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Compliance

What is Compliance?

Information for Prospective Student-Athletes
Eligibility
Admissions
National Letter of Intent
Financial Aid

Information for Current Student-Athletes
Eligibility
Drug Testing
Equipment
Gambling
Practice and Playing
Varsity Awards

Information for Representatives of Athletics Interests (Boosters)
Boosters and Prospective Student Athletes
Boosters and Curent Student-Athletes
Additional Restrictions for Boosters

Saint Joseph's College is grateful to the many alumni, donors, fans and friends who support the Pumas each year.  The most important quality that an intercollegiate athletic program can display is its integrity.  Saint Joseph's College strives to uphold the highest standards of academic and athletic integrity.  As a member of the NCAA, it is our responsibility to educate administrators, coaches, student-athletes and other Representatives of Athletic Interests about the rules which could affect their association with the program.  The Saint Joseph's College Athletics Department makes a concerted effort to remain in compliance with the strict guidelines of the NCAA and the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

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Information for Prospective Student-Athletes

Eligibility
If you want to participate in intercollegiate sports at an NCAA Division I or NCAA Division II institution, one of your first steps should be registering with the NCAA Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse.  In order to compete, you must fulfill certain academic requirements, which include coursework, grade point average, and test scores (ACT or SAT).  The Clearinghouse checks whether you meet these requirements and certifies your eligibility to compete for any college or university that may be interested in recruiting you.

If you want to compete in intercollegiate athletics as a freshman, you should register with the Clearinghouse at the end of your junior year in high school.  The Clearinghouse will not evaluate your record unless you have completed six semesters of high school coursework.  The Clearinghouse must have certified your eligibility before you can compete and (in some cases) before you can receive an athletic scholarship.

You can get the NCAA Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse application from your high school counselor.  If your high school does not have the application, your counselor can call 317-337-1492 to receive free copies.  You can also access the Clearinghouse web site at www.ncaaclearinghouse.net.  The toll-free Clearinghouse customer service line is 877-262-1492.

After you have applied, the Clearinghouse will send you an evaluation of your academic record.  This evaluation will tell you what high school coursework you still need to take in order to become certified as eligible to play NCAA Division I or Division II athletics.  Use this evaluation to schedule courses during your senior year.  Your high school sends the NCAA a list of approved high school courses, and you must fulfill your NCAA eligibility from this list.

• It's advisable to apply to the Clearinghouse as soon as you have completed six semesters (at the conclusion of your junior year) so you can plan your senior year courses.  Sometimes, students are required to take summer school courses after they have graduated because they did not plan in advance.
• For residents of Illinois and Colorado:  Make sure your test scores are achieved under national testing conditions on a national testing date.  ACT or SAT tests taken at your high school on non-national test dates are not accepted by the Clearinghouse; be sure to check with your high school's guidance counselor.
• More information on the Clearinghouse can be found at: www.ncaaclearinghouse.net

An online application form is also available here.

National Letter of Intent
The National Letter of Intent is designed to reduce and limit recruiting pressure on student-athletes and to promote and preserve the amateur nature of collegiate athletics.

By signing a National Letter of Intent, a prospective student-athlete agrees to attend the designated college or university for one academic year. Pursuant to the terms of the National Letter of Intent program, participating institutions agree to provide athletics financial aid for one academic year to the student-athlete, provided he/she is admitted to the institution and is eligible for financial aid under NCAA rules. An important provision of the National Letter of Intent program is a recruiting prohibition that is applied after a prospective student-athlete signs a Letter of Intent. This prohibition requires participating institutions cease recruitment of a prospective student-athlete once a National Letter of Intent is signed with another institution.

The National Letter of Intent has many advantages to both prospective student-athletes and participating educational institutions:

• Once a National Letter of Intent is signed, prospective student-athletes are no longer subject to further recruiting contacts and calls.
• Student-athletes are assured of an athletics scholarship for one full academic year. (If not for the National Letter of Intent program, a student could find his or her scholarship taken by a more highly recruited student only weeks or days before classes begin.)
• Institutions can be certain that once the student-athlete has signed a Letter of Intent, there is no need to continue recruiting for that position. (Without the program, last-minute changes by student-athletes could open scholarships and positions on teams.)
• By emphasizing student-athletes' commitments to educational institutions, not particular coaches or teams, the program focuses university athletics on educational objectives. The program promotes student-athletes' academic objectives and helps to sustain the amateur nature of college sports.

Financial Aid
Saint Joseph's College is a Division II member of the NCAA, which allows us to grant athletic scholarships.  For athletic scholarship opportunities, please contact the head coach of the sport which interests you.

Information regarding additional sources of financial aid can be obtained by calling 219-866-6163 or by visiting Student Financial Services.

