Remember to ASK before you ACT! - MSU Bulldog Club
What Can You Do?
Representative of Athletics Interest
If you know a high school student-athlete who might want to attend Mississippi State University, the only permissible activity for an athletics representative is to contact the athletic department at 662-325-2532 for further instructions.
A “representative of the institution’s athletics interest” is an individual who is known (or who should be known) by a member of the institution’s executive or athletic administration to: a) Have participated in or to be a member of an agency or organization promoting the institution’s intercollegiate athletic program; b) Have made financial contributions to the athletic department or to an athletic booster organization of that institution; c) Be assisting or to have been requested (by the athletic department staff) to assist in recruitment prospects; d) Be assisting or to have assisted in providing benefits to enrolled student-athletes or their families; e) Having been otherwise involved in promoting the institution’s athletic program.
Alcohol and Drug Policy Mississippi State University has a zero tolerance policy with regards to drugs and alcohol. All individuals must adhere to this policy during campus activities . This guide to the rules and regulations of the NCAA includes only a small part of all the rules that exist. There are frequent changes to the rules in the form of legislative interpretations. Therefore, this guide should not be relied upon exclusively. If you have specific situations or questions that require additional interpretations, or for further information regarding the rules, contact the Compliance Office.
Once an individual is identified as such a representative, the person retains that identity indefinitely.
Prospective Student-Athlete
Remember to ASK before you ACT!
A prospective student-athlete (“prospect”) is a student who has started classes for the ninth grade (or seventh grade for men’s basketball). Actions by staff members or athletic representatives that cause a prospect to become a recruited student-athlete include, but are not limited to, the following:
NCAA rules and regulations every alumnus or friend of the university should know
a) Providing transportation to the prospect to visit the institution’s campus; b) Entertaining the prospect in any way on the campus, except the institution may provide a complimentary admission to an oncampus athletic contest in which its team competes when the prospect visits the institution as a member of a group tour; c) Initiating or arranging a telephone contact for the purpose of recruitment; d) Visiting a prospect, family member or guardian for the purpose of recruitment; e) Entertaining family members or guardians of a prospect on the institution’s campus.
Five Important Rules Bracky Brett Compliance Office PO Box 5327 Mississippi State, MS 39762 Phone: 662-325-0245 Fax: 662-325-1385 Email: [email protected] Updated July 2011
1. PLEASE ASK BEFORE DOING ANYTHING for prospective or enrolled student-athletes. If you have any doubt, please contact the Office of Athletic Compliance. We strongly encourage open communication between “representatives of athletics interest” and the MSU Athletic Department. 2. Only coaches and athletic department staff members are permitted to be involved in the recruiting process. Alumni,
friends, and other “representatives of athletics interest” who are not employed by the University are not permitted to contact a prospective student-athlete (or members of the prospect’s family) by letter, telephone, email, text, or in person (on or off campus) for the purpose of soliciting their participation in their athletic programs. MSU faculty members are permitted to engage prospects in-person, but only oncampus. 3. Even after signing a National Letter-of-Intent or financial aid agreement, a prospective student-athlete remains a prospect. They remain a prospect until they start classes or practice at MSU. 4. Unavoidable incidental contacts with prospective student-athletes by boosters, athletic department staff members, coaches, enrolled student-athletes and university employees may occur. These contacts should not be prearranged, should not be made for the purpose of recruitment and the conversation does not exceed a greeting. If you should find yourself in a conversation with a prospective student-athlete or parents during your normal business, there is no problem with the contact as long as long as you complete the conduct of your affairs with no talk about MSU. Please do not discuss the MSU athletic program and remove yourself from the situation in a timely and civil manner. 5. If a student-athlete accepts any benefits based on his or her special status as a student-athlete, the student-athlete will lose all eligibility for intercollegiate athletic participation.
NCAA Rules regarding Internet Web Sites Please be aware that the use of the internet (instant messaging, MySpace, Facebook) is considered to be a form of communication similar to email, telephone, and general correspondence. Therefore the internet should not be used to contact (directly or indirectly) prospects, parents/guardians, or high school coaches. Additionally, participation in live “chat room” activities involving prospective students is expressly prohibited.
