1. Student-Athlete Compliance Meeting
Welcome to the
Academic Year
Student-Athlete Compliance Meeting

2. Meet the Athletic Administration
JIM
COLE
Director of Athletics
SYBIL BLALOCK
Senior Woman Administrator
KAREN DONALDSON
Asst. AD for Compliance
MYRA CAMERON
Eligibility Coordinator

3. Key Topics Covered Required Compliance Forms Drug Testing
Outside Competition
Seasons of Eligibility
Amateurism
Awards and Benefits
Countable Athletically Related Activities
Ethical Conduct
Financial Aid
Academics

4. Required Compliance Forms
All Forms must be completed prior to practice.
NO EXCEPTIONS!!
Any questions regarding the forms see Karen Donaldson or Myra Cameron.

5. Required Forms NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Statement
NCAA Drug Testing Consent Form
HIPPA Release Form
Mercer Amateurism Certification Form
Mercer Extra Benefits Declaration Form
Amateurism and Eligibility Form
For International and Selected Student-Athletes ONLY
Mercer Textbook Agreement
Mercer Apparel and Awards Agreement
Vehicle Registration Form

6. The Most Important Thing Is….
ASK BEFORE YOU ACT!!!!
Karen Donaldson
Asst. AD for Compliance

7. YEAR ROUND TESTING OCCURS IN ALL SPORTS!
Drug Testing
YEAR ROUND TESTING OCCURS IN ALL SPORTS!
If you test positive for a banned substance during an NCAA administered drug test you:
will be declared INELIGIBLE to compete during the regular season and postseason competition for ONE CALENDAR YEAR (i.e. 365 days) after your positive test, and
will be charged with the loss of a minimum of one season of competition in all sports
If you test positive a second time for a banned substance during an NCAA administered drug test you:
will lose all remaining regular-season and post season eligibility in all sports

8. Drug Testing Check the NCAA Banned Drug-Classes List 2010-11
Notify Rob Murphy or your team’s trainer of any medications or supplements
Rob Murphy
Asst. AD for Sports Medicine

9. Drug Testing
Stimulants…includes Ritalin , Adderall and other prescription drugs not prescribed to you.
Caffeine if concentration in urine exceed 15 micrograms/ml.

10. Outside Competition
During the academic year, student-athletes may not participate on any outside team in any non-collegiate amateur competition.
Exceptions for sports other than basketball:
Outside of declared playing and practice season during any official vacation period.
Competition as individual (“unattached”)
Cannot wear/use institutional apparel;
Cannot receive expenses from the institution; and
Cannot receive instruction from an institution’s coach.
Before you compete with an outside team, check with Compliance.

11. Seasons of Eligibility
Five years to play four years.
Limited Exceptions
Redshirt
Medical Hardship
Medical Non-Counter
Military Service
Official mission trips
Pregnancy
Most exceptions involve a waiver process with extensive documentation. See Compliance with any concerns.

12. Seasons of Eligibility - Exceptions
Redshirts
In initial year of enrollment at the certifying institution, you may participate in preseason exhibition contests or informal practice scrimmages without losing a season of competition.
Soccer and Volleyball
You may engage in outside competition during the segment of the playing season that does not conclude with the NCAA Championship without using a season of competition,
Must be academically eligible during the segment that concludes with the NCAA championship.

13. Seasons of Eligibility - Exceptions
Medical Hardship
Incapacity resulting from injury/illness,
All participation during the first half of season, AND
Participation in no more than 30% of scheduled contests/dates of competition
Requires a waiver with medical documentation
Medical Non-Counter
Injured/ill to the point of never again participating in intercollegiate athletics

14. Amateurism You are ineligible in a sport if you ever:
Accept pay, or promise of pay;
Agree orally or in writing to compete in professional athletics;
Compete on any professional athletics team;
Use athletics skill for pay;
Promote a commercial product or service; OR
Allow your name or likeness to be used in commercial promotion
Examples:
Playing on a professional team
Allow yourself to appear on a poster for a local store

15. SEE COMPLIANCE BEFORE GIVING LESSONS IN ANY SPORT!!
Fee-for-Lesson
You may receive compensation for teaching or coaching skills or techniques in your sport on a fee-for-lesson basis, provided you:
Complete the required paperwork beforehand,
Do not use institutional facilities,
Do more than just go out and play with your student, AND
Do not receive payment from someone other than the recipient or the recipient’s family.
SEE COMPLIANCE BEFORE GIVING LESSONS IN ANY SPORT!!

