BASIC NCAA RULES - NC State University Athletics

Review of basic NCAA rules:

Ethical Conduct – Coaches, staff and student-athletes shall act with honesty and sportsmanship at all times in an effort to represent the honor and dignity of fair play and the generally recognized high standards associated with wholesome competitive sports.

Examples of unethical conduct:

Academic fraud, academic misconduct, cheating, lying, asking others to lie, asking others to do something fraudulent, covering up a violation of NCAA rules;
Failure to report a violation of NCAA rules, and failure to cooperate with the University or NCAA when they are investigating a possible violation of NCAA rules.

Sports Wagering - Staff, coaches and SAs shall not place a bet on any amateur, collegiate, or professional sports contest in a sport in which the NCAA conducts a Championship. Other prohibited activity: Provide information to individuals involved in organized gambling concerning intercollegiate games; Bet or solicit a bet on any team of the University.

Examples:

You cannot put $25 in an NCAA Final Four bracket pool;
You cannot tell a student bookie (or anyone else) that your roommate (who is the starting center for the football team) has a hamstring injury and probably won't compete this Saturday;
You cannot place a bet on the Atlanta Braves, Carolina Hurricanes or UNC vs. NC State game, or on an Internet betting site;
You cannot participate in any Fantasy League that requires money to enter and an opportunity to win money on the back end.

Amateurism - Student-athletes may now use their name, image, and likeness to make money, through autographs, appearances, advertisements or promotions of commercial products or services, etc. Recruiting inducements (to stay at an institution or go to an institution) remain impermissible, you cannot be paid for your athletics performance (pay-for-play), and the NIL activities require a quid pro quo (paid for something you do). You may also sign a contract with an agent, brand manager, financial advisor or other third party for your NIL activities (but they cannot help you advance a professional athletic career).

Examples:

You can use your name, photo, or likeness to advertise a product for money;
You can sell your artwork online and use your name, image and likeness to advertise;
You can sign autographs in front of a commercial entity for money.

Recruiting – If you are asked to be involved in official visits for recruits, please remember that recruits are not permitted to receive anything of value beyond permissible travel, lodging and meals. Coaches and other staff are regulated in this bylaw as it relates to telephone calls, text messages, video chats, Facebook/Twitter messages, in-person contacts, evaluations and official/ unofficial visits. As a student-athlete you may communicate with a prospect on social media as long as it is not at the direction of the coaching staff.

Examples:

Coaches cannot offer cash, meals, car, transportation, housing, clothing, jewelry, etc to a prospect or their family members to obtain their commitment to NC State.
Student-athletes cannot provide a recruit with anything of value during their visit to campus.
A student-athlete can post on a PSA’s Twitter or Instagram account as long as it is not done at the direction of the coaching staff

Academic Eligibility - To participate in intercollegiate athletics, you must be enrolled as a full-time student (at least 12 hours undergraduate and 9 hours graduate), be in good academic standing (at NC State & with NCAA), and maintain progress toward your degree.

Examples:

You are not eligible to participate in a contest if you are not enrolled in at least 12 credit hours;
As a junior, you will not be participating in a contest if you have not declared a major;
As a senior, you will not be participating if you don't have at least 60% of your degree requirements.

Entering 2nd Yr of Collegiate Enrollment	Entering 3rd Yr of Collegiate Enrollment	Entering 4th Yr of Collegiate Enrollment	Entering 5th Yr of Collegiate Enrollment
24 semester hrs	40% of degree requirements	60% of degree requirements	80% of degree requirements
18 credits earned during academic yr	18 credits earned during academic yr	18 credits earned during academic yr	18 credits earned during academic yr
90% of GPA for graduation (1.8)	95% of GPA for graduation (1.9)	100% of GPA for graduation (2.0)	100% of GPA for graduation (2.0)
Wrestling only - For each term after 1st term of enrollment, cum or term GPA must be 2.0	Wrestling only - For each term after 1st term of enrollment, cum or term GPA must be 2.0	Wrestling only - For each term after 1st term of enrollment, cum or term GPA must be 2.0	Wrestling only - For each term after 1st term of enrollment, cum or term GPA must be 2.0
6 credit hrs/term	6 credit hrs/term	6 credit hrs/term	6 credit hrs/term
FB ONLY – Every Fall term 9 credit hrs	FB ONLY – Every Fall term 9 credit hrs	FB ONLY – Every Fall term 9 credit hrs	FB ONLY – Every Fall term 9 credit hrs
A maximum of 6 semester hrs of remedial course may be used in the 1st yr	Declaration of degree program

General Eligibility - You have 5 years in which to compete in 4 seasons of competition (unless a Covid waiver applies); It is against NCAA rules to miss class due to practice; In team sports, you are not permitted to compete as a member of any outside team in any non-collegiate, amateur competition during the academic year (individual sports have more flexibility); A student who transfers for the first time and leaves NC State eligible can compete immediately at their second institution in all sports, but there are transfer windows for each sport in which you may enter the transfer portal. If you miss entering your name into the transfer portal during your sport’s transfer windows you will not be able to compete immediately at your next institution.

