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POLICY STATEMENT

It is the responsibility of employees of the Texas Tech Athletic Department to understand and abide by NCAA Rules and Regulations regarding sports camps. These guidelines are imperative to ensure the eligibility of our athletes and future prospective student-athletes. It is important to begin with the definitions that serve as a foundation for the legislation and interpretations governing this area. This document will serve, as a guideline to help you understand NCAA regulations, and provide a simple question and answer format to further your understanding.

NCAA RULES

The first part of this section will cover questions regarding the definitions of instructional and developmental camps and clinics, and the regulations governing these areas.

What is a developmental clinic?

  • The developmental clinic is designed to develop fundamental skills in a sport (not to refine existing skills). Thus, it is for novices in a sport, and not for skilled athletes. (Bylaw 13.12.3.1.-(a))

    What is an instructional sports camp or clinic?

  • Any sports camp or instructional clinic that is owned or operated by an NCAA institution, or an employee of the institution's athletics department, either on or off the campus, in which prospective student athletes participate is considered an institutional camp or clinic under NCAA legislation. (Bylaw 13.13.1.1)

    At what times can sports camps be held?

  • There are special restrictions on sports camps for Football and Men's and Women's Basketball. The times for these particular sports are the summer months of June, July, and August. All other sports (i.e., baseball, soccer, etc.) can be held at any time. (Bylaw 13.13.1.1.2)

    Who can attend instructional camps?

  • In sports other than Divisions I football, your institution's instructional sports camps or clinics must be open to all students who apply, with limits only on number and age. In the sport of Division I football, a "senior prospect" may not enroll, participate, or be employed in the camp or clinic. In all sports, you cannot restrict enrollment by inviting only certain prospects to attend. (Bylaws 13.13.1.2 and 13.13.1.2.1)

    Who is considered a "senior prospect" and what are the regulations on senior prospects?

  • A senior prospect is defined as a prospective student-athlete who is eligible for admission to a member institution or who has started classes for their senior year in high school. (Bylaws 13.13.1.2.1.1 and 13.13.1.2.1.2)
  • Senior prospects may enroll but not participate or be employed in an institution's camp or clinic. (Bylaws 13.13.1.2.1.2)

    SPORTS CAMPS AUDIT

    Institutional sports camps (all or some of them) may be audited by Internal Audit and/or Athletics Compliance Office. This audit will be conducted to determine if the sports camps have followed university and camp policies and stayed within the guidelines established by the NCAA. The sports camp directors will be responsible for supplying Internal Audit/Athletics Compliance Office all the obligatory documentation required in this sports camp document.

    UNIVERISITY POLICIES

    Sports camp directors need to be aware of several university policies that pertain to sports camps. These policies include the use of departmental staff during work hours, use of departmental supplies, medical responsibilities and insurance for campers and staff.
    1) A Texas Tech Camp/Clinic Agreement must be executed prior to the sports camp. This agreement is located in this document as Appendix C or can be obtained in the Athletics Business Office. A camp description form must also be completed prior to the sports camp (see Appendix A).
    2) The Texas Tech Camp/Clinic Agreement requires that the sports camp obtain medical and general liability for its staff and campers. Evidence of such insurance should be provided to the Athletics Business Office prior to the start date of the camp. The policy should name Texas Tech as an additional insured party. It will be the responsibility of the sports camp to pay for these premiums. An insurance agency which you may consider is Bene-Marc in Ft. Worth, Texas (800-247-1734). This company is the agent for the University Athlete Play/Practice Policy.
    3) Please refer to the Summary of Camp/Clinic Documentation for a complete list of necessary forms and requested documentation.
    4) Full time employees of Texas Tech University who are employed by the camp must report vacation for time devoted to camp activities during normal business hours.
    5) If the sports camp utilizes an athletic department secretary, during working hours, the secretary should report vacation time for hours that are devoted to camp activities.
    6) If the sports camp utilizes athletic department supplies, the sports camp must repay the athletic department for these benefits. Documentation needs to be included on the breakdown of these benefits.
    7) No camper shall be allowed to participate in camp activities without a complete camp application on file. This application should include a parental release signature. (See Appendix D)
    8) Sports camps will admit all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin. Such statement shall include "sex" for those camps open to both males and females.

