Resources for Current Student-Athletes

Resources for Current Student-Athletes
This page has been created to provide University of Toledo student-athletes and parents the best possible resources for navigating the sometimes complicated area of NCAA compliance. The Compliance Office is committed to ensuring that student-athletes are well-informed on NCAA, Mid-American Conference, and University of Toledo rules, regulations, and policies. If you have any question concerning your eligibility, or the permissibility of any activity, please make certain to ask the Compliance Office before taking action. We are more than happy to assist you, and wish you nothing but the best possible student-athlete experience while enrolled at the University of Toledo.

Amateurism

Agents and Maintaining Your Amateur Status
A student-athlete loses amateur status and thus shall not be eligible for intercollegiate competition in a particular sport if, prior to the completion of your eligibility (which usually occurs after the last game or contest of your senior year including post-season tournament, bowl, or all-star games), you:

Use your athletics skill (directly or indirectly) for pay in any form in that sport or, you are involved in any commercial endorsements for a product, service or establishment.
Accept a promise of pay even if such pay is to be received following completion of intercollegiate athletics participation.
Negotiate, sign or enter into any kind of agreement or commitment of any kind, either orally or written, to be represented by an agent for the purposes of marketing your athletic ability or reputation in a sport, regardless of its legal enforceability or any consideration received. You will lose your eligibility even if you (a) do not date the agreement, (b) date the agreement as of a date after you have completed your eligibility in that sport or (c) agree that the agent will only represent you in future negotiations after you have completed your eligibility in that sport.
Accept (or allow a family member(s)or friend(s) to accept) money, transportation or any other benefits from anyone who wishes to represent you to market your athletic ability.
Receive any preferential treatment, benefits or services, including loans you do not have to begin to pay back immediately, because of your athletic reputation or money you may make as a pro athlete.
Receive, directly or indirectly, a salary, reimbursement of expenses or any other form of financial assistance from a professional sports organization based upon athletics skill or participation, except as permitted by NCAA rules and regulations.
Compete on any professional athletics team and know (or had reason to know) that the team is a professional athletics team, even if no pay or remuneration for expenses was received.
Enter into a professional draft (Exception: Professional Football & Basketball Draft).
You must report to your head coach, the Athletic Director, or the Compliance Office any athletic disability insurance which you purchase while you have eligibility remaining. NCAA rules require that you provide the Athletic Director with copies of the loan documents and insurance policy.
A student-athlete may not receive any pay for athletic participation. "Pay" includes any type of salary or compensation (including cash prizes). A student-athlete may receive actual and necessary travel, room and board expenses, and apparel and equipment for practice and competition. These expenses may be received only from someone upon whom the student-athlete is naturally or legally dependent, a non-University of Toledo team, an amateur organization or a local sports club. Such expenses cannot be based upon the outcome of the competition.
In individual sports, a student-athlete may accept prize money based on his or her place finish or performance in an open athletics event (an event that is not invitation only), provided the competition occurs outside the institution's declared playing and practice season during the institution's summer vacation period. Such prize money may not exceed actual and necessary expenses (transportation, lodging, meals, entry fee) and may be provided only by the sponsor of the open event. The calculation of actual and necessary expenses shall not include the expenses or fees of anyone other than the student-athlete (e.g., coach's fees or expenses, parent's expenses).
All awards or cash prizes that student-athletes are not allowed to receive under NCAA regulations cannot be given in the student-athlete's name to another individual or agency.
The awards or prizes you may receive must conform to the regulations of the amateur governing body in your sport.

Any questions about permissible prizes should be directed to the Compliance Office in advance of the competition, so as not to jeopardize your eligibility.

Sports Wagering/Gambling

The NCAA opposes all forms of legal and illegal sports wagering on college sports. NCAA rules specifically prohibit student-athletes, athletics department staff members, conference office staff and NCAA national office employees from wagering on intercollegiate, amateur and professional sports in which the Association conducts championships, plus Division I's Football Bowl Subdivision. For example, NCAA student-athletes and personnel are prohibited from betting on National Basketball Association contests since the NCAA conducts championships in basketball.

