KIN 607: Legal Aspects of Sports

Two main contracts are involved in the relationship between student-athletes and universities as related to the student-athlete’s participation in athletics:

1. Statement of Financial Assistance

2. National Letter of Intent

The Statement of Financial Assistance is signed by student-athletes who receive athletics scholarships. The college promises to extend financial aid to the extent of tuition, fees, room, board, and books in exchange for the student-athlete attending the college, participating in athletics there, remaining eligible, and complying with NCAA Bylaws.

NCAA Division I Bylaws, Article 15: Financial Aid

· 15.01.6: An institution shall not award aid to a student-athlete that exceeds the cost of attendance that is normally incurred by students enrolled in a comparable program at that institution. (The National Collegiate Athletic Association, 2014. p. 187)

· 15.02.2: The “cost of attendance” is an amount calculated by an institutional aid office, using federal regulations, that includes the total cost of tuition and fees, room and board, books, supplies, transportation and other expenses related to attendance at the institution.(The National Collegiate Athletic Association, 2014, p. 188)

Bylaw 15 of the NCAA Division I Manual specifies what institutions may provide to student-athletes in their athletics scholarships. Notably, due to the way that Bylaw 15 is drafted, it does not cover the full cost of a student-athlete’s attendance of college. For instance, transportation and other ancillary expenses are not covered. Given this, research shows there is a gap of $2,500 per year between what a student-athlete receives in his or her athletics scholarship and the cost to attend college (Sullivan, 2015). In January 2015, the “Power 5” conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC), through autonomy granted to them by the NCAA, voted to grant their student-athletes full cost of attendance scholarships.

As of 2012, Division I schools can choose to offer student-athletes either 1-year, renewable scholarships or multiyear scholarships to cover their period of athletic eligibility. Few schools offer multiyear scholarships, with most choosing to grant 1-year, renewable scholarships.

One reason schools choose to offer one-year, renewable scholarships is that it lowers their risk. If schools contract with student-athletes to offer multi-year scholarships and the student-athlete gets hurt or does not perform as well, the school is bound to the student-athlete for a longer period of time than under a 1-year scholarship agreement. Under the 1-year scholarship agreement, after the 1 year expires, it is the school’s choice whether to re-sign the student-athlete to another athletics scholarship.

Advocates for student-athletes assert that schools should be required to offer multiyear scholarships to show that they are committed to the student-athlete and to ensure that the student-athlete fully attains his or her education.

Regardless of whether it is a multi- or single-year athletics scholarship, an athletics scholarship can be cancelled by a school when:

· An athlete becomes ineligible

· An athlete voluntarily withdraws from athletic participation

· An athlete engages in serious misconduct warranting substantial disciplinary action

An athletics scholarship cannot be cancelled by a school when:

· An athlete is injured

· A coach is unhappy with an athlete’s performance

The National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a voluntary program for student-athletes and colleges created in 1964. Although it is voluntary, 635 Division I and Division II institutions now participate in it. The NCAA manages the program’s daily operations, and the Collegiate Commissioners Association provides governance oversight of the program.

By signing a National Letter of Intent, a prospective student-athlete agrees to attend the designated college or university for one academic year and participate in athletics. In exchange, the college agrees to provide athletic financial aid to the student-athlete, provided he/she is admitted to the institution and is eligible for financial aid under NCAA rules. After a prospective student-athlete signs a National Letter of Intent, participating institutions must cease recruiting the student-athlete.

Sometimes, a student-athlete wants to transfer to a different program after entering into a National Letter of Intent. Under the National Letter of Intent’s rules, there are five ways that a student-athlete can be automatically released from his or her NLI:

· If the student-athlete’s sport is discontinued

· If the school violated recruiting rules

· If the student-athlete becomes a non-qualifier

· If the student-athlete serves in the armed forces for a minimum of 18 months

· If the student-athlete serves in a religious mission capacity for a minimum of 18 months

If student-athletes meet any of these factors, then they can transfer and immediately begin competing at their new schools. If the student-athletes do not meet any of these factors, they may not be able to immediately transfer and compete at their new schools.

If the student-athletes do not meet any of the factors allowing for automatic transfer and competition, they have two options: transfer without a release from their National Letter of Intent or seek a release from their National Letter of Intent from the school for which they currently play.

If the student-athlete does not receive a release from their National Letter of Intent from their current school but still wants to transfer, then the following may apply:

1. If the student-athlete transfers to a school that participates in the National Letter of Intent program, the student-athlete must sit out of athletics for one year and be “in residence” at the other school for one year before being eligible to compete

2. If the student-athlete transfers to a school that is not part of the National Letter of Intent program, the student-athlete can immediately participate in athletics upon transferring

Student-athletes may also seek a release from their National Letter of Intent from the institution where they are enrolled. Institutions grant releases on a case-by-case basis. If the release is granted, the student-athletes may transfer and immediately begin competing at their new schools.

