WELCOME to the Spring 2007 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 serve as a quick and convenient reference. In this issue, we cover the spring of the 2007 season (March, April, May, June). In order to eliminate repetition, previous issues of Compliance Corner can be found on our website wbca.org under DI Legislation. If new legislation affects time periods we will note those legislative changes, otherwise we will focus on hot topics and keeping you abreast of the current legislative actions. 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

Call to ACTION! This is my second call to action during my WBCA presidency and following the results of the first one; the bar is set pretty high. I would like to again thank the entire Division I membership and especially the DI Conference Captains and WBCA Board of Director’s who served on the Foresight Committee in the Fall and got the ball rolling on “unifying the voice” of our membership when pursuing legislative change. Now it is time for the next phase, which is to discuss the membership concerns that were submitted following your conference calls, vote on the proposed changes and submit those proposals that receive majority support to the Women’s Basketball Issues Committee.

This Compliance Corner has been dedicated to the issues that were submitted to the members of the Foresight Committee so that the entire Division I membership has the opportunity to consider the current state of the rule, the proposed changes to the rule and the pro’s and con’s to supporting the proposed change. During the Division I Business Meeting on Monday, April 2 in Cleveland, Ohio the membership will have the opportunity to openly debate these issues before taking a vote that afternoon. Each institution will have one vote per issue and only those institutions represented by the head coach will be allowed to vote, unless the voting right has been transferred to a staff member in writing.

Please review the issues, discuss them prior to arriving in Cleveland and let your voice be heard on Monday, April 2 at the DI Business Meeting. Phase #3 will be that we commit 100% to support the majority vote of the WBCA membership and beginning April 3 we stand as a unified voice.

Division I Comment Period and Override Period Expire Friday, March 9

• Legislative proposals forwarded into the 60-day comment period by the NCAA Division I Management Council at its January 7 meeting are currently being reviewed by the NCAA membership and comments are due back to the NCAA by Friday, March 9. The Management Council will review these comments during its April meeting, prior to voting on the remaining proposals. Any proposals supported by the Management Council at its April meeting will be forwarded to the NCAA Division I Board of Directors for possible adoption on April 26.

• Changes in NCAA Division I legislation that were adopted by the Board of Directors during its January 9 meeting are also now being reviewed by the membership to provide an opportunity to initiate an override of the action. At Least 30 institutions must call for an override vote for the Board to review its action.

• For a list of all 2006-2007 women’s basketball related proposals and their current status please go to wbca.org Legislation/DI.

Q: May we attend a state high school all-star game during the evaluation period this spring?
A: Bylaw 13.8.8 allows evaluations during the academic year to occur at regularly scheduled high
school, preparatory school and two-year college contests/tournaments, practices, pick-up games and
open gyms. Evaluations at nonscholastic events shall only occur during the last full weekend of the fall contact period and the weekend of the spring evaluation period. All-star events are not considered “regularly scheduled games” therefore unless the all-star event was held during the last weekend of the spring evaluation period, your attendance would not be permissible. .

Q: May we still call psa’s in their junior year of high school beginning April 1, 2007?
A: No. The one permissible telephone call in April of a prospective student-athlete’s junior year in high school may not be made until the Thursday after the conclusion of the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

Q: May we evaluate at nonscholastic events during the weekend of the spring evaluation period on Friday this year?
A. No. Proposal No. 2006-30, if adopted, would extend the “weekend” to include Friday as a day that evaluations may occur at nonscholastic events, however, the NCAA Division I Management Council and Board of Director’s will not vote onthis proposal until AFTER the April 2007 nonscholastic weekend evaluations.

WBCA Foresight Committee

Legislative Issues Brought Forward by Conferences 8/06-10/06

Issue #1 Rules Governing Signed PSA’s

Currently NCAA Bylaw 13.02.11 states an individual remains a prospective student-athlete (PSA) until (c) the individual officially registers and enrolls and attends classes during the summer prior to initial enrollment and receives institutional aid.

Application: An individual who is no longer considered a PSA per Bylaw 13.02.11 (c) shall not be subject to the contact limitations in Bylaw 13 and shall be considered a student-athlete for purposes of Bylaw 16. The individual would still be considered a PSA for purposes of applying the remaining provisions of Bylaw 13 and other bylaws.

Conference Recommends once a PSA graduates from high school and signs NLI they be considered a current student-athlete:
a. For purpose of communication during the evaluation periods in July.
b. Allowed to work summer camps.
c. Regardless of summer school enrollment.
d. If the PSA has received final certification and is a qualifier.