Prospective Athletes at Alumni Events DO NOT invite selected junior or senior high school or Junior College student-athletes to alumni events. NCAA rules prohibit contact between prospects and alumni and friends at both oncampus and off-campus sites. Alumni and friends CAN entertain prospective students under certain conditions that do not involve singling out athletes for special treatment, such as inviting all high school seniors who have been awarded scholarships (academic and athletic) to an alumni or scholarship event.
DO NOT bring your son or daughter or any other guest to an alumni gathering event if he or she is participating in athletics on the junior or senior high level or Junior College level and is therefore a prospective student-athlete. DO tell athletic department personnel invited to speak at alumni functions if prospective high school athletes will be attending. There are certain time periods when coaches are prohibited from any contact with student-athletes off-campus.
Contact with Prospective Student-Athletes DO NOT telephone, text, instant message, email, or write to a prospective student-athlete for the purpose of soliciting his or her participation in the athletic program. If a prospective studentathlete initiates a telephone conversation with you, you are obligated to refer all questions regarding the University’s athletic program to the athletic department staff. DO NOT make in-person contact with a prospective studentathlete either on or off the college campus. If you know a coach is entertaining one or more prospects at an event on the MSU campus, please do not approach the coach while prospects are present. DO NOT contact a prospective student-athlete’s coach, principal, or counselor in an attempt to evaluate the prospect. Do not visit a prospect’s educational institution to pick up films or transcripts pertaining to the evaluation of the prospect’s academic or athletic eligibility, even if an athletic department staff member asks you to. DO NOT directly or indirectly become involved in making arrangements for a prospect, the prospect’s relatives, or friends to receive money, financial aid or equivalent inducements even if similar financial aid, benefits, or arrangements are available to prospective students in general, their relatives or friends. For instance, a prospective student who does NOT participate in athletics may accept a ride to visit the institution’s campus form a neighbor who is an alumnus of the institution. A prospective student-athlete MAY NOT accept that ride. DO NOT provide any of the following prohibited inducements to a prospective student-athlete: cash or loans; a promise of employment after college graduation; special discounts or payment arrangements on loans; employment of relatives or friends of a prospect; involvement in arranging for free or reduced charges for any professional or personal services; use of an automobile; providing transportation to or from a job or to any other site; signing or co-signing a note for a loan; the loan or gift of money or other tangible items (i.e. clothes, cars, jewelry, electronics/stereo equipment); guarantees of bond; purchase of items or services from a prospect or prospect’s family at inflated
prices; providing directly or indirectly transportation to enroll at MSU; any financial aid other than that administered by Mississippi State University; the promise of financial aid for postgraduate education; free or reduced-cost housing arrangements; payment or arrangement for payment of transportation costs incurred by relatives or friends of relatives of a prospective student-athlete. DO NOT contact enrolled student-athletes at other four-year institutions for the purpose of exploring their transfer to MSU and participating in the athletic program. The NCAA has very strict rules concerning such matters. If a student-athlete enrolled at another institution contacts you, do not discuss transfer with him or her. Immediately refer him or her to a member of the MSU athletic department. DO NOT pay or arrange for the payment of transportation costs incurred by a prospect or the relatives or friends of a prospect to visit the campus via commercial transport or offer to transport any of these people to campus in your car or plane. The athletic department is allowed to provide a limited number of expensepaid visits to prospects and each prospect is limited to accepting a maximum number of five such visits, but no more than one per institution. A prospect can visit the campus an unlimited number of times at his or her own expense. DO NOT provide free tickets to a prospective student-athlete or his/her family for home or away MSU games or any athletic or non-athletic event. Such a gift would be considered an improper inducement. The athletic department can provide complimentary admissions to prospective student-athletes. DO NOT entertain, provide tickets, gifts or other benefits to junior or senior high school, preparatory school, or Junior College coaches at any time. The athletic department is permitted to provide them with complimentary admissions, but “representatives of athletics interest” may not. DO NOT establish any fund for the purpose of recruiting prospective student-athletes. If you wish to contribute to such efforts make a direct tax-deductible contribution to the Bulldog Club and indicate how you would like that contribution to be used. All funds for recruiting must be administered by the University. DO NOT pay, in whole or part, or lend funds for, the payment of registration fees for any prospective student-athlete to attend a summer sports camp. DO NOT mail anything to a prospect, such as newspaper clippings, posters, programs, etc. The NCAA restricts the type of materials which may be sent to prospects and prohibits anyone
