WELCOME to the Spring 2006 Compliance Corner!

Welcome to Compliance Corner - the official WBCA publication for Division I legislation! In collaboration with the NCAA, this publication will be distributed on a quarterly basis and will contain NCAA Division I legislative news and notes affecting women's basketball, recruiting basics, questions from our coaches, Q & A, and other legislative information you need to know. The primary purpose of this publication is to help our coaches navigate the complexity of NCAA bylaws and legislation and serves as a quick and convenient reference. Feel free to offer any suggestions or feedback to make this tool more useful. However, we encourage you to contact your compliance officers on campus with any questions.

Thank you,
WBCA

Conference Captain Request
• On March 1, the WBCA Division I Conference Captains will be asked to contact all of the institutions in their conference to request a breakdown of contacts and evaluations as of February 28, 2006. Many of you responded to this request following the Fall Contact period and we greatly appreciate your participation. Please take a moment on Wednesday, March 1 to have one member on your staff send that breakdown to the WBCA, attention shannonr@wbca.org or fax 770-279-8473. We will accept the information in any format as long as we can determine how many recruiting person-days were used prior to October 6, 2005, and how many have been used from October 7 through February 28, 2006.

Student-Athlete Well-Being Subcommittee Seeks Feedback
• The Student-Athlete Well-Being Subcommittee of the Presidential Task Force on the Future of Division I Intercollegiate Athletics is seeking membership feedback and comment on a number of issues within its purview. The subcommittee, chaired by Ohio State University President Karen Holbrook, has completed white papers on many topics that affect student-athlete well-being, and members are at the point at which commentary would help them finalize their work.
• To facilitate that effort, the subcommittee has created a Web page (see www.ncaa.org) that includes the white papers themselves and a mechanism for membership feedback. The white papers include a summary statement of the issue, historical background, current legislation and points of consideration. Readers may click on the white paper link to review the paper itself. Comments, thoughts or ideas may be submitted by clicking on the feedback link at the end of the white paper.
• Among topics the subcommittee has addressed are freshman ineligibility, multiyear scholarships, the one-time transfer exception, the 20/8-hour rule and a fifth year of eligibility. An executive summary of the comments will be presented at the spring subcommittee meeting and will be posted on the NCAA Web site in late April.
• The subcommittee is one of four that comprise the Presidential Task Force on the Future of Division I Intercollegiate Athletics, a collection of about 50 presidents and chancellors charged with ensuring academic and athletics autonomy under the educational mission of colleges and universities. The other subcommittees are addressing fiscal responsibility, relationships with external constituencies, and implications of academic values and standards.

Division I Comment/Amendment Period Expires Saturday, March 11
• The NCAA membership services staff has mailed Division I athletics directors and conference commissioners a memo detailing 27 legislative proposals forwarded into the 60-day comment/amendment period by the NCAA Division I Management Council at its January 8 meeting.
• In addition, the Management Council approved 13 amendments-to-amendments that were first introduced during the meeting. Those amendments do not appear as separate proposals, but rather are reflected in the text of the base proposal. The following proposals were amended: Proposal Nos. 2005-64-B, 2005-54, 2005-56, 2005-57, 2005-71, 2005-73, 2005-81, 2005-83, 2005-84, 2005-91-B, 2005-106, 2005-131-B and 2005-131-C.
• Under NCAA Constitution 5.3.2.4.2, the proposals are published for the information of the NCAA membership to encourage review and solicit comment. To be considered by the Management Council in its subsequent review of this legislation, comments must be received within 60 days of adjournment of the NCAA Division I Board of Directors' meeting (by 5 p.m. Eastern time Saturday, March 11). Comments received after the legislated 60-day comment/amendment period has expired will not be forwarded to the Council for review. Please contact your compliance officer if you have questions about the legislation.

WBCA to comment on 2005-131-B and 2005-131-C
• The WBCA is seeking feedback from the DI Conference Captains in reference to Proposal Nos. 2005-131-B and 2005-131-C that pertain to the Playing and Practice Season - Out of Season Activities - Hours of Skill Instruction, Number of Participants and Exam Period Limitation - Sports other than Football. The intent of both proposals states:
In all sports, to specify that all athletically related activities outside the playing season are prohibited one week prior to the beginning of the final examination period through the conclusion of each student-athlete's final exams; further, to specify that more than four student-athletes from the same team may be involved in skill-related instruction with their coaches from September 15 through April 15 and that no more than four student-athletes from the same team may be involved in skill-related instruction with their coaches at any one time in any facility during the remainder of the academic year.