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Information for Current Student-Athletes

Eligibility
In order to be academically eligible for athletic competition each season, all student-athletes must meet the following requirements:

• Be enrolled in a minimum of 12 semester hours during the Fall and Winter semesters (NCAA rule).
• Successfully complete 24 semester hours of courses between seasons of competition (NCAA rule).
• Student-athletes entering their third year of enrollment must have completed at least 25% of the course requirements in the specific degree program.  Student-athletes entering their fourth year of enrollment must have completed 50% of the course requirements in the specific degree program. Student-athletes entering their fifth year of enrollment must have completed at least 75% of the course requirements of the specific degree program (NCAA rule).
• Student athletes must earn at least 75% (18 hours) of the semester hours required for satisfactory progress during the Fall and Winter semesters.  Student-athletes can earn no more than 25% (6 hours) of the semester hours required for satisfactory progress during Spring and Summer sessions (NCAA rule). Please make sure that any summer classes you take at another institution will transfer to Saint Joseph's College.  Contact the Registrar's Office at 219-866-6160 for more information.
• Six-Hour Rule: Student-athletes must earn six-semester or six-quarter hours of academic credit the preceding regular academic term in which the student-athlete has been enrolled full time at any collegiate institution.
• NCAA requires that a student-athlete must maintain the following minimum grade-point average:
  1. After the completion of the first season of competition: 1.800
  2. After completion of the second season of competition: 1.900
  3. After the completion of the third season of competition and subsequent seasons of competition: 2.00
• All students must have a cumulative GPA of 1.8 at the end of their freshman year, and a cumulative GPA of 2.0 at the end of their sophomore, junior and senior years (GLVC rule).
• Any student who has been enrolled in a collegiate institution as a full-time student for four semesters or who has utilized two seasons of competition, and who has attended the member institution for at least one semester, must have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 or higher to be eligible.  Enrollment and competition include all transfer work; the GPA includes only the work at the member institution (GLVC rule).
• Under NCAA rules for Division II institutions, you must complete your seasons of participation during the first ten semesters of full time enrollment.  If for some reason you are not enrolled full time in a collegiate institution, the time toward competition of those ten semesters are not considered to have elapsed.  A fifth year may be allowed if you are "red-shirted" which is defined as being withheld from any scrimmage or contest held against outside competition.  "Redshirt athletes" are determined by the coaching staff.  A fifth year may be allowed if your are granted a "hardship" such as suffering an incapacitating injury or illness.  You must have suffered the injury during the first half of the playing season, have not played in more than 20% of the contests scheduled, and not able to return to play during any of the remainder of that season.  A physician's statement must be submitted to attest to the validity of the request as well as a recommendation from the Head Trainer.

It is important to know that combinations of some of the supplements found in smoothies or other workout drinks can combine into substances on the NCAA banned drugs list. Saint Joseph's College and the NCAA strongly discourage the use of supplements, but if you use them, please check with Jared Hall in the training room to make sure those supplements are okay.

Saint Joseph's College strictly adheres to the NCAA policies banning the use of performance enhancing drugs. The NCAA list of banned-drug classes (subject to change by the NCAA Executive Committee) can be found at:

www.ncaa.org/sports_sciences/drugtesting

The NCAA Banned-Drug Classes for 2003-2004 include:

Stimulants
Amiphenazole
Amphetamine
Bemigride
Benzphetamine
Bromantan
Caffeine (guarana)
Chlorphentermine
Cocaine
Cropropamide
Crothetamide
Diethylpropion
Dimethylamphetamine
Doxapram
Ephedrine (ephedra, ma huang)
Ethamivan
Ethylamphetamine
Fencamfamine
Meclofenoxate
Methamphetamine
Methylene-dioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy)
Methylphenidate
Nikethamide
Pemoline
Pentetrazol
Phendimetrazine
Phenmetrazine
Phentermine
Phenylephrine
Phenylpropanolamine (ppa)
Picrotoxine
Pipradol
Prolintane
Strychnine
Synephrine (citrus aruantium, zhi shi, bitter orange)
And related compounds

Anabolic Agents
Anabolic Steroids
Androstenedione
Boldenone
Clenbuterol
Clostebol
Dehydrochlormethyl-testerone
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)
Dihydrotestosterone (DHT)
Dromostanolone
Fluoxymesterone
Mesterolone
Methandienone
Methenolone
Methyltestosterone
Nandrolone
Norandrostenediol
Norandrostenedione
Norethandrolone
Oxandrolone
Oxymesterone
Oxymethalone
Stanozolol
Testosterone and related compounds
Other anabolic agents