16. Agents and Runners
You are ineligible in a sport if you or a family member ever:
Accept money, transportation or other benefits from an agent or runner;
Agree orally or in writing to be represented by an agent; OR
Allow and agent to market your athletics ability or reputation.
“Advisors” can be “agents” too!
If you are considering a career in professional sports, Mercer wants to help.

17. Awards and Benefits – Extra Benefits
You may not accept anything that is not available to the general student body or the general public!
Special arrangements and benefits apply to you AND your friends and relatives. Benefits include, but are not limited to:
Extra benefits is a must! The slide you see here is general but you should provide some specifics to them rather than just reading the rule. We tend to use violations from the past that have occurred with our teams because they seem to be more interested if they know it happened on campus. It’s important that the student-athletes understand that an extra benefit is ANYTHING of value, regardless how minimal. Rather than spending time on examples such as a car or loan, etc. we share the small issues such as a parent buying the team socks or a student-athlete charging a two dollar ice cream bar to their hotel room during a road trip.
Transportation
Food
Clothing
Course supplies or textbooks not covered by your scholarship– including letting others use your books
Financial loan
Unadvertised discounts
Admission or Special Access to Events or Bars/Clubs
Even Mercer Events!

18. Awards and Benefits – Extra Benefits
ASK YOURSELF….TO PROTECT YOUR ELIGIBILITY:
Is it available to you because you are a student-athlete? OR
Is it available GENERALLY TO ALL MERCER STUDENTS determined on a basis unrelated to athletic ability?
Here’s another slide to reiterate the rule.

19. Awards and Benefits – Complimentary Admissions
A student-athlete may not:
Receive payment from any source for his or her complimentary admissions and may not exchange or assign them for any item of value.
Sell or exchange his or her complimentary admissions for money or any item of value to anyone, including teammates or other student-athletes.

20. Countable Athletically Related Activities – In-Season
20 hours/week
(Week defined by coaches at start of year)
4 hours/day
Day of competition = 3 hours
1 day off per week
Travel day can be used as day off
No practice following competition
Unlimited practice during institutional vacation periods
For fall sports with a preseason, unlimited practice until first contest against outside competition or first day of class, whichever occurs earlier.

21. Countable Athletically Related Activities – Out-of-Season
8 hours/week – Must be strength & conditioning activities, EXCEPT…
No countable athletically related activities from one week prior to the beginning of the institution’s final exam period through the conclusion of each student-athlete’s final exams.
2 days off per week
First Day of Classes – September 14
2 hours/week of skill instruction with no more than 4 student-athletes
September 15 – April 15
2 hours/week of skill instruction with an unlimited number of student-athletes
April 16 – One week prior to finals

22. Countable Athletically Related Activities – Countable and Non-countable Activities

23. Countable Athletically Related Activities – Voluntary Workouts
To be considered “voluntary” and not count in your maximum practice/competition hours, the following conditions must be met:
Must not be required to report back to a coach or other staff member (e.g. trainer, manager, strength coach),
Noncoaching staff members who observe the activity may not report back to the coach any information related to the activity,
Must be initiated and requested solely by the student-athlete (NOT required),
Attendance and participation (or lack thereof) may not be recorded for the purpose of reporting attendance to the coach or teammates,
Must not be subjected to penalty if you elect not to participate,
No recognition or incentives can be given based on attendance or performance
Voluntary workouts are outlined in this slide. You might want to take a moment to elaborate on the involvement of the strength and conditioning coaches during this topic.

24. Student-Athletes must also report their weekly hours!
Countable Athletically Related Activities – Playing and Practice Seasons
Coaches are required to report your weekly hours to compliance.
Student-Athletes must also report their weekly hours!
You should take this time to explain the process you use for coaches to submit the logs, whether that’s weekly or monthly, and point out that the student-athlete’s signature on the forms is important. It’s a good time to encourage them to meet with compliance if they’re concerned that the hours are being exceeded. CARA is an area that’s easy for us to keep them anonymous if there’s an issue so hopefully they’ll feel comfortable asking questions throughout the year and you can use the meeting with them to explain that in detail. We’ve included a place to designate a specific staff member for questions but if you think some of the student-athletes may feel comfortable with one compliance person over another you may want to remove that and keep it general.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your team’s countable hours (in-season or out-of-season) or voluntary activities, please contact:
Karen Donaldson
Asst. AD- Compliance
Front Office

25. Failure to do so will affect your eligibility.
Ethical Conduct
Compete with honesty and sportsmanship at all times
Be forthcoming and honest
Bylaw 10.1 requires everyone at Mercer to cooperate fully with NCAA matters.
Failure to do so will affect your eligibility.

