NCAA Division III Bylaw 16 (Benefits/Expenses Provided by Institution) What Can A Student-Athlete Receive? Tiffany Alford & Bill Regan

Session Outcomes Understand legislation for the following areas: What is an extra benefit? Expenses associated with practice and competition. Meals and supplements. Learn how to apply applicable legislation to case studies.

What is an extra benefit Provided by an institutional employee or representatives of the institution's athletics interests. Provides a student-athlete or student-athlete's friends/relatives a benefit not permitted by NCAA legislation. Same benefit is not generally available to student-body or a particular segment of the student-body unrelated to athletics. Bylaw 16.02.3 Benefit must be provided by an institution’s employs or booster Benefit must be provided to a SA or the SA’s friends/relatives. If it’s a PSA then look at Offers and Inducements (Bylaw 13.2.1 or preferential treatment 12.1.1) Not and extra benefit if same benefit is generally available to students or a segments of students (Not based on athletics)

Questions to ask Is this an extra benefit? Who is receiving the benefit? Who is providing the benefit? Does NCAA legislation expressly permit this? Is the same benefit available to a comparable segment of other students? Now lets review the questions we just discussed. When trying to determine if something is an extra benefit ask yourself the following questions Run through questions and what the answers tell us We will use these questions to analyze the next set of case studies. This is about learning how to apply the rule. If that is done correctly you will get the right answer

Is this an extra benefit A coach on our staff would like to send a gift (including flowers and a t-shirt) to a parent of a current player. The parent will be undergoing major surgery next week. Is this an extra benefit? Who is receiving the benefit? Who is providing the benefit? Does NCAA legislation expressly permit this? Is the same benefit available to a comparable segment of other students? Lets run through each question to determine if this is an extra benefit: Who is providing the benefit - coach Who is receiving the benefit – SA’ s parent Does NCAA legislation expressly permit this – No Is the same benefit available to a comparable segment of the student body – generally no

ANSWER It would be impermissible for a coach to send the parent of a current student-athlete a care package as this would constitute an extra benefit per Bylaw 16.02.2

Bylaw 16.8: Expenses by Institution for Practice and Competition

Expenses for Practice An institution can provide expenses for practice provided: Associated with away-from-home contests or within institution's state or within 100 miles from the institution's campus if out of the state. Bylaw 16.8.1.1. Ask the following: Is the activity occurring during the declared playing season? Where is the activity occurring? Are the participants eligible to practice?

Team Building "W" lacrosse team is planning a team bonding trip during spring break (which is during the team's playing and practice season) to a location 96 miles from campus. The two-day program will include team building programming and low ropes course. The coach is not planning any practice activities or competitions. Is this permissible and can the institution pay for the trip? A coach wants to take their team off campus for some team building: maybe a ropes course, hiking a mountain or some other activities So what do you tell your coach? What questions do think you need to ask your coach. Is the activity occurring during the declared playing season? Practice must occur during the declared season Preseason After season concludes Where is the activity occurring? Within state where the institution is located 100 miles from institution if outside the state Are the participants eligible to practice? Are the student-athletes fulltime or meet an exception If yes to all this is OK

Expenses for Competition An institution can provide expenses for competition provided: Actual and necessary expenses (transportation, lodging and meals) for eligible student-athletes to represent the institution in competition. Bylaw 16.8.1.2 Ask the following: Is this permissible competition? Are the participants eligible to compete? 16.8.1.2 Competition While Representing Institution. An institution may provide actual and necessary travel expenses (e.g., transportation, lodging and meals) for a student-athlete to represent the institution in competition, provided the student-athlete is eligible for intercollegiate competition. [D] (Revised: 1/10/92, 1/13/98, 1/8/01, 1/14/15) There are two fundamental questions: Is this a permissible contest – doesn’t have to be a countable contest. It must be a permissible contests. Those participating – SA – must be eligible to compete to receive expenses for the competition.

Permissible Expenses Is it permissible for a golf team to compete in an alumni contest while traveling and practicing over spring break and it be the only contest they have during the trip? Your team want to travel to Florida and play their alumni game. I guess you may get this question during spring break Can your institution pay for this trip? What are the questions you need to ask the coach Is there permissible competition? Does it occur during the traditional/nontraditional portion of the season? Yes It this a permissible contest? Are the participants eligible to compete? Are the participating student-athletes eligible to represent the institution in competition? Yes. This doesn’t have to be a countable contest, only a contest Since all yes, this is OK

Staying for an exam A student-athlete will miss the team bus to travel to a contest because of an exam. Is the institution permitted to reimburse the student-athlete for travel expenses (mileage) to travel to the away from home contest? What can the institution provide this student athlete? Is there permissible competition? Yes Are the student-athlete eligible to compete? Is this an actual and necessary expenses? Yes, travel to the contest is an actual and necessary expenses for the student-athlete to participate in the contest. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

