January-February 2014 - Tennessee State University Athletics

Compliance Newsletter
TENNESSEE
STATE
UNIVERSITY
ATHLETICS
J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y
RECRUITING CALENDAR
Cross Country/Track & Field
Quiet Period
Jan 1—2
Contact Period
Jan 3— Feb 2
Feb 7—Mar 13
Dead Period
Feb 3 —6
Men’s Basketball
Contact Period
Jan 1—Mar 31
Women’s Basketball
Evaluation Period
Jan 1—Feb 28
Football
Dead Period
Contact Period
Quiet Period
*Jan 1—3; 13—16;
Feb 3—6
*Jan 4—11; 17—Feb 1
*Jan 4—12; Feb 2; 7—28
Softball
Contact Period
Jan 2—Apr 13
Volleyball
Quiet Period
Contact Period
Jan 1—17
Jan 18—Apr 13
All Other Sports
Contact/Evaluation
Jan 1—Apr 13
2 0 1 4
Sports Wagering and Gambling Reminders
The NCAA strictly prohibits student-athletes,
coaches, staff members, athletics administrators and
non-athletics staff members who have responsibilities within or over the Athletics Department from
gambling or wagering anything of value on any
sport the NCAA sponsors and any sports wagering
activities where there is an entry fee and an opportunity to win a prize. This
includes, but is not limited to, fantasy leagues, Super Bowl pools, March
Madness brackets, and providing information to an individual that intends
to use the information for gambling purposes.
For more information, please contact the Compliance office and visit
www.dontbetonit.org.
Agents
A written OR verbal agreement with a sports agent for the purpose of marketing athletic skill will render a student-athlete ineligible for all intercollegiate athletic competition.
NLI Reminders
♦
The National Letter of Intent (NLI) initial signing date for football and track and field/cross country is Wednesday, February 5, 2014. ♦
| ASK BEFORE YOU ACT |
Only prospects who will be entering a four‐year institution for the first time as full‐time students may sign an NLI. It is also permissible for 2‐4 or 4‐2‐4 transfers who are graduating from a two‐year college to sign an NLI. Please review all 2‐4 and 4‐2‐4 transfer requirements as it ap‐
plies to prospects enrolling prior or after to August 1, 2012. ♦
COMPLIANCE STAFF
Jennifer Bell
Assistant AD for
Compliance
963-5887
[email protected]
Latessa Hickerson
Compliance Director
963-5889
[email protected]
Tuamafa Reilly
Compliance Coordinator
963-5003
[email protected]
A prospect may not be offered an NLI until he/she has registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center and completes the amateurism certifica‐
tion questions for the applicable sport. ♦
Unlimited telephone calls are permitted Wednesday, February 5 through Friday, February 7. In football, coaching staff members may make unlimited telephone calls to prospects Monday, February 3 through Friday, February 7. Unlimited calls apply only to senior pros‐
pects or those who are otherwise eligible to sign an NLI. ♦
Once a prospect has signed an NLI, all other institutions are obligated to cease contacting a prospect and his/her family members. Any con‐
tact in excess of an exchange of a greeting is not permitted regardless of the conversation. The conversation does not have to result in a re‐
cruiting discussion for a recruiting ban violation to occur. ♦
A prospect signs an NLI with an institution, not with a coach. If the coach leaves, the prospect is still bound by the provisions of the NLI. HEART IS what SEPARATES THE GOOD FROM THE GREAT. –Michael Jordan
NLI Signing Dates for Prospects Signing 2013-14 and Enrolling 2014-15
Upcoming Signing Dates:
INITIAL SIGNING DATE
February 5, 2014
SPORT
Football
Track and Field/Cross Country
February 5, 2014
FINAL SIGNING DATE
April 1, 2014
August 1, 2014
Dead Period. Monday through Thursday (February 3—6, 2014) of the week that includes the initial date
for signing the NLI is a DEAD PERIOD. This is a period of time when it is not permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts or
evaluations on- or off-campus; however, it remains permissible for an institution staff member to write or telephone a PSA during a
dead period.
NLI Policy Changes for the 2013-14 Signing Year.
NLI Deadlines. As a result of enhanced technology in delivering NLIs to prospects, member institutions and the conference office,
the deadlines for NLI signing and conference submission are reduced for the upcoming 2013-14 NLI signing dates.
Signing Deadline. The 14-day signing deadline is reduced to 7 days (7-day signing deadline). The prospective studentathlete must sign the NLI within 7 days from the issuance date.
Conference Submission Deadline. The 21-day conference submission deadline is reduced to 14 days (14-day conference
submission deadline). The institution must submit the NLI with the athletics aid agreement to the conference office
within 14 days of final signature on the NLI.
U.S. Armed Forces or Church Mission – Null and Void Exception. An NLI signee who serves in active duty with the armed
forces of the United States or an official church mission for at least 12 months will have the opportunity to use the One-Year Absence exception to null and void his or her NLI; therefore, a separate exception is not necessary and has been eliminated for the
upcoming 2013-14 NLI signing dates. This permits the NLI to be declared null and void if the signing institution no longer has the
athletics aid available for the year the prospect returns from his or her service.
