NCAA Compliance
Point Park University is committed to the principle of institutional control and operating our Athletics Department under compliance with the NCAA, Mountain East Conference, and University rules and regulations.
Point Park University’s compliance office monitors, verifies, and tracks all compliance with NCAA requirements. Student-athletes, coaches, faculty, and staff are supported by the compliance office with education regarding NCAA and Mountain East Conference regulations. Point Park University is dedicated to ensuring all individuals involved with the athletics department understand and adhere to the NCAA and University compliance expectations.
Who is a Representative of Point Park University Athletics Interests?
A representative of Point Park University athletics interests is an individual, business, or organization who is known (or who should have been known) by a member of the institution's executive or athletics administration to:
As a "Representatives of Athletics Interests", Point Park University is responsible for anything you do relating to prospects, student-athletes, and their families or friends, whether it is accidental or intentional.
Who Is A Prospect?
A prospective student-athlete or "prospect" is a student who has started classes for the ninth grade, including students in prep schools and junior colleges, and individuals who have officially withdrawn or been released from four-year schools. Any student not yet in the ninth grade becomes a prospect if an institution provides the student with any financial assistance or other benefits that are generally not provided to prospective students.
A student-athlete remains a prospect until he/she reports for regular squad practice or attends the first day of class as a full-time student during any regular academic term.
As a Representative of Athletics Interests, what interaction am I allowed with prospects?
You CAN:
An extra benefit is defined as any special arrangement by an institutional employee or a representative of the institution's athletics interests to provide a student-athlete or the student-athlete's relatives or friends a benefit not expressly authorized by the NCAA. Receipt of a benefit by student-athletes or their relatives is not a violation of NCAA legislation if it is demonstrated that the same benefit is generally available to the institution's students or their relatives or friends or to a particular segment of the student body (e.g. foreign students, minority students) determined on a basis unrelated to athletic ability.
If a student-athlete accepts any benefit based on his or her athletic ability, that athlete may lose all eligibility for intercollegiate athletics participation. Additionally, boosters involved may be forced to disassociate from the university's athletic program.
As a Representative of Athletics Interests, what interaction am I allowed with Student-Athletes enrolled at Point Park?
You CAN/DO’s:
Point Park University’s compliance office monitors, verifies, and tracks all compliance with NCAA requirements. Student-athletes, coaches, faculty, and staff are supported by the compliance office with education regarding NCAA and Mountain East Conference regulations. Point Park University is dedicated to ensuring all individuals involved with the athletics department understand and adhere to the NCAA and University compliance expectations.
Who is a Representative of Point Park University Athletics Interests?
A representative of Point Park University athletics interests is an individual, business, or organization who is known (or who should have been known) by a member of the institution's executive or athletics administration to:
- Have participated in or have been a member of an agency, group, or organizations, including corporate entities (e.g., apparel and equipment companies), that promotes Point Park University athletics program.
- Have made a financial and/or in-kind donation to the Bison Athletic Fund, the Department of Athletics, and/or Development Office.
- Be assisting or to have assisted in providing benefits to enrolled student-athletes or their families.
- Have been involved, in any way promoting Point Park Athletics. Any Point Park faculty or staff member is typically viewed as an representative of athletics interests even if they do not have any tie to Pioneer Athletics.
As a "Representatives of Athletics Interests", Point Park University is responsible for anything you do relating to prospects, student-athletes, and their families or friends, whether it is accidental or intentional.
Who Is A Prospect?
A prospective student-athlete or "prospect" is a student who has started classes for the ninth grade, including students in prep schools and junior colleges, and individuals who have officially withdrawn or been released from four-year schools. Any student not yet in the ninth grade becomes a prospect if an institution provides the student with any financial assistance or other benefits that are generally not provided to prospective students.
A student-athlete remains a prospect until he/she reports for regular squad practice or attends the first day of class as a full-time student during any regular academic term.
As a Representative of Athletics Interests, what interaction am I allowed with prospects?
You CAN:
- Observe a prospect's athletics contest as long as no contact is made with the prospect.
- Give Point Park 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 Point Park. 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.
- Provide any benefit to prospective student-athletes, even if it is available to all students. This includes, but is not limited to, cash or loans, promise of employment after college, use of an automobile, tangible items, etc.