The difference being that 2005-131-B then adds:
In women's basketball, to specify that not more than two hours per week may be spent on skill-related instruction outside the playing season.

Proposal No. 2005-131-C would maintain the four hours of skill-related instruction for women's basketball.

At this time it appears the NCAA committees are supporting reducing the women's basketball permissible number of hours devoted to skill instruction from four to two and make all sports consistent.

RECRUITING ISSUES
Q: Am I allowed to work a camp or clinic like Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)?
A: Yes, an institution's athletics department personnel may serve in any capacity at a noninstitutional camp or clinic as long as it is conducted under the following conditions: (a) The camp or clinic is designed to develop fundamental skills in a sport (rather than refine the abilities of skilled participants in the sport); (b) The camp or clinic is open to the general public (except for restrictions in age or number of participants); (c) The camp or clinic is conducted primarily for educational purposes and does not include material benefits for the participants (e.g., awards, prizes, merchandise, gifts); (d) Participants do not receive a recruiting presentation; and (e) All participants reside in the state in which the camp/clinic is located or within 100 miles of the camp/clinic. (Bylaw 13.12.2, Exception 13.12.2.3.4)

Q: Am I allowed to coach at an international camp or clinic?
A: Yes. It is permissible to work international camps/clinics as long as they also comply with the rules outlined in the exception above (13.12.2.3.4). If the camp/clinic does NOT meet this exception, Bylaw 13.12.2.3.2 would apply, as it reads: In basketball, an institution's basketball coach and noncoaching staff members with responsibilities specific to basketball may be employed only at their own camps/clinics. Participation in such camps or clinics is limited to the months of June, July and August or any calendar week (Sunday through Saturday) that includes days of those months, unless such activities meet the provisions regarding developmental clinics set forth in Bylaw 13.11.3.1.

Q: What should I do if I committed and signed a contract to work a camp or clinic a long time ago that does not fall within the limits of the exception to Bylaw 13.12.2.
A: Contracts signed prior to July 20, 2004, may be honored, provided the camp or clinic is operated in accordance with restrictions applicable to institutional camps (e.g., open to any and all entrants, no free or reduced admissions to or employment of athletics award winners).

Q: What are the in-person recruiting regulations relating to a parent if the parent is also on the coaching staff of a prospective student-athlete's AAU team?
A: The contact does not count against the five allowable contacts if, and only if, the parent or legal guardian is also the prospective student-athlete's scholastic head coach. An institution may contact a parent/legal guardian of a prospect, who serves on the coaching staff of her nonscholastic team and who also serves as the head coach of his or her daughter's scholastic team. (Bylaw 13.1.3.1.3)

Q: What about telephone calls to the prospect or her parent if the parent is coaching her AAU team?
A: In women's basketball, one telephone call to a prospect [or the prospect's relatives or legal guardian(s)] may be made during each of the months of April and May of the prospect's junior year in high school. One call may be made on or after June 1 through June 20 and one call may be made be made on or after June 21 through June 30 of the prospect's junior year in high school. In addition, only three telephone calls to a prospect [or the prospect's parents or legal guardian(s)] may be made during the month of July following the prospect's junior year in high school, with no more than one telephone call per week; thereafter, staff members shall not make such telephone calls more than once per week. An institution may not have any additional communication with a parent or legal guardian of a prospective student-athlete who serves on the staff of his or her daughter's nonscholastic team unless the parent or legal guardian also serves as a head coach of his or her daughter's scholastic team and the additional communication is unrelated to recruitment of his or her daughter. (Bylaw 13.1.3.1.3)

Q: May I have on or off campus contact with a prospective student-athlete after she has signed with our institution?
A: Yes, as long as the contact does not occur during a dead period. Subsequent to the calendar day on which the prospect signs the National Letter of Intent (NLI), there shall be no limit on the number of contacts by the institution with which the prospect has signed. For an institution not utilizing the NLI in women's basketball or for those prospective student-athlete's not eligible to sign the NLI (e.g., four-year college transfer), there shall be no limit on the number of contacts with the prospect by that institution subsequent to the calendar day of the prospect's signed acceptance of the institution's written offer of admission and/or financial aid. (Bylaw 13.1.6.8.1)

