakes."

A student-athlete must disclose acceptance of impermissible expenses and a university must submit a request for reinstatement to the student-athlete reinstatement staff within 30 days of the date he or she signs the student-athlete statement in 2000-01 or initially thereafter.

Those who accepted benefits before August 1, 2000 who do not disclose their involvement within 30 days of signing the student-athlete statement likely will be reinstated after being withheld from competition and be required to repay the benefit in full.

Individuals who receive impermissible educational expenses after August 1, 2000, likely will be withheld from regular-season competition and be required to repay the benefit in full.

Student-athletes who already have been through the reinstatement process for this violation will have any remaining repayment forgiven.

Littlepage said the subcommittee will undertake efforts to provide more education to future prospects and current athletics personnel about the educational benefits bylaw.

"There's been a general lack of understanding about this issue, not just on the part of prospective student-athletes, but from coaches and administrators, preparatory school coaches, Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) coaches and other adults working with young people," he said. "What we're doing is setting the record straight with those who have misunderstood the rule as well as giving the people who had no idea that such a rule existed the opportunity to understand that these sorts of benefits are indeed impermissible."

The subcommittee deliberated about the severity of the penalties to impose for this violation, keeping the idea of disclosure in mind.

"We wanted to provide opportunity for student-athletes to disclose and to get themselves whole in terms of intercollegiate participation," he said. "Nobody wanted to see extensive penalties in terms of games missed."

 
©Copyright 1997-2000 All rights reserved
Questions? Comments? Need Information?
E-mail: jegesq@socalhoops.com