Question of the Week: 2008-09
July 27, 2009
Q: Can a coaching staff member ask a current student-athlete to participate in a recruiting phone call to a prospective student-athlete?
A: No, student-athletes cannot participate in recruiting phone calls at the direction of the coaching staff.
June 12, 2009
Q: A team that includes prospective student-athletes will be travelling through the Waco area and would like to use the Baylor athletic facilities for practice.Can we allow a high school team or summer team that includes prospective student-athletes to use a Baylor athletic facility (ex. baseball field, soccer field, basketball court, football field, weight room, etc.) for free or at a discount?
A: The use of any Baylor athletic facility by a team or group of prospective student-athletes must be rented out at the regular rental rate through our Facilities and Events staff. See the below NCAA Bylaw and Educational Column regarding the limitations on the role of staff members in rentals.
May 19, 2009
Q: Can a volunteer coach receive complimentary admissions to an away game or a postseason game?
A: No, volunteer coaches may receive complimentary admissions to home athletics contests in their sport only.
April 28, 2009
Q: Can a Baylor coach set up a Twitter account for the general public to sign up and follow?
A: Yes, a Baylor coach can set up a Twitter account for anyone to follow. However, since this is essentially a release of information to the public, the normal publicity rules regarding recruits and recruiting activity need to be followed.
April 28, 2009
Q: Can a prospective student-athlete sign up like any other person and follow a coach's Twitter account?
A: Yes, a prospective student-athlete can sign up like anyone else and follow a coach's Twitter account.
April 28, 2009
Q: Are there any issues with how a person (in particular a prospective student-athlete) receives Twitter updates (or "Tweets")? For example, if a prospect signs up to receive updates via text messaging, is that an issue?
A: A person has flexibility to follow Twitter in any manner they choose. Any person that signs up can choose to follow through monitoring of the webpage, emails, or text messaging. The act of a coach updating a Twitter page is basically updating a webpage and not directly emailing or text messaging a specific person. Although people can sign up to receive updates via email or text message updates, there are no direct or personalized messages and a coach cannot control the method of delivery to followers of the site.
April 7, 2009
Q: Can a student-athlete use an Athletics Department office copier or fax machine for personal use (not related to course work)?
A: No, student-athletes are not permitted to use athletic department copy machines or fax machines for personal use.
March 5, 2009
Q: Can a student-athlete sell or exchange an award they received from their athletic participation with Baylor?
A: No, very specifically the NCAA rules state that a student-athlete is not permitted to sell or exchange an award received as a result of athletics participation.
February 25, 2009
Q: What are the basic recruiting rules in regards to social networking websites such as Facebook?
A: Here are the basic rules to keep in mind:
- A coach can become a "friend" with a prospective student-athlete. This applies to prospective student-athletes that are freshmen, sophomores, juniors, or seniors. Becoming a friend only confirms potential recruitment of the individual. Note: A coach can initiate the invite to be a friend as long as no other message is attached.
- If a coach becomes a friend with a freshman or a sophomore, it is important to note that no further interaction can occur until permitted by NCAA Bylaw 13.4.1 (September 1 of the prospects junior year for all sports; June 15 after a prospect's sophomore year for Men's Basketball.)
- A coach cannot post any wall messages or any comments about a prospect or on a prospect's page. Posting a message on a "wall" is not the same as sending an email.
- It is permissible to send a private message (NOT a wall post) on a site since sending such a message is similar to an email. Of course, normal NCAA recruiting rules would apply as to when such a message could be sent. Treat these private messages as you would an email or letter through U.S. mail.
February 17, 2009
Q: A prospect visited us recently and a staff member took a picture of the prospect while on their visit. Can we email the picture to the prospect?
A: No, any photograph taken of a prospect on a visit to Baylor cannot be provided to the prospect.
February 3, 2009
Q: Many Baylor dining facilities offer students the ability to take meals "to-go." Can a student-athlete eat at a dining facility and then subsequently also grab another meal in a "to-go" box?
A: Any student, including student-athletes, are permitted by the campus to take more food to-go, but they are required to swipe their ID again. This is considered another meal and thus must be paid for by swiping again. Taking another meal to-go without purchasing it would be considered an extra benefit.