Pros:
1. If a PSA has signed a NLI, then we should be able to communicate with them anytime including July since this is a crucial time for arrangements if they are not on campus yet. (Bylaw 13.1.6.8.1-(b) allows communication for pre-enrollment activities). There should be an exception for PSA’s who have graduated and not participating in summer events.
2. If they are on campus, they are already playing basketball and working out with their teammates. They then become the one left behind while their teammates stay in the dorms and eat with the campers. It becomes as much a supervision issue and on their own 2-3 weeks right after arriving on campus.
3. Advantages of current rules should not only benefit those who have the luxury and finances to offer summer aid to their incoming class.

Cons:
1. Allowing communication in July to PSA’s who have signed NLI can lead to recruiting advantages. Example: A coach can now communicate to their players who are hanging out at summer events with unsigned PSA’s. This also goes against the intent of legislation established to eliminate all July responsibilities for coaches except focusing on evaluating. Balance issue.
2. The changes in Bylaw 13.02.11 have been with the intention of giving PSA’s the opportunity to get accustomed to college life and a head start with academics. Not to gain athletic advancement, working summer camps would enhance this.

Issue #2 Current Student Athletes

Currently there are no rules that preclude student-athletes from being present at events or hotels where PSA’s are participating or present, and there are no rules that preclude them from simply talking to prospects. However, if the student-athlete were directed by a coaching staff member to seek out the prospects and engage in conversation with them, that is a violation of rules. Student-athletes are not permitted to engage in recruiting activities beyond an official visit or accepting telephone calls from a PSA. Bylaw 13.02.5.1 describes permissible recruitment activities for enrolled student-athletes.

Conference Recommends current student-athletes follow the same rules as coaches regarding contact with prospects and attending non-scholastic events, to disallow them to become recruiters.

Pros:
1. This eliminates a recruiting advantage gained by schools in the vicinity of events where student-athletes attend and engage with PSA’s.
2. This eliminates the potential of a student-athlete violating a NCAA rule.

Cons:
1. There are already NCAA rules that restrict student-athletes from engaging in recruiting activities of PSA’s. If there are violations, then they must be reported to be enforced.
2. Rules restricting student-athletes activities are very difficult to get adopted. In most cases there must be documentation that recruiting advantages have occurred due to the action of student-athletes. The only way a student-athlete violates a rule now is if it was at the direction of a coach. There is a greater chance of them violating a rule if the SA is subject to the same rules as coaches.

Issue #3 Text Messaging

Currently all electronically transmitted correspondence is not considered telephone calls; therefore, they are not restricted or regulated when it comes to number of occurrences. However there are calendar and location restrictions such as Bylaw 13.1.7.2.2 which prohibits all communication during July evaluation periods and NCAA Official Interpretation dated September 15, 2006 which states, “coaching staff members MAY NOT send electronic correspondence to a prospect while she is on call for competition at the site of the competition.”
Proposal No. 2006-40, which was in the 60-day comment period and will be voted on at the April Management Council meeting, would specify that electronically transmitted correspondence that may be sent to a PSA be limited to electronic mail and facsimiles.
The April vote will give us an idea of how the membership feels about this issue.

Conference Recommends:
a. There be no further restrictions that must be tracked or counted.
b. Eliminate text messaging on Sunday.
c. Eliminate text messaging from 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Pros:
1. Electronic communication is almost impossible to track anyway so why restrict? How do you decipher what is a text message versus an email versus other forms of communication with the bundling of services by service providers?
2. Eliminating Sundays gives everyone a break and supports the “balance” philosophy.
3. Elimination during the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. protects the majority of prospects academic studies and allows college coaches to focus on current student-athlete activities.

Cons:
1. Electronic communication has become overwhelmingly intrusive and needs to be restricted to establish a balance for PSA’s and coaches.
2. Sunday is a day that most PSA’s can be reached and does not interfere with academics or other activities. Texting them after a visit on Sunday is commonplace.
3. Trying to restrict hours of communication could lead to unintentional consequences such as restricting times during holidays and summer breaks. There will be issues with time zones. This is too confusing.

Issue #4 Countable Coaches on the Road

Currently women’s basketball may have four head or assistant coaches employed by the institution and a limit of three who may contact or evaluate PSA’s off campus at any one time. However, Bylaw 11.7.4.3, which effectively eliminated the baton rule, gives much greater flexibility in travel and coverage.

Conference Recommends the four coaches be permitted to recruit off-campus at non-scholastic event weekends during the academic year. (Fall and Spring)

Pros:
1. Due to the new recruiting calendar, which limits non-scholastic events to these two weekends, it is necessary to have four coaches out at one time to properly evaluate and cover all of the events being conducted at one time. There is still a Director of Ops on campus.

