Booster/Alumni
Questions/Answers
Q How is a "Booster" or a "representative of an institution’s athletic interests" defined?

A A "representative of the institution’s athletic interests" is an individual who has helped promote the school’s athletic program; has made financial contributions to the school; has assisted in the recruitments; and has provided benefits to athletes or their families.

Q What actions by a booster are prohibited by the NCAA?

A According to the NCAA, the following are considered inducements which are prohibited:

An employment arrangement for a prospect’s relative.

Gifts of clothing or equipment.

Cosigning of loans.

Providing loans to relative of an athlete or a prospect.

Cash or merchandise

Free or reduced-cost services, rentals, or purchases of any type.

Free or reduced-cost housing.

Use of athletic equipment.

Sponsorship of, or arrangement for, an awards banquet for athletes by an institution, representative of its athletics interest, or its alumni groups or booster clubs.

Q What about employing athletes and athletic prospects?

A Employing prospects shall be permitted, provided the employment does not begin prior to the completion of the prospect’s senior year in high school. Compensation may be paid to a student-athlete only for work actually performed, and at a rate commensurate with the going rate in that locality for similar services.

Q What about transportation to a summer job?

A An institution or its representatives shall not provide an athlete or a prospect free transportation to and from a summer job unless it is the employer’s established policy to transport all employees to and from the job site.

Q What about loans to athletes and prospects?

A Arrangement of educational loan by an institution for an athlete or a prospect shall be permitted, provided the loan is not made prior to the completion of the the prospect’s senior year in high school. When permitted, such loans must be from a regular lending agency and based on a regular payment schedule.

Q What about summer housing for athletes and prospects?

A An institution may rent dormitory space to a prospect during the summer months at the regular institution rate, provided it is the institution’s policy to make such dormitory space available on the same basis to all students.

Q Can athletic representatives entertain relatives and friends of a prospective student-athlete at any site off campus?

A An institution’s staff member or representative may entertain alumni or other friends of the institution in the hometown of a prospect, provided those entertained are not friends of any particular prospect being recruited by the institution.

Q Is it permissible for an athletic representative to provide cash, a loan or the use of an automobile to a prospective student-athlete or a student-athlete?

A The NCAA specifically prohibits all these situations.

Q Are boosters allowed to contact visiting prospects?

A In Division III, representatives of an institution’s athletic interest may make in-person, on or off-campus recruiting contacts with a prospect; however, such off-campus contacts may not occur until the conclusion of the prospect’s junior year in high school.

Q Can the institution or boosters publicize one’s interest in a particular prospect?

A No. The publication of advertising or promotional of advertising or promotional material, designed to solicit the enrollment of a prospective student-athlete is not permitted. Accordingly, a member institution may not buy or arrange to have some space in game programs or other printed material published to provide information concerning the athlete’s participation in the institution’s athletic program.

Q What publicity is permitted during the recruiting process and after a prospective student-athlete accepts a financial aid package?

A A member institution may comment publicly only to the extent of confirming its recruitment of the prospect. The institution may not comment generally about the prospect’s ability or the contribution that the prospect might make to the institution’s team; further, the institution is precluded form commenting in any manner as to the likelihood of the prospect’s enrolling at that institution.

Q What constitutes recruiting?

A Recruiting is any solicitation of the prospect or the prospect’s family (or guardian) by an institutional staff member or by a representative of the institution’s athletic interests for the purpose of securing the prospect’s enrollment and participation in the institution’s intercollegiate athletics program. Actions such as providing transportation, entertaining on campus, initiating telephone contact, visiting the prospect or his or her family, or arrangement for meals, housing and academic interviews during an unofficial visit.

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