January 13, 2009
Q: A student-athlete parked outside of the new Simpsons Athletics and Academic Center and has received two parking tickets. One ticket was for not having a valid student parking permit and the other ticket was for parking in a fire lane.
1. Can the athletic department pay for a student-athlete's campus parking permit?
2. Can the athletic department pay for a parking citation?
A: Yes, it is permissible for a coach to pick up the new student-athlete from the airport. NCAA Bylaw 13.5.4 specifically allows a coach to transport a new student-athlete from the airport when they arrive to start classes here at Baylor.
January 6, 2009
Q: A new Baylor student-athlete is arriving at the airport soon to start their enrollment for the spring semester. Can a coach pick up the new Baylor student-athlete from the airport and bring them to campus?
A: Yes, it is permissible for a coach to pick up the new student-athlete from the airport. NCAA Bylaw 13.5.4 specifically allows a coach to transport a new student-athlete from the airport when they arrive to start classes here at Baylor.
December 16, 2008
Q: What are the rules with junior college transfers being able to come and to not be required to sit a year?
A: A junior college prospect is not required to sit out a year if they transfer and meet one of the NCAA's transfer residency exceptions. The requirements for meeting a transfer residency exception varies dependant upon whether the junior college prospect was a qualifier or nonqualifier coming out of high school.
December 1, 2008
Q: Can a Baylor athletic team, other than football, that is out of season hold required practices or any required athletically related activities during the final exam period?
A: No, a team that is not in season is not permitted to require any athletically related activities starting one week prior to the final exam period and through the end of a student-athletes final exam period.
October 15, 2008
Q: Can a high school prospective student-athlete be used as a ball boy or ball girl at a Baylor game?
A: A high school prospective student-athlete cannot be used as a ball boy or ball girl at Baylor games.
October 6, 2008
Q: Can we donate some of our used athletics equipment to a local high school?
A: It is not permissible to donate athletics equipment directly to a high school. The NCAA rules do allow for the donation of equipment to bona fide youth organizations (within a 30-mile radius of Baylor) and to a nonprofit organization that may distribute the equipment to high schools (if the organization initiates the request and Baylor has no part in selecting which high schools to distribute to).
September 29, 2008
Q: If a student-athlete redshirted during his/her freshmen year and was injured and could not play in a later year, does he/she meet the basic criteria for waiver of the five year clock rule?
A: Five year clock extensions are considered by the NCAA if a student-athlete has been deprived of the opportunity to compete by circumstances beyond the control of the student-athlete for more than one season. In this particular example, the student-athlete redshirted during his/her freshmen year. A redshirt year has been very clearly stated by the NCAA as a circumstance within the student-athletes control. Thus, in this example, the student-athlete would not meet the minimum criteria for a five year clock extension as only one opportunity to participate was lost due to circumstances beyond his/her control.
September 22, 2008
Q: Can a prospective student-athlete, who is making an unofficial visit, go to eat with the team at an off-campus location (for example - the Hilton for a team breakfast)?
A: It is not permissible for current student-athletes to dine off-campus with prospective student-athletes on an unofficial visit.
September 15, 2008
Q: Can we send recruiting materials to a prospective-student-athlete using UPS or Federal Express?
A: In general, if the prospective student-athlete lives in the United States and has not signed a National Letter of Intent, only regular U.S. Mail may be used. Express mail services may only be used when sending correspondence to a prospective student-athlete who lives outside the U.S. or to send necessary pre-enrollment information to a prospective student-athlete who has signed a NLI and/or Financial Aid Agreement with Baylor or have been officially accepted a written offer of admission to Baylor.
August 28, 2008
Q: Can a prospective student-athlete take additional core courses after graduating from high school in order to meet NCAA initial eligibility requirements?
A: Yes - but it's very limited. Specifically, a prospective student-athlete may take only one additional core course after the graduation date of their high school class. The core course may be taken during the subsequent summer or academic year, but not later than the end of the academic year immediately following the high school graduation date.
August 22, 2008
Q: When may a high school prospective student-athlete entering their senior year first make an official visit to Baylor?
A: A high school prospective student-athlete can make an official visit no earlier than the opening day of classes at his/her high school for their senior year. If the opening day of classes at his/her high school has occurred he/she may make an official visit (as long as it is not scheduled during a Dead Period).