other than the athletic department employees from distributing such materials or communicating with prospects in writing. DO feel free to attend junior and senior high school or Junior College athletic events. NCAA rules do not prohibit you from doing so, only from coming into contact with a prospective student-athlete or member of the student’s family while you were there. If you find yourself sitting next to the parents of a prospect, be sure not to initiate contact or conversation. If contact with you is initiated, you are permitted to respond in a civil manner. However, you should not discuss the athletic program and, if the subject is raised by them, you should inform the parent of the NCAA rule against such contact and ask them to direct their questions to the athletic department. DO feel free to engage in all of your normal activities. Incidental contact with prospects (or members of their families) is not prohibited. If you find yourself playing on the a team with a prospect’s parents or have as a next-door neighbor a prospect with whom you have had normal interaction over the last ten years (backyard barbeques, picnics, etc.) then proceed with your normal and established relationship; however, any recruiting activities should be handled by MSU athletic staff members. DO feel free to offer your assistance to any MSU coach who is recruiting in your city; such as providing the coach with a car or private plane; or suggesting people to contact for information on prospective student-athletes.
Employment of Student-Athletes DO NOT provide employment to a prospective, or currently enrolled, student-athlete without checking with the MSU athletic department first. The athletic department is permitted to arrange employment for prospective student-athletes in the summer prior to their enrollment as freshmen and for enrolled student-athletes. A “representative of athletics interest” may arrange for permissible pre-enrollment employment with the specific authorization of the MSU athletic department. DO NOT employ a prospective student-athlete prior to the completion of the prospect’s senior year of high school. DO NOT provide free transportation to and from jobs for studentathlete employees unless such transportation is provided to all employees.
Current Student-Athletes DO NOT provide room, board or transportation costs incurred by friends or family of an enrolled student-athlete to visit campus or attend an athletic event.
DO NOT provide any payment of expenses or the loan of an automobile for a student-athlete to return home or to any other location to receive an award or for any other personal reason. DO NOT provide any extra benefit or special arrangement to student-athletes or friends or relatives of student-athletes. DO NOT type or pay for typing or other costs associated with school projects or reports for student-athletes. DO NOT provide enrolled student-athletes with professional services for which a fee would normally be charged (i.e., free dental or medical services, haircuts, etc.) DO NOT expend funds to entertain student-athletes, their friends or relatives. You are not even permitted to buy student-atheltes’ parents a soft drink or popcorn at an athletic event. DO NOT permit a student-athlete or his/her friends or relatives to use your telephone for long distance calls at your expense. DO NOT provide gifts or awards to a student-athlete for his/her athletic performance. All awards must conform with NCAA awards restrictions and must be approved by Mississippi State University. Check with the athletic department first before permitting a hometown group or business to provide any award to a student-athlete. DO NOT use the name or picture of an enrolled student-athlete to directly advertise, recommend, or promote the sale or use of a commercial product or service of any kind. Such use will render the student-athlete immediately ineligible. DO NOT provide an honorarium to a student-athlete for any speaking engagement. Student-athletes may only receive necessary travel expenses when speaking to educational or charitable groups. All speaking engagements must be approved in advance and coordinated by the athletic department. DO NOT give money to a student-athlete, even if it is for the purpose of paying expenses to amateur athletic competitions. All expense funds must be provided through the University or officially registered amateur sports clubs. For instance, an alumnus cannot sponsor a golfer or tennis player who competes in pro-am competition over the summer. DO feel free to invite a team for dinner or to meet with alumni or friends in a city where they play. Student-athletes may participate in many events and are allowed to receive, as a team, benefits which individual student-athletes may not. Always make arrangements for such activities through the head coach or an athletic department administrator.