If an institution denies a student-athlete’s request, the student-athlete can appeal. The student-athlete must show extenuating circumstances in order to win the appeal. If the release is granted, the student-athlete may immediately transfer and begin competing in the new school immediately.

One reason why many student-athletes desire to transfer is their coach taking a job elsewhere. Since this is not a factor that grants a student-athlete the ability to immediately be released from their National Letter of Intent, they must seek a release from their school. Most schools are reluctant to grant releases under this scenario. Why do you think this is?

The Statement of Financial Assistance requires student-athletes to maintain academic eligibility in order to keep their athletics scholarships. Between 2002 and 2004, the NCAA enacted a series of academic reforms to ensure that student-athletes were meeting required standards in the classroom. According the National Collegiate Athletic Association (2014), those reforms are captured in the following bylaws, as summarized here:

· NCAA Bylaw 14.4.3.1: Fulfillment of Credit-Hour Requirements: Requires student-athletes to complete a certain number of credits for each semester of college in which they are enrolled (p. 160).

· NCAA Bylaw 14.4.3.2: Fulfillment of Percentage of Degree Requirements: Requires student-athletes to complete a certain percentage of a specific degree program’s requirements each semester of college in which they are enrolled (p. 161).

Adopted in 2004, the Academic Progress Rate (APR) holds Division I institutions accountable for the academic progress of their student-athletes. The APR is a team-based metric that accounts for the eligibility and retention of each student-athlete on a given team during each term.

How the APR is calculated:

· Each student-athlete on a team that is receiving athletically-related financial aid can earn up to two points towards the team’s score: One for staying in school and one for being academically eligible.

· The number of points each team earns is added together and then divided by the total number of points possible.

· That number is then multiplied by 1,000 to equal the team’s Academic Progress Rate score.

Here is an APR calculation example: A men’s basketball team has 10 athletes on athletics scholarships.

· Five of the athletes remained in school and remained academically eligible (so, 10 points earned by these athletes).

· Three of the athletes were academically eligible but left school (3 points earned by these athletes).

· One athlete was not academically eligible but remained in school (1 point earned by this athlete).

· One athlete was not academically eligible and did not remain in school (0 points earned by this athlete).

· Total points earned: 14

· Total points possible: 20

· APR Score = (Total Points Earned/Total Points Possible) * 1000

· Team APR Score: 700

The NCAA requires programs to meet certain APR score standards. Over time, the NCAA has raised its required APR standards. According to the NCAA, a 930 APR score correlates to 50% of a team graduating (NCAA, 2014a).

2012–2013 championships:

· Minimum 900 4-year APR or a 930 average over the most recent 2 years to be eligible to participate

2014–2015 championships:

· Minimum 930 4-year APR or a 940 average over the most recent 2 years to participate in championships

2015–2016 and beyond:

· Minimum 930 4-year APR to participate in championships

Penalties for teams falling below APR standards: If a team falls below the required APR score, the NCAA can issue a number of sanctions. Which set of sanctions the NCAA can issue depends upon how many times a given team has fallen below the required APR score.

· Level 1: Limits teams to 16 hours of practice a week over 5 days, with the lost 4 hours to be replaced with academic activities. This represents a reduction of 4 hours and 1 day per week of practice time.

· Level 2: Available if a team does not meet the required APR score for 2 consecutive years. Adds competition reductions, either in the traditional or nontraditional season, to the first-level penalties.

· Level 3: Available if a team does not meet the required APR score for 3 consecutive years. A menu of penalty options, including coaching suspensions, financial aid reductions, and restricted NCAA membership. The Committee on Academic Performance has the discretion to apply appropriate penalties once teams have fallen below the benchmark for 3 consecutive years.

For the two types of contracts covered this week—the Statement of Financial Assistance and National Letter of Intent—consider the offer, acceptance, and consideration involved and how each can be breached either by a student-athlete or the university.

References

Sullivan, T. (2015, January 29). Court cases may lead athletes to better deals. The Courier-Journal. Retrieved from http://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/columnists/sullivan/2015/01/19/tim-sullivan-pressures-mount-colleges-begin-make-concessions-athletes/22024461/

The National Collegiate Athletic Association. (2014a). Academic progress rate Q&A. Retrieved from http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/academic-progress-rate-qa

The National Collegiate Athletic Association. (2014b). 2014–2015 NCAA Division I manual: August edition [Online]. Author: Indianapolis, IN. Retrieved from http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/D115.pdf

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