Q: Does the exception for contacts with prospects subsequent to signing extend to boosters?
A: No. No on- or off-campus contact (including correspondence and telephone calls) may be made by a representative of the institution's athletics interests except those involving permissible preenrollment activities (e.g., discussion of summer employment arrangements). (Bylaw 13.1.6.8.1)

Q: Is contact with a prospect we have already signed allowed during a dead period?
A: No. This is a condition of the previous rule that still applies. Therefore the rules governing a dead period apply. No in-person, on- or off-campus contact may be made during a dead period. (Bylaw 13.1.6.8.1)

Q: What are the dates of the spring 2006 dead period?
A: March 31 through April 13, 2006. Except for an "evaluation period" defined as the occurrence of one women's basketball event certified by the NCAA (Bylaw 30.18) held in conjunction with, and conducted in the host city of, the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship and the "quiet period" April 7-9, 2006.

Q: May I watch a prospect compete after she has signed with our institution?
A: Yes, but if you choose to visit a signed prospect during competition, contact may not be made with a prospect prior to any athletics competition in which the prospect is a participant during the day or days of competition, even if the prospect is on an official or unofficial visit. Contact includes the passing of notes to a prospect by a third party on behalf of an institutional staff member. Such contact shall be governed by the following: (a) Contact shall not be made with the prospect at any site prior to the contest on the day or days of competition; (b) Contact shall not be made with the prospect from the time the prospect reports on call (at the direction of the prospect's coach or comparable authority) and becomes involved in competition-related activity (e.g., traveling to an away-from-home game) to the end of the competition even if such competition-related activities are initiated prior to the day or days of competition; (c) Contact shall not be made after the competition until the prospect is released by the appropriate institutional authority and departs the dressing and meeting facility; (d) Contact shall not be made with the prospect involved in competition that requires more than one day of participation (e.g., a basketball tournament) until after the prospect's final contest is completed and he or she is released by the appropriate institutional authority and leaves the dressing and meeting facility. It is also not permissible to verbally relay information to a prospect through her coach while she is participating in a competition-related activity. (Bylaw 13.1.7.2)

Q: Am I permitted to call the signed prospect on the day of competition?
A: Yes, but only after the conclusion of the competition and other conditions in the legislation have been met. See (c) and (d) in the above answer. (Bylaw 13.1.7.2)

Q: May I make a call to a prospective student-athlete during March of her junior year?
A: No. The legislation prohibits telephone calls to prospective student-athletes in March of their junior year. The rationale is to decrease intrusion into the lives of prospective student-athletes who will be competing in their state high-school tournaments, which generally occur at this time. In an effort to promote competitive equity, it also allows those institutions participating in the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship to focus on their tournament games and not on the recruitment of prospects. (Bylaw 13.1.3.1.3)

Q: Am I allowed to schedule a prospect's official or unofficial visit for the weekend before the 2006 spring signing period?
A: Yes. The period of Friday, Saturday and Sunday (April 7-9, 2006) immediately prior to the initial date for the spring signing of the National Letter of Intent has been changed from a dead period to a quiet period. A quiet period is defined as that period of time when it is permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts only on the member institution's campus. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts or evaluations may be made during the quiet period (Bylaw 13.02.4.3). Previous legislation resulted in the inadvertent result of precluding prospective student-athletes from visiting campuses during this time. By classifying this time as a quiet period, prospective student-athletes will have discretion to visit campuses if they chose. (Bylaw 30.11.2)

EVENT CERTIFICATION
Q: Will the NCAA Website list all of the events I am allowed to attend this spring?
A: No. The NCAA only certifies nonscholastic events. Evaluations at nonscholastic events during the women's basketball prospective student-athlete's academic year may only occur during the last full weekend of the fall contact period and the weekend of the spring evaluation period. Therefore, only non-scholastic events held on the weekend of April 15-16 will be listed on the NCAA Website for this spring.

Q. What defines the weekend?
A. Saturday at 12:01 a.m. through Sunday at 12 p.m. (midnight).

Q. Can the games start at midnight?
A. Yes. Currently there are no rules that protect the participants from having to play games through the night. The WBCA Board of Director's has established a Subcommittee on NCAA Event Certification and they have put forth three concepts for consideration. One proposal requests a timeframe for athletic activities of 8 a.m.-10 p.m.