Representative of Athletics Interest
If you know a high school student-athlete who might want to attend Mississippi State University, the only permissible activity for an athletics representative is to contact the athletic department at 662-325-2532 for further instructions.
A “representative of the institution’s athletics interest” is an individual who is known (or who should be known) by a member of the institution’s executive or athletic administration to: a) Have participated in or to be a member of an agency or organization promoting the institution’s intercollegiate athletic program; b) Have made financial contributions to the athletic department or to an athletic booster organization of that institution; c) Be assisting or to have been requested (by the athletic department staff) to assist in recruitment prospects; d) Be assisting or to have assisted in providing benefits to enrolled student-athletes or their families; e) Having been otherwise involved in promoting the institution’s athletic program.
Alcohol and Drug Policy Mississippi State University has a zero tolerance policy with regards to drugs and alcohol. All individuals must adhere to this policy during campus activities . This guide to the rules and regulations of the NCAA includes only a small part of all the rules that exist. There are frequent changes to the rules in the form of legislative interpretations. Therefore, this guide should not be relied upon exclusively. If you have specific situations or questions that require additional interpretations, or for further information regarding the rules, contact the Compliance Office.
Once an individual is identified as such a representative, the person retains that identity indefinitely.
Prospective Student-Athlete
Remember to ASK before you ACT!
A prospective student-athlete (“prospect”) is a student who has started classes for the ninth grade (or seventh grade for men’s basketball). Actions by staff members or athletic representatives that cause a prospect to become a recruited student-athlete include, but are not limited to, the following:
NCAA rules and regulations every alumnus or friend of the university should know
a) Providing transportation to the prospect to visit the institution’s campus; b) Entertaining the prospect in any way on the campus, except the institution may provide a complimentary admission to an oncampus athletic contest in which its team competes when the prospect visits the institution as a member of a group tour; c) Initiating or arranging a telephone contact for the purpose of recruitment; d) Visiting a prospect, family member or guardian for the purpose of recruitment; e) Entertaining family members or guardians of a prospect on the institution’s campus.
Five Important Rules Bracky Brett Compliance Office PO Box 5327 Mississippi State, MS 39762 Phone: 662-325-0245 Fax: 662-325-1385 Email: [email protected] Updated July 2011
1. PLEASE ASK BEFORE DOING ANYTHING for prospective or enrolled student-athletes. If you have any doubt, please contact the Office of Athletic Compliance. We strongly encourage open communication between “representatives of athletics interest” and the MSU Athletic Department. 2. Only coaches and athletic department staff members are permitted to be involved in the recruiting process. Alumni,
friends, and other “representatives of athletics interest” who are not employed by the University are not permitted to contact a prospective student-athlete (or members of the prospect’s family) by letter, telephone, email, text, or in person (on or off campus) for the purpose of soliciting their participation in their athletic programs. MSU faculty members are permitted to engage prospects in-person, but only oncampus. 3. Even after signing a National Letter-of-Intent or financial aid agreement, a prospective student-athlete remains a prospect. They remain a prospect until they start classes or practice at MSU. 4. Unavoidable incidental contacts with prospective student-athletes by boosters, athletic department staff members, coaches, enrolled student-athletes and university employees may occur. These contacts should not be prearranged, should not be made for the purpose of recruitment and the conversation does not exceed a greeting. If you should find yourself in a conversation with a prospective student-athlete or parents during your normal business, there is no problem with the contact as long as long as you complete the conduct of your affairs with no talk about MSU. Please do not discuss the MSU athletic program and remove yourself from the situation in a timely and civil manner. 5. If a student-athlete accepts any benefits based on his or her special status as a student-athlete, the student-athlete will lose all eligibility for intercollegiate athletic participation.
NCAA Rules regarding Internet Web Sites Please be aware that the use of the internet (instant messaging, MySpace, Facebook) is considered to be a form of communication similar to email, telephone, and general correspondence. Therefore the internet should not be used to contact (directly or indirectly) prospects, parents/guardians, or high school coaches. Additionally, participation in live “chat room” activities involving prospective students is expressly prohibited.