ANSWER It is permissible for the institution to provide gas, gas money or reimburse as SA in order to travel to an away from home competition. Per Bylaw 16.8.1.2, an institution may provide actual and necessary travel expenses (e.g., transportation, lodging, meals) for a SA to represent the institution provided the SA is eligible. Since the travel expense would be a necessary expense for participation, the institution could provide them to the SA in this case. What can the institution provide – what is the institution’s policies

Meals and Supplements

Permissible Meals for Student-Athletes Bylaw 16.5.1 - Housing and Meals Exceptions. Bylaw 16.8.1.2 - Competition While Representing Institution. Bylaw 16.11.1.5 - Occasional Meals. Bylaw 16.11.1.11 - Reasonable Refreshments. Here are four areas where the legislation allows institutions to provide SA’s with meals that are not being provided to the student body generally. For our purposes today, we’ll specifically focus on the new exception in 16.5.1 Housing and Meals, and Bylaw 16.11.1.5 Occasional Meals. Please keep one important point in mind: if it doesn’t fit into one of these categories, it’s not permissible to provide to SA’s as a benefit incidental to participation.

What about Snacks??? I know what you’re thinking…what about snacks?

Snacks = food May not be provided as a benefit incidental to participation in intercollegiate athletics at any time throughout the academic year. May only be provided in conjunction with or as one of the permissible meals under Bylaw 16. You have to think of snacks as food, and by extension food as meals. Division III does not currently have legislation that permits institutions to provide snacks as a benefit incidental to participation in intercollegiate athletics. As a result, the only way for your institution to provide a snack to your student athletes is if it’s provided as or as part of a permissible meal.

New Legislation Bylaw 16.5.1 (Exceptions) - NC Proposal No. 2019-9. (e) Meals Missed Due to Practice Activities. An institution may provide a student-athlete with a meal when one is missed due to practice activities. The meal must be one that a student-athlete has previously paid for through board allowance and an institution must certify that institutional dining facilities are unavailable. Noncontroversial Legislation Proposal No. 2019-9 passed at the 2019 Convention, creating a new exception to Bylaw 16.5.1 Housing and Meals. Previously Bylaw 16.5.1. permitted four exceptions: Preseason Practice Expenses Vacation-period Expenses Meals related to Institutional Committee Service Meals in Conjunction with Home Competition The newly adopted legislation [exception (e)] allows an institution greater flexibility to provide for the nutritional needs of its student-athletes. The exception allows an institution to replace a meal for a SA who has already purchased a meal through the institution. It must be a meal that the SA has previously paid for through board allowance AND the institution must certify that the dining facilities are unavailable. The exception is not about replacing the opportunity to eat itself, but the specific meal that has already been purchased and missed. Now let’s look at an example to see how this would work.

Missed Meal A team must practice off-site on Wednesdays. By the time the team returns to campus the dining halls have closed for dinner. Can the institution provide those SAs with dinner? Read slide aloud

ANSWER Permissible, provided: Missed due to engaging in practice activities; SAs have already paid for the meal; and Institution certifies that institutional dining facilities are unavailable. It would be permissible to provide the SA’s with dinner here provided the SA’s have already paid for the meal and the institution certifies that the dining facilities are unavailable. The SA’s missed the opportunity to eat due to their off-site practice, so this would fall within the new legislation. Therefore, provided the meal was already paid for and the dining facilities are unavailable, it’s ok for the institution to provide those SAs with a meal.

Bylaw 16.11.1.5 (Occasional Meals) A student-athlete or the entire team in a sport may receive an occasional meal from an institutional staff member or representative of the institution's athletics interests under the following conditions: The occasional meal may be provided at any location in the locale of the institution; Meals must be restricted to infrequent and special occasions; and Institutional staff members and representatives of the institution's athletics interests may provide transportation to student-athletes to attend such meals. Now let’s discuss occasional meals. A SA or entire team can receive an occasional meal from institutional staff or a representative of athletics interest provided the meal is: Within the locale of the institution AND Occurs only on infrequent or special occasions

Let's Eat! Question: Is it permissible for a coach to provide an occasional meal to their team outside the playing and practice season? So here’s our first example. Read slide

Answer Permissible, provided: Provided by an institutional staff member or representative of athletics interest It is within the locale of the institution It is an infrequent or special occasion Permissible Analysis: Is it being provided by an institutional staff member or representative of athletics interest? Is it within the locale of the institution? Is it an infrequent or special occasion? So long as the requirements of 16.11.1.5 are met, your institution can provide it. “Occasional” or “special” is within the institution’s discretion to define, but within a reasonable person standard. You have to think about when occasional would become regular and use your judgment to guard against that.

Official Visit Meal Question: Would an institution be permitted to provide a team with an occasional meal in conjunction with a prospective student-athlete's official visit? Here’s our next example: Read question aloud.