Q: What other events am I allowed to attend in the spring?
A: Bylaw 13.12.3-(b) specifically allows coaches during prescribed evaluation periods to attend "noninstitutional, nonorganized" events (e.g., pick-up games). Bylaw 13.1.8.8-(b)-(1) also specifically allows for "regularly scheduled high-school, preparatory school or two-year college contests/tournaments, practices, pick-up games and open gyms." April 8-28 it is permissible to evaluate in all states (except Hawaii) that play spring high-school basketball.

Q: When can I attend those events in the spring?
A: Evaluations are allowed during the March 1-30 contact period. As well as one women's basketball event certified by the NCAA (Bylaw 30.19) held in conjunction with, and conducted in the host city of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship which occurs during the dead period that occurs from March 31-April 13. The "evaluation period" for April runs from April 14-18 but April 15-16 are the only days when it is permissible for DI coaches to evaluate at non-scholastic events which have been certified by the NCAA.

Q: How many evaluations are counted if I attend a consecutive-day tournament to evaluate a prospect?
A: One for each prospect participating regardless of the number of days a coach engages in evaluation activities at the tournament. [See exception to Bylaw 13.1.5.1.3 (13.1.5.1.3.1)]. Note, however, that if the event is conducted in a non-tournament format (e.g., jamboree round robin, showcase), each day constitutes a single separate evaluation for each participating prospect.

Q: How many recruiting-person days are counted if I attend a consecutive-day tournament to evaluate a prospect?
A: One recruiting-person day is counted for each day of the tournament you attend. According to the tournament exception to Bylaw 13.1.5.1.3 (13.1.5.1.3.1), any visit to a prospective student-athlete's educational institution on consecutive days to observe a tournament or tier of a tournament counts as one recruiting-person day for each day the coach attends the tournament.

NCAA AMATEURISM CERTIFICATION CLEARINGHOUSE
Q: What is the NCAA Amateurism Certification Clearinghouse?
A: The NCAA Amateurism Certification Clearinghouse will be the processing center for determining the amateurism eligibility of freshman and transfer student-athletes for participation at NCAA Divisions I and II institutions. The amateurism clearinghouse will certify all international and domestic student-athletes prior to initial participation in intercollegiate athletics at a Division I or II member institution.

Q: How will the NCAA Amateurism Certification Clearinghouse work?
A: Prospective student-athletes may register with the amateurism clearinghouse via the Internet at the beginning of their junior year in high school. In addition to general background information, each prospect will be asked to answer several questions regarding his or her sports participation history. Early registration with the Amateurism Certification Clearinghouse will allow institutions to have preliminary information regarding a prospect's amateurism status, which will promote consistency in the recruiting process. Those 2007 prospects who register in spring 2006 will be evaluated in a timely fashion and provided a "preliminary decision" of either: certified, certified with conditions, or not certified. Issuing a preliminary decision will help member institutions in making an informed decision in the recruiting process. Final certifications of amateur status will occur at the end of the prospective student-athlete's senior year of high school or approximately two to three months prior to initial full-time enrollment at an NCAA Division I or II institution.

Q: When do we start using the amateurism clearinghouse?
A: The tentative date for the amateurism clearinghouse to open and begin the data-collection process is mid-to-late spring 2006. The incoming class of 2007 will be the first class certified under the amateurism clearinghouse. Final amateurism certification decisions will begin in late spring 2007, prior to fall 2007 collegiate enrollment.

September 16, 2005, through April 18, 2006: Evaluation Period
Note: Women's basketball staff members shall not exceed 85 recruiting-person days. A recruiting person day is defined as one coach engaged in an off-campus recruiting activity of a women's basketball prospect on one day; two coaches engaged in recruiting activities on the same day shall use two recruiting days. Academic year evaluations are limited to scholastic events.

Those days from September 16, 2005, through April 18, 2006, not designated above for evaluation purposes: Quiet Period.

March 1-30, 2006: Contact Period.

March 31 through April 13, 2006: Dead Period.
Except: One women's basketball event certified by the NCAA (Bylaw 30.19) held in conjunction with, and conducted in the host city of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship: Evaluation Period.