- Contribute to the payment of transportation costs for prospects or their friends or families to visit Point Park University.
- Pay any fees associated with sports camps for a prospect.
- Have off-campus contact recruits or their parents, in person or by telephone.
- Contact the prospect's high school coach, principal, or guidance counselor for the purposes of evaluating or recruiting the prospect.
- Visit the prospect's educational institution to pick up film/videotape or transcripts regarding the evaluation of the prospect's academic eligibility or athletic ability.
- Invite prospective student-athletes, their high school coaches, or their parents to receptions.
- Provide a meal at a restaurant for prospects and their parents.
- Provide a prospect with free transportation to and from a summer job unless providing transportation is the employer's established policy for al employees.
- Invite 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.
- Place an advertisement that is targeted at local prospective student-athletes in a newspaper or other publication (even if the advertisement does not specifically mention Point Park).
- Employ relatives of prospects as an inducement for enrollment.
- Employ or arrange for the employment of a prospect without checking first with the athletic department.
An extra benefit is defined as any special arrangement by an institutional employee or a representative of the institution's athletics interests to provide a student-athlete or the student-athlete's relatives or friends a benefit not expressly authorized by the NCAA. Receipt of a benefit by student-athletes or their relatives is not a violation of NCAA legislation if it is demonstrated that the same benefit is generally available to the institution's students or their relatives or friends or to a particular segment of the student body (e.g. foreign students, minority students) determined on a basis unrelated to athletic ability.
If a student-athlete accepts any benefit based on his or her athletic ability, that athlete may lose all eligibility for intercollegiate athletics participation. Additionally, boosters involved may be forced to disassociate from the university's athletic program.
As a Representative of Athletics Interests, what interaction am I allowed with Student-Athletes enrolled at Point Park?
You CAN/DO’s:
- Provide an occasional home meal to enrolled student-athletes (not prospects) and provide local transportation to your home with the Athletic Director's permission on special occasions (e.g., birthday, Thanksgiving).
- Provide a home meal and lodging at your home, and/or reasonable entertainment within 100 miles of the competition site to a Point Park team competing in your area on an away trip.
- Provide lodging, meals, and transportation to Point Park coaches when they come to you community to contact and evaluate prospects.
- Arrange for employment for enrolled student-athletes as long as there is no preferential treatment and the student only gets paid that going rate for work activities actually performed.
- The NCAA permits student-athletes AS A TEAM to receive special benefits not permitted as individuals. Arrangements for such events must be made in advance with the athletic department.
- Pay student-athletes employed by you only for work actually performed and at the same rate for similar service in the community and your own business.
- Notify the athletic department of employment possibilities for student-athletes.
- Provide any benefit to enrolled student-athletes that is not equally available to all students, even after their eligibility is exhausted.
- Provide a meal at a restaurant for enrolled student-athletes or their parents.
- Provide cash or other tangible items (e.g. clothes, cars, shoes) to a student-athlete or his/her.
- Providing professional services at no charge or a reduced rate.
- Purchase items or services from a student-athlete's family at inflated prices.
- Provide the use of a car (including official visits to student hosts) or any free or reduced cost services to student-athlete or his/her family.
- Provide a loan, co-signing a loan or guaranteeing a bond for a prospect/student athlete.
- Provide tickets to an athletic event (institutional or community), or free admission to an institution's away from home contest for a prospect/student-athlete or his/her family or friends.
- Promise employment after graduation or promising financial aid for post graduate education.
- Pay or arrange for the payment of transportation costs incurred by student-athlete's family to visit the campus or elsewhere.
- Entertain relatives of a student athlete including at your home or another facility (e.g. restaurant).
- Employing relatives of prospects as an inducement for enrollment.
- Buy Christmas, birthday gifts or any gifts or awards for athletic performance.
- Use the name or image of an enrolled student-athlete to directly advertise, recommend or promote sales or the use of a commercial product or service of any kind.
- Employ or arrange for the employment of a student-athlete without checking first with the athletic department.
- Provide transportation for a student-athlete whom you employ unless transportation is provided for all others employees.
- Provide student-athletes employment during the academic year without contacting the athletic department.