    BROCHURES AND ADVERTISING

    Brochures and advertising for all institutional sports camps and clinics must be in accordance with NCAA guidelines. Camp brochures should include a statement above the parent's signature, which indicates, "the applicants registration fee has not been provided by a representative of the institution's athletics interest." Further, the camp brochure should contain a statement regarding camp refunds, group discounts, and airport/ bus transportation. Any questions regarding a brochure or advertising copy should be directed to the Associate Athletics Director/Compliance. Further, the brochure or advertising copy must be approved by the compliance office prior to printing. The recruiting materials that are permissible to provide to prospects and the regulations on advertising and promotions that are designed to attract prospects to this institution are covered in Bylaw 13.4.

    Can you advertise your institution's summer camps?

  • You can advertise your institution's sports camps in periodicals (other than high school or two-year college game programs) that include camp directories. Your ads cannot be more than one-half page, and their format must be identical to that for other camps. Yours cannot be the only ad: the camp directory must include at least one other camp. (Bylaw 13.4.4.1.2) Can the sports camp use names or pictures of student-athletes (with remaining eligibility) on the camp brochure?
  • Student-athletes with remaining eligibility can be used on your camp brochure only if they are identified as a camp counselor and plan to work at the sports camp that you are advertising/promoting. What types of information can be included on the camp brochure?
  • Only information pertaining to your sports camp can be included on the brochure. Coaches accolades or accomplishments may also be listed. Pictures of your sports team with championship trophies or sightseeing trips may not be used.

    CORPORATE OR OUTSIDE SPONSORSHIP

    A corporate sponsor for an institutional camp or clinic may not provide transportation to prospective student-athletes. However, receipt of such transportation by individuals who have not yet started classes for the ninth grade or otherwise been recruited, would be permissible as long as transportation was available to all such individuals.

    A corporate sponsor for an institutional camp or clinic may provide free admission to participants who are not high-school, preparatory school, or two-year college athletics award winners and who have not been recruited by the institution, provided such admission is available to any individual on the basis of need. An "athletics award winner" for these purposes is defined as any high-school, preparatory school, or two-year college letter winner as determined by the prospective student-athlete's educational institution.

    An outside amateur sports organization (not associated with the institution) may provide actual and necessary expenses to participants at an institutional camp or clinic who are not high-school, preparatory school, or two-year college athletics award winners as long as there is competition in association with the camp or clinic, and the participants receiving expenses have not been recruited by the institution.

    FEES

    Sound financial accounting practices for documenting the receipt of camp or clinic fees are an important part of monitoring the compliance of institutional sports camps or clinics. NCAA legislation governs who can receive free or reduced admission, as well as who can pay for a prospect's admission. A representative of an institution's athletics interests "booster" may not pay a prospect's expenses to attend a member institution's sports camp or clinic. (Bylaw 13.13.1.5.2) The term "representative of athletics interest" is defined in Bylaw 13.02.12.

    Receipting

  • With respect to the fee campers or clinic participants pay, you should have a mechanism in place by which to document receipts of the camp or clinic fee and the type of payment (i.e., cash, check, and complimentary admission). There also should be a mechanism by which prompt follow-up occurs when checks are returned for insufficient funds or for some reason the fee is not collected at the time of enrollment. See Appendix E for a sample payment ledger. Copies of all checks should be kept with the payment ledger. Camp directors are responsible for insuring that the camp application has been properly completed.
  • Any refunds made to campers or clinic participants also should be documented. Refunds to campers shall be recommended and approved by the camp director. Each camp needs a written policy concerning refunds, including the nature for the refund (e.g., injury, illness). See Appendix F for a sample refund record and procedures.

    Free or Reduced Admission

  • An institution, members of its staff, or representatives of its athletics interest shall not give free or reduced admission to a high-school (including ninth grade), preparatory school or two-year college athletics award winner. Athletics award winners may be provided reduced admission only if they are a part of a group receiving a discount available to any group of a specified size. A member institution's camps or clinics may offer group discounts to coaches and student-athletes provided those discounts are available on an equal basis with documented standards to all who wish to take advantage of them. Each camp needs a written policy concerning free or reduced admissions.
  • Free or reduced admission may be provided to children of camp or clinic staff members as long as the reduced admission is considered part of the employee's compensation and the same opportunity is available to children of all camp or clinic employees. Free or reduced admission also may be provided to the children of faculty or staff of the athletics department and/or institution as long as the reduced admission is available to the children of all such staff and faculty. The basis for all reduced or free admissions should be documented as a written policy. See Appendix G for individual discounts and documentation. (Bylaw 13.13.1.5.1)

    AWARDS AND MERCHANDISE

    Prospects may receive awards for camp or clinic participation as long as the cost of such awards is included in the admissions fees charged to participants in the camp or clinic. (Bylaw 13.13.1.5.4) You may not provide free merchandise or permit it to be provided to campers or clinic participants unless it is part of the registration fee and provided to all participants.

