University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

Florida International University was placed on probation for four years as a result of multiple violations in 15 sports. The Division I Committee on Infractions found that Florida International lacked institutional control and was unable to accommodate the rapid growth to a Bowl Subdivision Football school.

During the five academic years beginning in 2002-03, 46 student-athletes in 15 sports were permitted to compete while ineligible. Additionally, for the three academic years beginning in 2004-05, the financial aid equivalencies were calculated incorrectly, resulting in excessive financial aid being awarded in the sports of men's soccer, women's soccer, and women's golf.

With regard to the competition by ineligible student-athletes, the Committee found that, "The athletics compliance office and academic advising units were understaffed and not all departments on campus had been integrated into the compliance effort." The Committee noted that the personnel making certification decisions were not properly educated regarding NCAA legislation and made decisions using a system that contained insufficient information, and at times, did not include information necessary to make eligibility decisions.

Penalties for the institution included a reduction in scholarships for 12 sports, as well as having all wins and records vacated for contests in which an ineligible student-athlete competed.

This was the second major infractions case for Florida International, which was still on probation from its previous major infractions case in 2005. Although Florida International avoided increased penalties under the repeat violator regulations, or "death penalty", the resulting probation period is extended until May 19, 2012, four years from the end of the previous probationary period.

Education

During the April NCAA Board of Directors Meetings, several pieces of NCAA legislation were adopted, amended and/or eliminated. Although not as substantial as some years, the dozen or so new NCAA regulations present some significant changes from previous bylaws. The following is a summary of some of the changes.

• Effective August 1, 2008, new legislation eliminates the restriction that requires all recruiting correspondence to be prepared only by countable coaches. The new legislation allows other staff members to prepare written or electronic correspondence to be sent to prospective student-athletes.

• Also effective August 1, 2008, it will be permissible to award athletics-based financial aid for less than one year to any student-athlete who has exhausted his or her eligibility and is no longer considered a counter, or any student-athlete who is not a counter because of illness or injury; however, if aid is awarded in this manner, the institution must include non-athletic conditions to be met in the financial aid agreement in order for the student-athlete to receive aid the following semester.

• In the area of team meals, new legislation allows member institutions to provide meals to student-athletes in conjunction with home contests the night before the contest through the end of the contest. The new legislation also allows institutions to provide meals to student-athletes in conjunction with away contests from the time they report for travel until the time they return to campus. August 1, 2008 is the effective date for this modification.

• In the same area of team meals, the limit on the amount of cash you can provide a student-athlete following a home or away contest in lieu of a post-game meal increases from $10 to $15. This is also effective August 1, 2008.

• Under new legislation a student-athlete who has exhausted his or her seasons of competition eligibility, but is still allowed to practice under the 5-year clock, is now exempt from the countable athletically related activities limits. This means that the student-athlete, in these circumstances, will not be limited to 20 hours of practice per week, and would not be required one off-day during the playing season. This change becomes effective August 1, 2008.

• Perhaps the most significant change in legislation does not become effective until August 1, 2009. This new regulation requires transfers from a two-year college who were Non-Qualifiers to complete six transferable semester hours (or eight quarter hours) of English and three transferable semester hours (or four quarter hours) of math in order to be eligible for aid, practice and competition. This requirement applies to student-athletes who initially enroll full-time at the two-year college on or after August 1, 2009.

As a reminder, this should be considered a summary of recently adopted legislation and is not an exhaustive list. As always, if there are any questions regarding the new legislation, or any NCAA regulation, please do not hesitate to ask.

Motivation

"You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result."
--Mahatma Gandhi

"Ambition never comes to an end."
--Yoshida Kenko