As a student-athlete:

You may not knowingly provide information to individuals involved in organized gambling activities concerning intercollegiate athletics competition
You may not participate in any gambling activity that involves any intercollegiate team or any professional team (i.e., bookmaker, parlay card, NCAA Basketball pool, NFL Super Bowl pool).
You may not accept a bet on any team representing the institution.
You may not solicit or accept a bet on any intercollegiate competition for any item (e.g., cash, shirt, dinner) that has tangible value.

If you partake in any of these activities you will be ineligible.

Student-Athlete Eligibility

Freshman Eligibility
All freshman student-athletes must be certified for financial aid, practice and competition by the NCAA Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse. The NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse is the organization that handles all inquiries regarding an individual's eligibility status. Certification is based on the student-athlete's high school courses as well as any standardized tests taken (i.e., SAT, ACT). Information on registering for and being certified by the Clearinghouse can be found at www.ncaaclearinghouse.net. Further information relating to the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse and freshman eligibility regulations may be found at www.ncaa.org (Rules & Eligibility/Student-Athlete Eligibility and Recruiting section).

Transfers
There are many rules and regulations related to the eligibility of students who transfer from four year and two year colleges to NCAA Division I institutions. The details of these rules may be found at www.ncaa.org (Rules & Eligibility/Student-Athlete Eligibility and Recruiting section).

Continuing Student-Athlete Eligibility
To be eligible to represent an institution in intercollegiate athletic competition, a student-athlete must meet all NCAA eligibility rules as well as those of their college/university. Generally, to be eligible to represent an institution in intercollegiate athletic competition, a student-athlete must: (a) be enrolled in at least a minimum full-time program of studies leading toward a degree, (b) be in good academic standing as defined for all students by the college/university, (c) maintain progress toward a degree, as defined by the college/university and by the NCAA rules, and (d) be in compliance with all rules and regulations of the college/university, the conference and the NCAA.

The NCAA specifically defines the degree progress standards that student-athletes must meet in order to maintain eligibility from year to year. These rules include successfully completing a minimum of 6 credits each quarter, 36 credits after the first year (and a certain percentage of your degree each year thereafter) and maintaining a minimum grade point average.

Athletic Eligibility
Seasons of Competition A student-athlete uses a season of competition for a given academic year as soon as he/she participates in a competition (excluding NCAA-legislated preseason exhibition contests and practice scrimmages) against an outside team (i.e., any team that includes individuals who are not on the institution's team during that academic year). Any competition during a season, regardless of the amount of time spent, counts as one season of competition in that sport. For example, one play in a football game or one point in a volleyball match counts as a season of competition, just as playing in every basketball or soccer game during a season counts.

Countable vs. Voluntary Athletic Related Activities

Number of Seasons of Competition
A student-athlete who is considered an initial qualifier is permitted four seasons of competition. Initial nonqualifiers are permitted three seasons of competition. A non-qualifier may earn a fourth season of competition if he/she completes 80% of his/her degree by the beginning of his/her fifth year of enrollment. Non-qualifiers may not practice, compete, or receive financial aid during their freshman year and may not attend practice.

21-Year Age Rule
There is no age limit on who can participate as a student-athlete, however, a student-athlete who has turned 21 years old and has never attended a college or university as a full-time student will utilize a season of competition for every calendar year beginning with his/her 21st birthday in which he/she participates in organized competition in his/her sport while not being enrolled as a full-time student.

Five-Year Clock ("Five to Play Four")
Each student-athlete must utilize all seasons of competition within five (5) years of initially enrolling full-time at a college or university.

Redshirting
Redshirting is not an official NCAA term, but the term is used when a student-athlete does not participate in any competition during a particular academic year (i.e., neither in the championship nor the non-championship segment of the playing season). A student-athlete may be red-shirted at any point in his/her athletic career. A "medical red shirt" is not an official NCAA term either, but the term is used when a student-athlete is injured after participating in a limited amount of competition during a particular academic year and then qualifies for a Medical Hardship Waiver. More detailed information regarding Medical Hardship Waivers is included below.