    TRANSPORTATION

    Local transportation such as to and from the airport/bus station may be provided for campers or clinic participants as long as it is available for all participants. You may not provide local transportation for one camper or clinic participant but not another with the same need. Each camp director needs a written policy on picking up campers from the airport/bus station. (See Appendix H.)

    EMPLOYMENT

    Coaches and staff employed for each camp or clinic should be kept on file by the camp director. (See Appendix I) Employees (e.g., coaches, student-athletes) should be informed prior to the camp of the compensation to be received by the individual. NCAA legislation governing frequently hired employees at institutional camps and clinics is outlined below.

    High-School or Two-Year College Coaches

  • A high-school, preparatory school, or two -year college coach who speaks or participates at an institutional sports camp or clinic may be compensated, provided the honorarium or fee is commensurate with similar fees paid to other individuals for like services. (Bylaw 13.13.2.2)
  • A high-school, preparatory school or two-year college coach may not be compensated based on the number of campers or clinic participants the coach sends to the camp or clinic. (Bylaw 13.13.2.2.1)

    Athletics Department Staff Members

  • The employment of athletics department staff members in institutional camps or clinics is permissible with some limitations imposed by NCAA legislation.
  • An individual who is a volunteer coach may receive compensation from employment in an institution's sports camp or clinic, provided the compensation is commensurate with the going rate for camp or clinic counselors of like teaching ability and camp or clinic experience.
  • In all sports, no athletics department staff member may be employed (either on a salaried or a volunteer basis) by a camp or clinic established, sponsored, or conducted by an individual or organization that provides recruiting or scouting services concerning prospective student-athletes. (Bylaw 13.13.2.3.1)
  • In terms of non-institutional camps or clinics, an institution's athletics department personnel may serve in any capacity (e.g., counselor, guest lecturer, consultant) in a noninstitutional, privately owned camp or clinic, provided the camp or clinic is operated in accordance with the restrictions applicable to institutional camps (e.g., open to any and all entrants, no free or reduced admission to or employment of athletics award winners). In the sports of football and basketball, participation in such camps/clinics is limited to the months of June, July and August. Camps or conferences conducted by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes are exempt from NCAA restrictions on camps and clinics. (Bylaw 13.13.2.3.2)

    Student-Athlete

  • In all sports other than football, there is no limit on the number of student-athletes that may be employed as counselors in an institutional or privately owned camp or clinic. (Bylaw 13.13.2.1.5) A student-athlete employed in a camp or clinic is subject to the following conditions:
    1. The student-athlete shall not participate in organized practice activities other than during the institution's playing season in the sport (Bylaw 17.1.1).
    2. The institution's director of athletics must give prior approval to the student-athlete's employment arrangement. (See Appendix B)
  • Further, student-athletes are permitted to be instructors or counselors in an institution's camp or clinic that are held during the institution's playing and practice seasons.
  • A student-athlete who is employed by an institution's sports camp or clinic must be compensated out of the camp's or clinics general account rather than from a coach's personal account. Further, the student-athlete should be paid by check not cash. A student-athlete who is employed at a camp other than Texas Tech must receive prior written approval from the Athletics Compliance Office.

    General rules regarding employment of student-athletes include:

  • A student- athlete employed by a camp or clinic should perform duties that are of a general supervisory character, and any coaching or officiating assignments shall represent not more than one-half of the student-athlete's work time. (Bylaw 13.13.2.1-(a))
  • A student-athlete who only lectures or demonstrates at a camp/clinic may not receive compensation for his or her appearance at the camp/clinic. (Bylaw 13.13.2.1-(c))
  • A student-athlete employed by a camp or clinic should be paid at a rate commensurate with the going rate for camp or clinic counselors of like teaching ability and camp or clinic experience and may not be paid on the basis of the value that the student-athlete may have for the employer because of the athletics reputation or fame that student-athlete has achieved. It is not permissible to establish varying levels of compensation for a student-athlete employed in a sports camp or clinic based on the level of athletics skill of the student-athlete. (Bylaw 13.13.2.1-(b))
  • If a student-athlete is employed only for performing duties during a portion of the camp or clinic, compensation paid to the student-athlete must be pro-rated based on the student- athlete's length of employment.
  • A student- athlete may not receive compensation for employment in a sports camp or clinic if the student-athlete's involvement is limited only to lecturing to participants or appearing for demonstration purposes (as opposed to providing actual instruction to participants). A student-athlete may be involved only in lecturing or appearing for demonstration purposes at a sports camp or clinic, provided the student-athlete does not receive any compensation for his or her appearance.