Prospective Athletes at Alumni Events DO NOT invite selected junior or senior high school or Junior College student-athletes to alumni events. NCAA rules prohibit contact between prospects and alumni and friends at both oncampus and off-campus sites. Alumni and friends CAN entertain prospective students under certain conditions that do not involve singling out athletes for special treatment, such as inviting all high school seniors who have been awarded scholarships (academic and athletic) to an alumni or scholarship event.
DO NOT bring your son or daughter or any other guest to an alumni gathering event if he or she is participating in athletics on the junior or senior high level or Junior College level and is therefore a prospective student-athlete. DO tell athletic department personnel invited to speak at alumni functions if prospective high school athletes will be attending. There are certain time periods when coaches are prohibited from any contact with student-athletes off-campus.
Contact with Prospective Student-Athletes DO NOT telephone, text, instant message, email, or write to a prospective student-athlete for the purpose of soliciting his or her participation in the athletic program. If a prospective studentathlete initiates a telephone conversation with you, you are obligated to refer all questions regarding the University’s athletic program to the athletic department staff. DO NOT make in-person contact with a prospective studentathlete either on or off the college campus. If you know a coach is entertaining one or more prospects at an event on the MSU campus, please do not approach the coach while prospects are present. DO NOT contact a prospective student-athlete’s coach, principal, or counselor in an attempt to evaluate the prospect. Do not visit a prospect’s educational institution to pick up films or transcripts pertaining to the evaluation of the prospect’s academic or athletic eligibility, even if an athletic department staff member asks you to. DO NOT directly or indirectly become involved in making arrangements for a prospect, the prospect’s relatives, or friends to receive money, financial aid or equivalent inducements even if similar financial aid, benefits, or arrangements are available to prospective students in general, their relatives or friends. For instance, a prospective student who does NOT participate in athletics may accept a ride to visit the institution’s campus form a neighbor who is an alumnus of the institution. A prospective student-athlete MAY NOT accept that ride. DO NOT provide any of the following prohibited inducements to a prospective student-athlete: cash or loans; a promise of employment after college graduation; special discounts or payment arrangements on loans; employment of relatives or friends of a prospect; involvement in arranging for free or reduced charges for any professional or personal services; use of an automobile; providing transportation to or from a job or to any other site; signing or co-signing a note for a loan; the loan or gift of money or other tangible items (i.e. clothes, cars, jewelry, electronics/stereo equipment); guarantees of bond; purchase of items or services from a prospect or prospect’s family at inflated
prices; providing directly or indirectly transportation to enroll at MSU; any financial aid other than that administered by Mississippi State University; the promise of financial aid for postgraduate education; free or reduced-cost housing arrangements; payment or arrangement for payment of transportation costs incurred by relatives or friends of relatives of a prospective student-athlete. DO NOT contact enrolled student-athletes at other four-year institutions for the purpose of exploring their transfer to MSU and participating in the athletic program. The NCAA has very strict rules concerning such matters. If a student-athlete enrolled at another institution contacts you, do not discuss transfer with him or her. Immediately refer him or her to a member of the MSU athletic department. DO NOT pay or arrange for the payment of transportation costs incurred by a prospect or the relatives or friends of a prospect to visit the campus via commercial transport or offer to transport any of these people to campus in your car or plane. The athletic department is allowed to provide a limited number of expensepaid visits to prospects and each prospect is limited to accepting a maximum number of five such visits, but no more than one per institution. A prospect can visit the campus an unlimited number of times at his or her own expense. DO NOT provide free tickets to a prospective student-athlete or his/her family for home or away MSU games or any athletic or non-athletic event. Such a gift would be considered an improper inducement. The athletic department can provide complimentary admissions to prospective student-athletes. DO NOT entertain, provide tickets, gifts or other benefits to junior or senior high school, preparatory school, or Junior College coaches at any time. The athletic department is permitted to provide them with complimentary admissions, but “representatives of athletics interest” may not. DO NOT establish any fund for the purpose of recruiting prospective student-athletes. If you wish to contribute to such efforts make a direct tax-deductible contribution to the Bulldog Club and indicate how you would like that contribution to be used. All funds for recruiting must be administered by the University. DO NOT pay, in whole or part, or lend funds for, the payment of registration fees for any prospective student-athlete to attend a summer sports camp. DO NOT mail anything to a prospect, such as newspaper clippings, posters, programs, etc. The NCAA restricts the type of materials which may be sent to prospects and prohibits anyone