Diuretics
Acetazolamide
Bendroflumethiazide
Benzthiazide
Bumetanide
Chlorothiazide
Chlorthalidone
Ethacrynic Acid
Flumethiazide
Furosemide
Hydrochlorothiazide
Hydroflumethiazide
Methyclothiazide
Metolazone
Polythiazide
Quinethazone
Spironolactone
Triamterene
Trichlormethiazide
And related compounds

Street Drugs
Heroin
Marijuana
THC (tetrahydrocannabinol)

Peptide hormone and Analogues
Chorionic Gonadotrophin (HCG-human chorionic gonadotrophin)
Corticotrophin (ACTH)
Growth Hormone (HGH, somatotrophin)
All the respective releasing factors of the above-mentioned substances are also banned.
Erythropoietin (EPO)
Sermorelin

We also strongly discourage the use of dietary supplements that are untested and unproven. Many supplements contain items that are banned; yet not listed as an ingredient. If a student-athlete knowingly or unknowingly takes a banned substance and tests positive, athletic eligibility will be lost. Before embarking on any dietary plan, the student-athlete should first consult with the SJC Athletic Training Staff. Due to the lack of testing done on dietary supplements, we cannot guarantee their effects either for short-term performance enhancement or for long-term effects these supplements may have on future health.

Equipment
All college equipment and uniforms assigned to you are your responsibility for the sport season.  If you neglect to return a piece of equipment at the end of the season, your student account will be charged the equivalent of the replacement cost for that piece of equipment.

Extra Benefits
NCAA institutions receive more penalties for extra-benefits violations than for any other infraction.  The rule of thumb is that a student-athlete cannot accept any benefit which is not normally available to other students as well.  Examples of extra benefits restrictions include (but are not limited to):

• transportation which is not paid for by the student-athlete
• phone calls which are not paid for by the student-athlete
• gifts of clothing or other items
• arrangements for the purchase of automobiles or other items
• allowing the student-athlete to use an automobile not his or her own
• free admissions or special discounts not available to all students
• special favors to parents or legal guardians
• unusual housing or living arrangements
• selling the student-athlete's tickets to an athletic event
• special arrangements not available to other students

Gambling
The NCAA has established strict guidelines concerning student-athletes' involvement in gambling and bribery.  Student-athletes shall not knowingly participate in any gambling activity that involves intercollegiate athletics or professional athletics, through a bookmaker, parlay card, or any other method employed by organized gambling.

Gambling is a serious problem and can have tragic consequences for the student-athlete who may be tempted to engage in such activities.  Gambling and bribery pose a significant threat to the integrity of intercollegiate athletics.  NCAA Bylaw 10.3 states that student-athletes and staff members of the athletic department shall not knowingly:

• Provide information to individuals involved in organized gambling activities concerning intercollegiate athletics
• Solicit a bet on any intercollegiate or professional team
• Accept a bet on any team representing the institution
• Participate in any gambling activity that involves intercollegiate athletics or professional athletics, through a bookmaker, parlay card, or any other method employed by organized gambling.

• Reporting to the coach or athletic director any offers of gifts, money, or favors in exchange for supplying team information or for attempting to alter the outcome of any contest
• Maintaining a clear understanding of what constitutes gambling and bribery activities and reporting any suspected infractions
• Contacting the coach or other department personnel (i.e. Sports Information Director) when questions concerning appropriate release of team information occur
• Recognizing that participation in gambling or bribery activities will result in disciplinary action by the NCAA as well as local, state, and/or federal prosecution of the involved individual(s).

• Practice - Any meeting, activity or instruction involving sports-related information and having an athletics purpose, held for one or more student-athletes at the direction of or supervised by any member of the institution's coaching staff.
• Competition
• Required weight training and conditioning activities held at the direction of or supervised by an institutional staff member.
• Individual skill-related activities requested by a student-athlete or individual workouts required by or supervised by a member of the institution's coaching staff. Exception: In Track and Field, voluntary practices in our facilities may be supervised by coaches for safety without being considered countable.
• On-site activities called by a member(s) of a team that is considered as a requisite for participation in that sport, such as a captain's practice.  (The NCAA is considering the elimination of this as a countable athletically-related activity.)

• In-Season Limits: 4 hours per day, 20 hours per week.
• Required 1 day off per week during playing season.
• All competition counts as 3 hours, regardless of actual duration.
• Hourly and weekly limitations do not go into effect until the first day of classes or the first date of competition, whichever occurs first.
• Hourly and weekly limitations are not in effect during the academic year between terms when classes are not in session (e.g. Christmas Break).
• A round of golf may exceed the 4 hours, but the total number of hours for the week must not exceed the 20-hour limit.