    General rules regarding employment of student-athletes include - Cont.

  • A student-athlete employee may receive actual travel expenses (including lodging and meals in transit and prepaid plane tickets for cash advances) only if such travel expenses are paid and procedures for reimbursement of expenses are used for all employees of the camp or clinic. You may not provide a credit card to a student-athlete employee to pay for actual and necessary travel expenses to the camp or clinic. (Bylaw 13.13.2.1.2) Permitting a student-athlete employee to ride in an automobile or another camp or clinic employee or staff member may be considered the payment of travel expenses.
  • In the case where all employees do not receive travel expenses, a cash advance based on anticipated earnings may be provided to a student- athlete employee only if such advance does not exceed the estimated employment earnings, whichever is less, and such a benefit is available to all camp or clinic employees. (Bylaw 13.13.2.1.3)
  • Actual transportation from an institution's coach or representative of its athletics interests may be provided to a student-athlete employee only if travel expenses are paid for all employees of the camp or clinic. (Bylaw 13.13.2.1.4)

    PLAYING AND PRACTICE SEASONS

    Where the student-athlete is required or volunteers to demonstrate sports techniques at a camp or clinic, the activity must take place during the permissible playing and practice season unless the student-athlete is an employee of the camp or clinic. (During the academic year, NCAA legislation regarding financial aid limits would apply to such employment.) Further, if a student-athlete is required to demonstrate sports techniques at a camp or clinic, the demonstration is considered a countable athletically related activity. (Bylaw 17.02.1(g))

    It is permissible to pay a student-athlete's travel expenses to demonstrate sports techniques at a camp or clinic during the sport's permissible playing and practice season. The site of the camp or clinic must be within the state or no more than 100 miles from the institution's campus, if outside the state. If a student-athlete's travel expenses are paid for demonstrating sports skills at a camp or clinic, the hours must be included as a countable athletically related activity in the time limitations for that student-athlete. Paying these travel expenses outside the season would constitute out-of-season practice.

    PROSPECTIVE STUDENT-ATHLETES

    You may employ prospective student-athletes who are not senior prospective student-athletes or high-school, preparatory school, or two-year college athletics award winners. For purposes of this guideline, high-school includes the ninth-grade level, regardless of whether the ninth-grade is part of a junior high school system. (Bylaw 13.13.1.5.1) Prospective student-athlete employees who receive free or reduced-cost admission to the camp or clinic as their compensation should complete the camp/clinic application. (See Appendix D) All prospective student- athlete employees should be listed on the staff compensation form. (See Appendix I)

    CONCESSIONS

    You may employ a student-athlete at a reasonable rate to operate a concession to sell items related to or associated with institutional sports camps or clinics to participants or others in attendance. (Bylaw 13.13.1.5.3.2) You may not permit or arrange for a student-athlete or a prospect, at their own expense, to operate a concession to sell items related to or associated with the camp or clinic to participants or others in attendance. (Bylaws 13.13.1.5.3.1 and 13.13.1.5.3.2)

    HIGH-SCHOOL COACHES OR TWO-YEAR COLLEGE COACHES CLINIC

    An institution may not provide gifts or material benefits to high-school, preparatory school, or two-year college coaches in conjunction with its coaches' clinic or other events. (Bylaw 13.9.2.1)

    An institution may not provide a door prize to a high-school, preparatory school, or two-year college coach in conjunction with its institution's coaches' clinic, even if the value of the prize has been included in the calculation of admissions fees charged to all participants. Any of these coaches may, however, receive a door prize selected in a random drawing at the institution's coaches' clinic, provided a sponsor outside the institution such as an athletics manufacturer or distributor donates the prize. Materials such as clipboards, and file folders may be provided to coaches or clinic participants provided such items are included in the registration or admissions fee for each person. It is not permissible to provide participants in coaches' clinics with items bearing the insignia of the institution unless the fair market value of those items has been included in the admissions fee charged to each participant. See Appendix J for a sample worksheet.

    A prospective student- athlete may not serve as a demonstrator for an institution's coaches' clinic. Use of a current student-athlete to demonstrate sports skills at a coaches' clinic would be governed by the same playing and practice season limitations as those that apply to camps.

    EDUCATIONAL SESSION

    An institution's basketball sports camp or clinic must include an educational session detailing NCAA initial-eligibility standards to all camp and/or clinic participants. It is suggested that all sports camps provide this educational session. (Bylaw 13.13.1.6)

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