26. Ethical Conduct – Sports Wagering
RISK + REWARD = VIOLATION
Violations include:
Accepting a bet or placing a bet for anything of value (e.g., food, clothes, money)
Providing inside information
Sports Wagering is a key topic. It’s not as easy to grab their attention about gambling in the Fall as it is around March Madness so you might want to take this time to focus on some of the other areas of gambling such as the fantasy leagues or anything occurring on campus that may be a concern. We always share with them that sports wagering applies to staff and coaches as well as the student-athletes so that they know they’re not alone in this area.
NCAA PENALTIES:
FIRST OFFENSE = Ineligible for at least one year and a loss of at least one season of competition!
SECOND OFFENSE = Permanent loss of eligibility in all sports!
Examples of impermissible gambling include:
Fantasy Leagues, Super Bowl Pools, NCAA Tournament Pools/Brackets, Betting on the Golf Course

27. Ethical Conduct – Sports Wagering
IMPERMISSIBLE, IF YOU…
are involved in point shaving or other activities designed to influence the outcome or win-loss margin of a game, OR
solicit or accept a bet or participate in any gambling activity involving wagering on your institution, you lose all remaining eligibility immediately!

28. SPORTS WAGERING YOU ARE AT RISK!!
Mercer sports are on Vegas boards– meaning people DO bet on Mercer sports.
The FBI estimates that over $2.5 billion is wagered illegally on March Madness alone.
Student books are often supervised by white collar criminals.
Getting involved means very real prison time.
DO NOT share team information- EVER.
Injuries
Morale
Discipline issues

29. Financial Aid – Athletic Scholarships
One-year agreements
May be reduced/cancelled
Your compliance forms should include an area for the student-athletes to list any outside aid they’re receiving. I’ve been pleasantly surprised how many report the aid during these meetings. My intern is responsible for going through each form and compiling a master summary list of all those receiving aid so that we can follow-up with financial aid and the bursar’s office to see if the aid is being distributed to their student account. If not, then it’s a good indicator that it went directly to the student-athlete and then you can follow-up on that. This is also a good time to discuss the Student Assistance fund if you’re using that on your campus. It’s always good to provide information that the student-athletes see as a benefit for them versus a topic that we’re denying them of something so that’s a topic they will likely be happy to hear about depending on how you use that fund.
Financial assistance other than from those you are legally dependent needs to be immediately reported to MYRA CAMERON.
Examples may include, but are not limited to: community scholarships, alumni scholarships, and any institutional aid.
Myra Cameron
Front Office
Failure to report financial aid could cost you your eligibility!

30. Financial Aid – Employment
Required paperwork prior to employment.
Compensation…
Cannot be given for being a student-athlete,
Can only be given for work actually performed, AND
Can only be at a rate commensurate with the going rate in that locality for similar services.
SEE COMPLIANCE BEFORE STARTING WORK!!!

31. Academics – Eligibility Requirements
All student-athletes must:
Be enrolled full-time
Minimum of 12 hours
See your athletic academic advisor prior to making any course changes
Never drop a course without first consulting your advisor and the athletics administration.
You WILL pay for the course!
Exception to full-time enrollment
If you require less than 12 hours to graduate in either the fall or spring semester, you must:
Have school/college advisor provide documentation to be enrolled in less than 12 hours prior to first day of class.

32. Academics – Eligibility Requirements
All student-athletes must successfully complete
6 hours per term to be eligible next term
18 hours during the academic year (summer classes cannot be used),
24 hours prior to the start of your 2nd year (summer classes may be used), AND
Declare a major before the third year of enrollment.

33. Academics – Eligibility Requirements
Cumulative
GPA
% of
Degree Completion
Entering 2nd Year
1.8
Entering 3rd Year
1.9
40%
Entering 4th Year
2.0
60%
Entering 5th Year
80%

34. We wish you much success during the 2010-11 Academic Year!