Cons:
1. Having the entire staff out during these time periods also means there are no head or assistant coaches on campus available to current student-athletes. The NCAA Recruiting Subcommittee just reviewed all the sports and this issue. The membership tends to think that there needs to be one coach supervising on campus.
2. The only sports that have the maximum number of head and assistant coaches off campus at the same time are sports in which the maximum allowable to be employed is two and, even then, that is not true for all sports that only allow two.

Issue #5 Phone Calls From PSA’s

Currently Bylaw 13.1.3.2.2 allows institutional staff members to receive phone calls from a PSA at PSA’s own expense, any time, including before July 1 following the PSA’s junior year in high school. Bylaw 13.1.3.6 allows collect or toll-free phone calls provided the calls are not earlier than July 1 following the completion of the PSA’s junior year in high school.

Conference Recommends PSA’s and/or legal guardians can begin toll-free and/or collect calls beginning April 1 of junior year to mirror the timeframe coaches are allowed to start calling PSA’s.

Pros:
1. Once communication is permitted, why restrict PSA from communicating with coaches, if they initiate the calls? This allows PSA’s more access if desired to get to know the coaches during the recruiting process, especially since PSA’s are being asked to make decisions earlier in the recruiting process. Allowing those PSA’s who can afford to make long distance calls at their own expense is unfair to PSA’s from lower income homes that cannot afford that expense.

Cons:
1. The current rules provide some protection to the PSA’s from the intrusion of the recruiting process. If toll-free or collect calls were allowed earlier, coaches could instruct or imply times that they would be available to speak if the PSA’s choose to call them. This can be intimidating to the PSA’s if they believe by not calling they may not be considered serious in xyz institution. These rules protect PSA’s and do not allow institutions that have toll-free lines an early recruiting advantage

Issue # 6 In-Home Visit Video/Audio Materials

Currently Bylaw 13.4.2 states an institution may not produce a/v materials to show or send to a PSA except a highlight film, video or audio tape with numerous restrictions (13.4.2.1), a/v available to all students (13.4.2.2) and a/v used in athletics hall of fames or museums (13.4.2.3).
Proposal No. 2006-43, which was adopted during the January 2007 DI Legislative Meetings and is in the 60-day Override Period which expires on Friday, March 9, would expand this Bylaw.
Proposal No. 2006-43, would permit an institution to produce a computer recruiting presentation to show a PSA during an in-home visit or an official or unofficial visit. Such a presentation may not include an a/v component (except those listed in Bylaw 13.4.2.1) and may not be personalized to include PSA’s name, picture or likeness. Such presentation may NOT be created by an entity outside the institution.

Conference Recommends to reduce restrictions on what can be shown a prospect during in-home visits. Proposal No. 2006-43 is a step in that direction.

Issue #7 Women’s Basketball Recruiting Calendar

Currently the 2006 WBB Fall Contact period was September 16 through October 6, and the date to begin skill instruction, conditioning and weight-training was from the institution’s first day of classes of the academic year or September 15, whichever occurs earlier. Also, the first permissible contest date in 2006 was Friday, November 10 (second Friday of November) and the NLI early signing period began on November 8. If an institution had an away game on Friday, the coaching staff may not be on campus to receive signed NLI’s.

Conference Recommends to move the permissible skill-instruction date earlier so schools will have time to begin workouts prior to leaving for in-home visits. Recommendation was to move skill instruction to September 1. OR is the purpose of moving the date to allow more than 4 student-athletes to participate earlier? There was no recommendation concerning the NLI dates or first contest dates.

Pros:
1. By moving the dates slightly, conflicts with the women’s basketball recruiting calendar can be avoided. This also makes the head coach more available to the student-athlete for individual instruction and quality time (esp. for freshman) in teaching situation. Quarter schools have additional time on the backend of the school year.

Cons:
1. An earlier skill-instruction date puts quarter schools at a disadvantage. Moving the first-permissible contest date to the second Friday in November was done for convenience and consistency, whether coaches choose to schedule competition on that date is their decision. This also could lead to increased costs for quarter schools to bring their SA’s in prior to the academic year for skill instruction. Budget implications greatly impact support for legislation.
2. This would be a battle since this legislation just changed. The Legislative Review Subcommittee made a statement that they have no desire to change legislation that has been in place for less than 2 years. Further a proposal to change date was just defeated and sport specific legislation in this area is not encouraged.