other than the athletic department employees from distributing such materials or communicating with prospects in writing. DO feel free to attend junior and senior high school or Junior College athletic events. NCAA rules do not prohibit you from doing so, only from coming into contact with a prospective student-athlete or member of the student’s family while you were there. If you find yourself sitting next to the parents of a prospect, be sure not to initiate contact or conversation. If contact with you is initiated, you are permitted to respond in a civil manner. However, you should not discuss the athletic program and, if the subject is raised by them, you should inform the parent of the NCAA rule against such contact and ask them to direct their questions to the athletic department. DO feel free to engage in all of your normal activities. Incidental contact with prospects (or members of their families) is not prohibited. If you find yourself playing on the a team with a prospect’s parents or have as a next-door neighbor a prospect with whom you have had normal interaction over the last ten years (backyard barbeques, picnics, etc.) then proceed with your normal and established relationship; however, any recruiting activities should be handled by MSU athletic staff members. DO feel free to offer your assistance to any MSU coach who is recruiting in your city; such as providing the coach with a car or private plane; or suggesting people to contact for information on prospective student-athletes.
Employment of Student-Athletes DO NOT provide employment to a prospective, or currently enrolled, student-athlete without checking with the MSU athletic department first. The athletic department is permitted to arrange employment for prospective student-athletes in the summer prior to their enrollment as freshmen and for enrolled student-athletes. A “representative of athletics interest” may arrange for permissible pre-enrollment employment with the specific authorization of the MSU athletic department. DO NOT employ a prospective student-athlete prior to the completion of the prospect’s senior year of high school. DO NOT provide free transportation to and from jobs for studentathlete employees unless such transportation is provided to all employees.
Current Student-Athletes DO NOT provide room, board or transportation costs incurred by friends or family of an enrolled student-athlete to visit campus or attend an athletic event.
DO NOT provide any payment of expenses or the loan of an automobile for a student-athlete to return home or to any other location to receive an award or for any other personal reason. DO NOT provide any extra benefit or special arrangement to student-athletes or friends or relatives of student-athletes. DO NOT type or pay for typing or other costs associated with school projects or reports for student-athletes. DO NOT provide enrolled student-athletes with professional services for which a fee would normally be charged (i.e., free dental or medical services, haircuts, etc.) DO NOT expend funds to entertain student-athletes, their friends or relatives. You are not even permitted to buy student-atheltes’ parents a soft drink or popcorn at an athletic event. DO NOT permit a student-athlete or his/her friends or relatives to use your telephone for long distance calls at your expense. DO NOT provide gifts or awards to a student-athlete for his/her athletic performance. All awards must conform with NCAA awards restrictions and must be approved by Mississippi State University. Check with the athletic department first before permitting a hometown group or business to provide any award to a student-athlete. DO NOT use the name or picture of an enrolled student-athlete to directly advertise, recommend, or promote the sale or use of a commercial product or service of any kind. Such use will render the student-athlete immediately ineligible. DO NOT provide an honorarium to a student-athlete for any speaking engagement. Student-athletes may only receive necessary travel expenses when speaking to educational or charitable groups. All speaking engagements must be approved in advance and coordinated by the athletic department. DO NOT give money to a student-athlete, even if it is for the purpose of paying expenses to amateur athletic competitions. All expense funds must be provided through the University or officially registered amateur sports clubs. For instance, an alumnus cannot sponsor a golfer or tennis player who competes in pro-am competition over the summer. DO feel free to invite a team for dinner or to meet with alumni or friends in a city where they play. Student-athletes may participate in many events and are allowed to receive, as a team, benefits which individual student-athletes may not. Always make arrangements for such activities through the head coach or an athletic department administrator.
