Special to UM News

It is not unusual to read in the news that a student-athlete at a NCAA institution has been declared ineligible for competition due to involvement in a violation of NCAA rules, such as accepting a benefit not available to others. Although this is often interesting and sometimes “scandalous” to the media, it is not an infrequent occurrence for collegiate athletic departments, which declare many student-athletes ineligible for play every year.

So, how does a compliance administrator handle a NCAA violation that requires declaring a student-athlete ineligible for competition?

First, they must report violations of NCAA rules that affect a student-athlete’s eligibility to the NCAA National Office. That triggers a reinstatement process, which includes a review and assessment of the student-athlete’s or prospective student-athlete’s responsibility and determines appropriate conditions for reinstatement of eligibility under the NCAA’s standards.

The following is a summary of the reinstatement process:

• Institution determines that a prospective or enrolled student-athlete was involved in a violation that affects eligibility;
• Institution declares student-athletes/prospective student-athlete ineligible;
• Institution investigates situation and gathers facts;
• Institution submits eligibility reinstatement request to student-athlete reinstatement staff.
• NCAA staff reviews request, focusing on the student-athlete’s/prospective student-athlete’s responsibility;
• NCAA staff reviews precedent and reviews cases with similar facts to determine what conditions for reinstatement should be imposed, if any.
• NCAA staff, on behalf of Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committees, can do one of three things:

1. Reinstate eligibility without conditions.
2. Reinstate eligibility with conditions, such as repayment, return of benefit, withheld from one or more contests, lose one or more years of eligibility.
3. Not reinstate eligibility at that institution or at any institution

If a NCAA institution does not agree with the action by the Reinstatement Staff, the institution can appeal that decision to the Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee. This committee is composed of athletic administrators from various NCAA institutions. The action by the committee is final and cannot be appealed to any other committee.

During the entire review process (from gathering the facts, writing the report, complying with the reinstatement conditions, etc.) a student-athlete is generally eligible to practice with his or her team, but cannot travel or compete with the team. As a result, there is often a great deal of pressure to work quickly and efficiently on student-athlete reinstatement cases.

The UM Athletics Department asks all University of Miami staff, alumni, boosters and supporters to contact the compliance office with any questions concerning student-athlete eligibility, extra benefits or any other questions they may have. As always, your efforts to help the University of Miami maintain a culture of compliance are greatly appreciated.

For more compliance information, follow the UM Athletics Department on Twitter (@UCompliance), like them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/UCompliance), or contact them via email, [email protected].