April 7-9, 2006: Quiet Period.
April 14-18, 2006: Evaluation Period.
April 15-16, 2006: Evaluations permitted at non-scholastic women's basketball events.
April 19-July 5, 2006: Quiet Period.

2005-06 National Testing Dates
SAT
April 1, 2006
May 6, 2006
June 3, 2006
ACT
April 8, 2006
June 10, 2006

Women's Basketball Leaders to Chart Game's Future Course

NCAA President Myles Brand has charged key leaders in the sport of women's basketball to figure out how to manage the game's expanding horizon.

The Division I Women's Basketball Enhancement Discussion Group, which Brand chairs, will meet for the first time February 27-28 in Indianapolis to begin charting women's basketball's future course. The group has a good head start, since the game already is on solid ground. In the last three years alone, women's basketball has achieved new heights.

The discussion group has a wide-open charge, Brand said, and its composition is a deliberate cross section of stakeholders to include diverse perspectives. Of the 30 members, eight are head coaches: Geno Auriemma, University of Connecticut; Doug Bruno, DePaul University and WBCA President; Kristy Curry, Purdue University; Don Flanagan, University of New Mexico; Debbie Ryan, University of Virginia; Marsha Sharp, Texas Tech University, Pat Summitt, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; and Charli Turner Thorne, Arizona State University. Beth Bass, chief executive officer of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, also fortifies the coaches' voice.

Six members are athletics directors, including American University's Joni Comstock, current chair of the Division I Women's Basketball Committee. Four conference officials, including Big 12 Commissioner Kevin Weiberg, are members, as are four student-athletes, including last year's Wade Trophy winner Seimone Augustus from Louisiana State University. Representatives from ESPN, Fox Sports and College Sports Television also are on the roster. For a complete roster of the group, please visit www.wbca.org.

While the agenda has not been finalized, some of the more pressing issues the game has faced in recent years include managing an expanding and increasingly challenging nonscholastic environment, settling on a recruiting calendar everyone accepts, and marketing the game to a growing fan base.
Two initiatives have helped build momentum in that regard. Last year's legislative package developed by the WBCA realized success in the governance structure, as several proposals that increased coach access to student-athletes and brought what some people called "more sanity" to recruiting rules were adopted.

In addition, a recent branding campaign identified unique attributes upon which to anchor the game's growth. Those attributes distinguish women's basketball from any other sport, and the newly created enhancement group will use them as a solid foundation from which to build their future agenda. (From The NCAA News, Feb. 13, 2006)

Blanket Waivers
The NCAA Divisions I, II and III Management Council Administrative Review Subcommittees (ARS) may issue a blanket waiver in order to temporarily provide relief from NCAA legislation for specific extenuating circumstances that have a reasonably demonstrated widespread impact. Please note that the following summary of waivers is for a specific division, a specific time period and for a specific set of circumstances. If the waiver circumstances and the time period of the waiver apply, submission of a separate waiver application is not necessary. If an institution, conference or committee's circumstances do not meet the requirements of or are dissimilar to the blanket waiver, an ARS waiver application will need to be filed with the NCAA staff.

2005-06 and 2006-07 Academic Year Blanket Waiver
NCAA Bylaw 16.1.4.3 (special achievement awards). February 6, 2006. The NCAA Division I Management Council Administrative Review Subcommittee (ARS) has issued a blanket waiver to permit all NCAA Division I conference offices to be able to provide a trophy of an unlimited dollar value once a year to a male and a female student-athlete of the year for the 2005-06 and 2006-07 academic years. Per the guidelines approved by the Management Council at its October 2003 meeting, the subcommittee determined that by granting this waiver and allowing blanket relief for all Division I conferences there would be minimal to no competitive or recruiting advantage, all student-athletes would benefit from this waiver and due to the caliber of the award's nominees and the limitation of the actual award being a trophy (versus merchandise) it does seem that the limitation on the value of this type of trophy is more akin to that of a national award trophy, which has an unlimited value. Please note that the blanket waiver is only supportive of relief within these guidelines for the 2005-06 and 2006-07 academic years. This timeframe allows for the applicant conference to propose legislation and receive feedback from the membership. If the proposal is defeated or not forthcoming, ARS would discontinue granting requests within these circumstances.