Medical-Hardship Waiver
If a student-athlete suffers a season-ending injury or illness after competing in a limited amount of competition during a particular academic year, he/she may qualify for a medical hardship waiver which would allow him/her an additional season of competition during the five-year period of eligibility. To qualify for a medical hardship:

The student-athlete's injury or illness must occur in one of the four seasons of intercollegiate competition or subsequent to the first day of classes in the student-athlete's senior year in high school;
The injury or illness must occur prior to the completion of the first half of the playing season that concludes with the NCAA championship in that sport and must result in incapacity to compete for the remainder of that playing season; and
The injury or illness must occur when the student-athlete has not participated in more than two contests/dates of competition or 30% of the institution's scheduled contests/dates of competition in his/her sport (whichever number is greater).

Practice and Competition Rules

NCAA rules and regulations limit the time that student-athletes may participate in athletic activities (e.g., practice activities, the length of its playing seasons and the number of its regular-season contests and/or dates of competition) on a daily, weekly and yearly basis.

In-Season Activities and Time Limits
During a particular sport's primary playing season, student-athletes may be involved in athletically-related activities up to 20 hours per week and four hours per day ("the 20/4 hour limits"). Examples of athletically-related activities include: required practice, conditioning, strength training, competition, discussions of game films, lectures regarding the sport, required participation in camps/clinics/workshops, and any other on-field, on-court, on-floor or on-water activity. Counting Competition: All activities on the day of competition count as three hours, regardless of actual length. For example, a baseball double-header that takes up six hours or a round of golf that takes up five hours, still counts as three hours of athletic activities.

Out-of-Season Activities and Time Limits

In general, outside of a sport's primary playing season, student-athletes may be involved in up to eight hours of weight-training, conditioning and skill/game-related instruction. Application to UToledo sports:

All Sports Other Than Football: Student-athletes may participate in up to four hours of skill-related instruction as part of the eight hours, and there is no limit on the number of student-athletes who may be involved in skill instruction at any one time.
Football: Skill/game-related instruction may not occur outside the season in football. However, football student-athletes may review game film and participate in walk-throughs for up to two of the eight hours per week outside the season.

Day(s) Off - In-Season
During the playing season, student-athletes must receive one day off from all athletic activities. This rule does not apply during MAC and NCAA Championships or during a vacation period in the academic year. A day when the team is traveling may count as the required day off provided no athletically-related activities also occur on that day.

Day(s) Off - Out-of-Season
Outside the playing season, student-athletes must receive two days off from all athletic activities.

Summer Competition - All Sports
You must have written approval from the University of Toledo's Athletic Department to participate in any official state games or to participate in any official tryouts and/or any competitions involving National Teams, the Pan American Games, or the Olympic Games.

Current student-athletes and recruited prospective student-athletes who are in the Toledo area during the summer cannot participate jointly in recreational activities at the direction of, organized by, or observed by a University of Toledo coaching staff member.

No more than the following number of University of Toledo student-athletes with eligibility remaining may practice or compete out-of-season on the same outside amateur team during the summer:

Baseball - 4
Basketball - 2
Football - 5
Soccer - 5
Volleyball - 2
All other teams - No Limit [No other member of the University of Toledo Athletic Department (e.g., coach, official, player, etc.) can be involved with the team in any way.]

Summer Competition - Basketball League Play
Student-athletes may compete on only one team in one approved summer league between June 15 and August 31.

You may play only in a league approved by the NCAA. Be sure to ask your coach about this before you participate in a summer league.
You must have written permission from University of Toledo's Director of Athletics.
You cannot play in an "All-Star" game of any type.
No more than two players with eligibility remaining from any single 2- or 4-year college can play on the same league team.
The league must be within 100 miles of your official residence or the University of Toledo's campus.

Summer Competition - Awards and Prizes
In order to maintain your amateur status and remain eligible for intercollegiate competition, you cannot receive any type of pay for play, either directly or indirectly.

"Pay" includes any type of salary or compensation (including cash prizes). You may receive actual and necessary travel, room and board expenses, and apparel and equipment for practice and competition. These expenses may be received only from someone upon whom you are naturally or legally dependent, a non-University of Toledo team, or from an amateur organization or local sports club. Such expenses cannot be based upon the outcome of the competition.

In the summer, the awards or prizes you may receive must conform to the regulations of the amateur governing body in your sport. At no time, under any circumstances, are you to receive cash. Any questions about permissible prizes should be directed to your coach in advance of the competition, so as not to jeopardize your eligibility.

All awards or cash prizes that you are not allowed to receive under NCAA regulations cannot be given in your name to another individual or agency.

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