Answer Permissible An institution may provide a student-athlete or the entire team in a sport an occasional meal in conjunction with an official visit so long as the conditions of Bylaw 16.11.1.5 are met. Since the meal is intended to be held in conjunction with an official visit, the meal would have to meet the requirements of Bylaw 13.6.5.6.2 (Meal Location) as well. Permissible Must meet 16.11.1.5 Must also meet 13.6.5.6 The legislation would not preclude an institution from providing the team or an individual student-athlete with an occasional meal in conjunction with an official visit. Since the meal is intended to be held in conjunction with an official visit, the meal would have to meet the requirements of Bylaw 13.6.5.6.2 (Meal Location ) as well. However, provided the requirements of both bylaws are satisfied, the legislation would not preclude an institution from providing the team or an individual student-athlete with an occasional meal in conjunction with an official visit. 

Meals Provided by a Company Can a company provide a meal to a team traveling to a competition? Next question: Read question aloud.

Answer Permissible Bylaw 16.11.1.5.1 A representative of the institution's athletics interests may pay for or provide a meal to a student-athlete or team outside of the locale of the institution as long as the meal is in conjunction with, or en route to or from, an away-from-home contest. Permissible It is permissible for a company to provide a meal to a team traveling to a competition. Per Bylaws 16.8.1.2.6 and 16.11.1.5.1, a representative of athletics interest may pay for or provide a meal to a team outside the locale of the institution as long as the meal is in conjunction with, or en route to or from, an away-from-home contest. The donation of the meal would render the company a representative of athletics interest per Bylaw 13.02.9. 

Nutritional Supplements Can provide electrolyte/fluid replacements (e.g., Gatorade, Powerade) to student-athletes (Official Interpretation: 12/11/1998). Can be provided as a permissible meal under Bylaw 16. Cannot finance as medical expense incidental to participation (Bylaw 16.4). Now lets look at nutritional supplements (Read slide aloud). Donations of nutritional supplements are not an end-around the legislation. Even if the nutritional supplements are donated to your institution, since institutions are not permitted to provide such snacks and supplements to its student-athletes, by extension, donations of the nutritional supplements would not be permissible. 

Protein Bars as a Medical Expense Would protein bars (Gatorade Bar, Power Bar, Cliff Bar), not dietary supplements, be permissible for the institution to purchase for student-athletes at any time under permissible medical expenses? Read the slide.

PROTEIN BARS AS A MEDICAL EXPENSE Impermissible. Protein bars = nutritional supplement Financing nutritional supplements prohibited under Bylaw 16.4 Impermissible It is not permissible to provide protein bars (Gatorade, Cliff or Power) as medical expenses under Bylaw 16.4 (Medical Expenses). Per Bylaw 16.4, it is not permissible for an institution to finance nutritional supplements as medical expenses to benefit a student-athlete's participation in intercollegiate athletics. The NCAA staff has determined protein supplements to be nutritional supplements. Therefore, the institution may not provide a student-athlete with protein supplements, such as Gatorade protein bars as a medical expense. That said, it remains permissible for the institution to provide the standard Gatorade drink to student-athletes per the December 11, 1998 Official Interpretation (Nonpermissible Medical Expenses -- Dietary Supplements). If you want to provide protein bars as one of the permissible meals under Bylaw 16, then you can.

Post-Workout Protein Shakes/Bars Can our strength & conditioning coach provide protein shakes/bars for our student-athletes post workout? If not, would it be permissible to have these items available for purchase in our athlete-only weight room? Here’s our final question. Read slide aloud

POST-WORKOUT PROTEIN SHAKES/BARS Impermissible.   Institution may not provide meals/snacks unless permitted in Bylaw 16 Nutritional supplements cannot be financed as a medical expense Impermissible to have protein shakes/bars available for purchase in the athlete-only weight room unless: Similar products are generally available on campus to the institution's students or to a particular segment of the student body at a similar cost. Otherwise, it would be an extra benefit.  It would be impermissible for your S&C coach to provide protein shakes/bars to your SAs after a workout. Per Bylaw 16.4., an institution may not finance nutritional supplements as medical-expense benefits incidental to a SA's participation in intercollegiate athletics. Furthermore, an institution may not provide any snack or meal to a SA unless expressly allowed per Bylaw 16. Therefore, a SA may not receive protein products before/during or after regular training/practice.   Additionally, it would not be permissible to have protein shakes/bars available for purchase in the athlete-only weight room unless it can be demonstrated that similar products are generally available on campus to the institution's students or to a particular segment of the student body at a similar cost. Otherwise, it would be an extra benefit per Bylaw 16.02.3. 

It's Not What…It's When! Can only be provided in conjunction with: Housing and Meals Exceptions (Bylaw 16.5.1). Occasional Meals (Bylaw 16.11.1.5). Away from home competition (Bylaw 16.1.8.2). Reasonable Refreshments (Bylaw 16.11.1.11). Important thing to remember with regard to meals: Timing matters! Meals can only be permitted as permitted in Bylaw 16.5.1, 16.11.1.5, 16.1.8.2, and 16.11.11. Otherwise, it’s impermissible!

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