Issue #8 Out of Season Skill Instruction

Currently Bylaw 17.1.5.2 allows a student-athlete to participate in out-of-season activities a maximum of eight hours per week with not more than two hours per week spent on individual skill workouts. In addition, Bylaw 17.1.5.2.2 states only four student-athletes are permitted prior to September 15 and after April 15 at any one time in any facility.

Conference Recommends:
a. Eliminate restrictions on group activities during two hours.
b. Return to four hours of allowable skill instruction.
c. Increase out of season countable hours from eight to ten.

Pros:
1. Maximizes the benefits of the two hours and allows the coaches flexibility.
2. Four hours allowed teams to be better prepared for the season.
3. This gives sufficient time for conditioning and skill development. It also allows more time to prepare for the earlier start of the playing season.

Cons:
1. Student-athletes need the opportunity for intense instruction that the four-player limit provides.
2. The two hours is consistent for all sports and there are no extraordinary circumstances that justify women’s basketball being an exception to the rule.
3. Time demands of student-athletes need to be considered and academics should be the priority outside of the playing season.

Issue #9 First Practice Date

Currently women’s basketball can begin on court practice the Friday nearest October 15 at 7 p.m.

Conference Recommends:
a. The first practice begins earlier than 7 p.m. to address issues of sharing facility space with the men’s basketball team and/or volleyball.
b. The first practice date should be earlier to adjust to the new first contest date.

Pros:
1. With a noon start time there would be ample time for all sports to use facility.
2. If the first practice date is moved earlier, it will allow the same time for preparation that existed previously.

Cons:
1. The start time was just adjusted from midnight to 7 p.m. to allow more flexibility and for the safety of student-athletes. Next someone will recommend 10 a.m.
2. Again, the first permissible date was for convenience and consistency, scheduling to play earlier is at the coaches’ discretion. Everyone is playing by the same rules so it’s not an advantage for anyone.

Issue #10 Foreign Tours

Currently Bylaw 30.7.2.1 allows incoming student-athletes to participate in a foreign tour that begins after the permissible starting practice date or after the first day of classes.

Conference Recommends:
a. Allow incoming student-athletes to participate in foreign tours.
b. Allow institutions to participate once every three years versus once every four years as currently permitted. (NCAA Manual Figure17-31)

Pros:
1. One of the outstanding benefits of foreign tours is the team bonding. Incoming student-athletes would benefit the most from this experience.
2. This would allow every class the opportunity to participate in a foreign tour.

Cons:
1. Incoming student-athletes need this time to adjust to college life and academics. There could also be eligibility issues if there are non-qualifiers who do not get admitted to school after going on a tour, or some brought on tour knowing they are not going to get admitted. In addition, similar legislation was just defeated.
2. This would be a recruiting advantage for those institutions that can afford to go every three years and some student-athletes could participate in two foreign tours.

Issue #11 Coaches Working Camps

Currently Bylaw 13.12.2.3.2 states that in basketball, coaches may be employed only at their own camps/clinics, and they are limited to the months of June, July and August. It is not permissible to be employed at other institutional camps or clinics or at noninstitutional privately owned camps or clinics.

Conference Recommends to eliminate restrictions on coaches working institutional camps other than their own and/or non-institutional camps.

Pros:
1. This helps coaches to hire professional staff for their camps and allows coaches the freedom to choose where they wish to work camps and/or clinics.

Cons:
1. This rule eliminates recruiting advantages gained by working non-institutional camps and provides guidelines for coaching staffs to focus on their own camp programs and July recruiting during this timeframe. It is not freedom to choose if other coaches are working so you feel like you must work. Also camp operators can influence your decision to work if they have a PSA you are recruiting.
2. These restrictions were imposed at the urging of the WBCA membership and there were many legal implications involved in the wording. It has eliminated many recruiting advantages and also allowed coaches more balance in their lives.

September 16, 2006 through April 17, 2007: Evaluation Period.
A “Quiet Period” is defined as: those days from September 16, 2006 through April 17, 2007 not designated for evaluation purposes.

March 1-29, 2007: Contact Period

March 30 through April 12, 2007: Dead Period Except: 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 DI WBB Championship and April 6-8, 2007 is a Quiet Period.

NOTE: Evaluations permitted at nonscholastic women’s basketball events April 14-15, 2007. (NOT April 13, 2007)

April 18 through July 5, 2007: Quiet Period

2007 National Testing Dates (www.collegeboard.com)

SAT
March 10, 2007 (U.S. test date only)
May 5, 2007
June 2, 2007

ACT
April 14, 2007
June 9, 2007