• Required weight training and conditioning activities held at the direction of or supervised by an institutional staff member.
• Individual skill-related instruction (sports other than football) requested by a student-athlete (no more than 4 student-athletes from the same team may participate in instruction at any one time anywhere).
• Out-Of-Season Limits: 8 hours per week.
• Maximum of 2 hours per week for individual skill-related instruction.
• No countable athletically-related activities are permitted outside of the playing season during an institutional vacation period (e.g. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Break, and Summer Vacation).

• After one season of competition: Varsity Letter
• After two seasons of competition: SJC Jacket
• After three seasons of competition: SJC Pendant
• After four seasons of competition: SJC Watch

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Information for Representatives of Athletic Interests (Boosters)

Representatives of Athletic Interests (also known as a "boosters") are indviduals who are known (or who should be known) by a member of the institution's executive or athletics administration to:

• Participate in an organization promoting SJC's athletics programs.
• Contribute to the SJC athletics department or its booster club.
• Assist in recruiting prospective student-athletes.
• Provide benefits (e.g. summer job) to enrolled student-athletes.
• Promote the institution's athletics program.

• It is very easy to meet one of these criteria; thus, each institution has thousands of athletics representatives.
• Once an individual becomes a representative of the institutions athletics interest, he or she retains that identity forever.
• Under NCAA rules, the institution is responsible for all actions of its athletic representatives.

Representatives of Athletics Interests and Prospective Student Athletes
The NCAA defines a prospective student athlete as any student who has started classes for the ninth grade.  In addition, a student who has not started the ninth grade becomes a prospect if the institution provides the student (or student's relatives or friends) any financial assistance or other benefit not provided to prospective students in general.  A prospective student-athlete remains a prospect even after he or she has signed a National Letter of Intent or financial aid tender to attend Saint Joseph's College.  A prospective student athlete also includes students in prep schools, junior colleges, and individuals who have officially withdrawn from four-year schools.

Representatives of Athletics Interests must follow NCAA regulations in relation to prospective student athletes. Examples of restrictions include (but are not limited to):

• making telephone calls to prospect
• making in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts with a prospect or the prospect's relatives
• contacting prospects' coaches, principals or counselors in an attempt to evaluate prospects
• contacting prospects when they attend the prospect's games
• mailing anything of benefit to a prospect, except personal letters.  Clippings, posters, programs and similar items may not be mailed.
• contributing to the payment of registration fees for prospects to attend summer sports camps
• contributing to the payment of transportation costs for prospects or their friends or families to visit SJC
• giving financial aid or other benefits to prospects or prospects' relatives or friends
• paying any fees associated with sports camps for a prospect.
• visiting prospects' schools to pick up transcripts or films pertaining to the evaluation of the prospect's academic or athletics ability
• providing a prospect with free transportation to and from a summer job unless providing transportation is the employer's established policy for all employees
• inviting a prospect to a booster meeting. If a prospect attends a meeting on his or her own they would be permitted to stay, but they must pay all fees charged for non-members to attend the meeting, including the meal.
• placing an advertisement that is targeted at local prospective student-athletes in a newspaper or other publication (even if the advertisement does not specifically mention SJC)

• have on-campus contacts with prospects and recruits
• mail personal letters to prospects and recruits
• may attend prospects' games on their own initiative, but may not contact prospects on these occasions
• give SJC coaches leads on prospective student-athletes
• make arrangements for a prospect's employment after their senior year in high school. This is the only exception that allows a booster to contact a prospect before the prospect enrolls at SJC. Compensation must be paid only for work performed and at a rate commensurate with the going rate in that locality for services of like character.

• entertaining student-athletes, their friends or family
• using the name of picture of an enrolled student-athlete to advertise, recommend, or promote any product or service
• providing awards or gifts to student-athletes
• allowing student-athletes to make free telephone calls, or allowing the use of a free or discounted automobile.
• inviting enrolled student-athletes to a booster meeting. If an enrolled student-athlete attends a meeting on his or her own they would be permitted to stay, but they must pay all fees charged for non-members to attend the meeting, including the meal.

• invite an enrolled student-athlete to his or her home for an occasional home cooked meal, but may not take a student-athlete to a restaurant.
• provide or arrange summer jobs to enrolled student-athletes. Compensation must be paid only for work performed and at a rate commensurate with the going rate in that locality for services of like character.
• employ an enrolled student-athlete during the academic year. Enrolled student-athletes may receive earnings during the academic year, that when combined with other sources of countable aid, do not exceed the cost of attendance.

• Representatives of Athletics Interests may not entertain, provide tickets or gifts to junior or senior high shool coaches or junior college coaches at any time.
• Representatives of Athletics Interests may not contact student-athletes of another four-year institution to explore the possibility of transferring to Saint Joseph's College.

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