Reasonable Standards Review: Bylaw 11

Reasonable Standards Review

The NCAA has bylaws mandating regulations for coaches, administrators and student-athletes. The National Association of Athletics Compliance (NAAC) has established a set of reasonable standards for the purpose of providing guidance to NCAA member institutions. In this blog series, Spry Compliance Director Todd Hairston will review these standards and provide insight on how Spry can help institutions stay compliant and mitigate risk.

Bylaw 11- Sport Specific Non-Coaching Staff Members

Non-coaching staff members exist in a difficult legislative space. They aren’t allowed to recruit or engage in coaching activities like a countable coach, yet they are vital, indispensable members of the staff.  These individuals are such an integral part of operation that there are several reasonable standards recommendations devoted specifically to non-coaching staff members. 

Below, we’ll highlight some of these recommended standards and how Spry can assist athletic departments in meeting them.

Standard 

• Spot checking is a must.  Documenting that non-coaching staff members are not engaged in on-court coaching activities is a critical element in meeting the institution’s monitoring standard.  This can be a challenge for small compliance staffs, or departments with multiple facilities located in different parts of campus, however it is recommended that spots checks be conducted at least once per year, per sport. 
  1. Responsible party: compliance
• Educate all non-coaching staff members on the limitations of their roles upon hire and at least once annually.
  1. Responsible party: compliance
• Maintain a “Declaration of Staff” list designating each staff member according to their status (i.e. countable, non-countable, volunteer, part-time, full-time).
  1. Responsible party: compliance
• Audit recruiting records for impermissible recruiting activities.
  1. Responsible party: compliance
• Review background of new hires to determine IAWP status (if applicable).
  1. Responsible party: compliance or HR

Platform Support

SpryConnect’s Personnel Management platform will allow institutions to code each staff member according to their title and category and flag impermissible recruiting activities performed by unauthorized personnel.  Connect will also assist with the educational standard by providing timely educational modules and interpretations through the platform.

Relevant Bylaws

11.4.2, 11.4.3, 11.4.4- Individuals Associated with a Prospect

11.7- Limitations on the Number and Duties of Coaches and Non-coaching Staff members

Yes or No

• Question: Is it permissible for a non-coaching staff member to operate a local sports club involving prospects?

• Answer: YES, provided the club is located in the institution’s home community and the staff member doesn’t engage in any recruiting activities on behalf of the institution