Example:

You use one of your 4 seasons of competition when you step on the field for one play, jump in the pool, step on the court for one play, step to the plate for one pitch, participate in one race, etc; (FB players may participate in up to 4 games without using a season of competition; wrestlers may compete in up to 5 matches without using a season of competition but only in their freshman year.)

Financial Aid - It is permissible for you to accept: athletics aid & scholarships from the University, money received from people upon whom you are legally dependent (parents, guardians), financial aid awarded to you by an outside group, institutional need-based aid, institutional non-discretionary merit based aid, and employment earnings. For outside scholarships from Wal-Mart, Kwanis Club, etc. we need a letter detailing why you got the award and the check must be submitted to the Financial Aid Office; Athletics scholarships can be re-awarded and may be multi-year agreements. If your scholarship is decreased, canceled or not renewed, you will be notified that you have an appeal opportunity with a committee outside of athletics. Contact the Compliance office to learn about the process or review your Student-Athlete Handbook.

Examples:

A women's swimmer can accept money from her parents but the outside award she received from her Swimming Club has to be reported to the Office of Scholarships & Financial Aid and they need documentation detailing why she got the award;
It's permissible for a men’s soccer SA to work for the Office of Admissions and receive $9.00/hr for 30 hrs a week during the summer (provided an Employment workflow has been completed);
It's permissible for a gymnast to receive a $5000 State Grant tuition waiver from NC State;

Extra Benefits - An extra benefit is any special arrangement by an institutional employee, a former teammate, alumni, or a booster of the program, to provide a SA, or the SA’s relatives or friends, a benefit not authorized by NCAA rules. A good rule-of-thumb is to “not to accept anything from anyone for any reason” (unless they are a relative), and if you do want to accept something from someone, please check with the Compliance staff FIRST. Accepting anything from anyone not related to you may render you ineligible and jeopardize team wins if penalties are required by the NCAA.

Examples:

It is not permissible for the head women's soccer coach to co-sign a loan so that one of his student-athletes can purchase a new/used car;
It's not permissible for a member of the Wolfpack Club to purchase a winter coat for a player because he's from Arizona;
It's not permissible for a former player/booster to allow you to use his credit card or to pay rent on your apartment;

Complimentary Tickets

Four (4) tickets per player for regular season games in your sport.
Six (6) tickets per player for postseason participation in your sport.
Tickets cannot be sold or provided to anyone in exchange for anything of value.

Employment - Employment is permissible, provided the student-athlete receives an appropriate wage for the work they are doing.

Note: All employment should be submitted to compliance via an ARMS workflow (“Student-Athlete Employment/ Internship/Capstone Course Form”)

Playing and Practice Seasons – In general, during the in-season segment, student-athletes are limited to 4 hours of “countable athletically related activities” (CARA) each day and 20 hours per week, with one day off per week. During the out-of-season segment, in most sports, student-athletes are limited to 8 hours per week, with only 4 of hours of skill instruction. Examples of CARA include practice, competition, required conditioning or weight training, required film review, etc. Examples that are not considered CARA are compliance meetings, tutor sessions, academic meetings, rehabilitation, etc. RARA activities (e.g., promotional, required service days) are prohibited on a day off.

Drug Testing – NCAA drug testing takes place 365 days/year for all sports; NC State teams will be tested at least once during the academic year, possibly on more than one occasion.

If the NCAA tests and you test positive, you become ineligible for regular season and postseason competition for 365 days from the date of your positive test and charged with 1 season of competition in all sports.
If you test positive for a second time for the use of any drug (other than a street drug), you lose all remaining eligibility in all sports.
If you miss the test, it is considered a positive result.
Free confidential information to your questions about dietary supplements and banned substances. www.drugfreesport.com/rec (Organization: Division I Passcode: ncaa1)