Requirements Before Providing an NLI to a Prospective Student-Athlete. A prospect, including a two-year college transfer, must
register with the NCAA Eligibility Center and be on an Institutional Request List (IRL) before an institution can provide an NLI to the prospect. A prospect must also complete the Eligibility Center amateurism (sport participation) questions before signing an NLI or written offer
of athletics aid.
Required Signature Prior to Issuance to the Prospective Student-Athlete. The Director of Athletics, Teresa Phillips (or designee,
Valencia Jordan) signature must be included on both the NLI (NLI Policy) and OVC Financial Aid Agreement, as well as the Scholarship Committee Chair’s (Dr. Gregory Clark) signature on the OVC Financial Aid Agreement (NCAA Bylaw 15.3.2.3) prior to issuing both documents
to the prospect.
Cosigner Requests. If a prospect’s parent or legal guardian is not available to sign the NLI due to extenuating circumstances, it is permissible for another individual to sign with the prospect. The cosigner must be approved in advance by the NLI office. In order to gain approval,
the following information must be submitted to the NLI office for review: prospect’s name, explanation of why a parent or legal guardian is
unable to sign, and the name and relationship of the individual (not a coach or athletics administrator) who has agreed to sign with the prospect.
NLI and OVC Financial Aid Agreement Delivery. The NLI and OVC Agreement may be delivered by express mail, courier service,
regular mail, e-mail or fax. An NLI submitted to TSU by fax or electronic means is permissible. A coach or institutional representative may
not hand deliver an NLI off-campus or be present off-campus at the time of signing. However, it is permissible to hand deliver an NLI to a
prospect while on-campus for an official or unofficial visit provided it is not a dead period and no media is present.
Announcement of NLI Signing. Media Relations may release information to the media only after receiving confirmation from the Compliance Office. It is permissible beginning August 1 to send a publically viewable tweet that is both signing-day publicity and results in a direct
message to the prospect. The key of the new rule is to be sure any such publicity occurs AFTER the NLI is signed, dated (including time of
signature) on that same day.
NLI Signing Tutorial. A tutorial to assist prospects and parents (and you as a coach) to better understand the NLI Provisions and the
signature page is available on the NLI website.
Future Signing Dates. Signing dates for the 2013-2014 academic year are available at www.tsutigers.com under the Compliance link and
www.national-letter.org.
Compliance forms are due by the 3rd business day of each month
Electronic Transmissions, Social Media and Recruiting
Date Published: February 10, 2014
The NCAA staff released an educational column in response to the previously mentioned staff interpretation in December’s
newsletter on “Friend” or “Follow” Requests on Social Media. The educational column is a friendly reminder that an athletics
department staff member’s personal website or social media profile [or personal page on any site (e.g., Twitter, tumblr,
Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn)] may include information related to the institution’s athletics program,
subject to the same restrictions applicable to an institution’s athletics website. A personal site may contain information not
created for a recruiting purpose (e.g., game scores, season updates, facility updates, information regarding the coaching
staff or current or former student-athletes). However, an athletics staff member may not include information about or directed toward a specific prospect or to post video or audio materials directed toward prospects generally unless such content is produced by the institution’s official admissions or student services office and available to all students or is not created for a recruiting purpose (e.g., interviews with current student-athletes or game highlights targeted to a general audience).
Furthermore, the NCAA reminds the institution and athletics staff members not to comment publicly about a prospect, other
than to confirm recruitment, before the prospect has signed an NLI or the institution’s written offer of admission and/or
financial aid, or prior to receipt of the prospect’s financial deposit in response to the institution’s offer of admission. The
institution must also abstain from commenting in any manner as to the likelihood a prospect will sign with the institution and
may not publicize (or arrange for the publicity of) a prospects visit to campus, including any camp or clinic held on the institution’s campus, before the prospect has signed an NLI, the institution’s written offer of admission and/or financial aid or
prior to receipt of his or her financial deposit in response to the institution’s offer of admission. Further, an athletics staff
member may not promote or endorse a prospect’s team or coach, or an athletics facility primarily used by prospects.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Compliance office.
Text Messages
In sports other than basketball, all forms of electronically transmitted correspondence to a prospect,
other than electronic mail (traditional email, and other communication through electronic services and
applications comparable to traditional email in which a message is sent directly to another individual)
and fax, are prohibited until after the prospect signs an NLI or the institution’s written offer of admission and/or financial aid or after the institution has received a financial deposit in response to the institution’s offer of admission. Examples of prohibited electronic correspondence include, but are not
limited to text messages, instant messages, SnapChat and comments on a prospects wall or page.
In basketball, any type of electronically transmitted correspondence (e.g., email, fax, instant message,
text message, SnapChat, etc.) may be sent to a prospect only if the correspondence is sent directly to
the prospect (or his/her parents or legal guardians) and is private between the sender and recipient.
Once a prospect signs an NLI or the institution’s written offer of admission and/or financial aid or
after the institution receives a financial deposit from the prospect in response to the institution’s offer of admission,
the institution may communicate publicly with that prospect.
Monthly Tasks
Our reminders on documentation for this month are very similar to last. Probably because the tasks are repetitive and consistent.
Please contact the Compliance office if you have any questions about recruiting documentation (i.e., contact/evaluation, off-campus
recruiting, official visit, unofficial visit, telephone logs), CARA/Practice logs, and the participation list/roster (in-season only).

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