EKU Compliance - Prospective Student-Athletes and Parents
We appreciate your interest in the athletic programs at Eastern Kentucky University. As a prospective student-athlete, there are certain responsibilities to which you must attend before you can join the Colonel family.
All prospective student-athletes seeking to participate in Division I athletics must register with the NCAA Eligibility Center. The Eligibility Center will determine whether you have satisfied the necessary academic and amateurism requirements to be eligible for financial aid, practice, and competition. Contact your high school guidance counselor or the NCAA Eligibility Center for more information on the registration process.
EKU is committed to the integrity of its athletic programs and adherence to all rules and regulations established by the NCAA. We have summarized some of these rules on our website. I invite you to read through the website and encourage you to familiarize yourself with your obligations under NCAA rules.
Links of Interest
Welcome to EKU! |
EADA Reports |
Becoming a Prospective Student-Athlete |
Agent Issues
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You become a "prospective student-athlete" once you have started classes for the ninth grade. Before the ninth grade, you become a prospective student-athlete if the University gives you (or your relatives or friends) any financial aid or other benefits that the University does not provide to prospective students generally.
You become a "recruited prospective student-athlete" at the University if any coach or representative of the college's athletics interests (i.e. "booster") does any of the following:
• Provides you with an official visit;
• Initiates or arranges more than one telephone call with you or your relatives;
• Meets with you or your relatives at a location other than the University's campus;
• Issues to you a National Letter of Intent (NLI).
   A. Restrictions on Recruiting Contacts
Recruiting contacts may be made only by authorized University staff members. Representatives of the University's athletics interests are not permitted to contact you, whether in-person, by telephone or through written correspondence. Representatives include any individual who has made financial contributions to the University or participated in any way in promoting the University's athletics program.
   B. Recruiting Materials
In sports other than men's basketball, coaches may not provide recruiting materials until September 1 at the beginning of your junior year in high school. In men's basketball, coaches may provide recruiting materials beginning June 15 at the conclusion of your sophomore year. Exceptions to these rules permit the University to provide camp brochures, questionnaires, general University publications that are not athletically related, and NCAA educational materials.
   C. Recruiting Contacts
Off-campus, in-person recruiting contacts are not permitted before July 1 following your junior year in high school. NCAA rules prohibit all in person contact with a two-year college prospect during the prospect's first year of college if the prospect was not a qualifier at the time of initial full-time enrollment.
   D. Telephone Calls
In general, coaches are not permitted to initiate telephone calls to prospective student-athletes prior to July 1 following completion of your junior year in high school. There are limited exceptions in the sports of football and basketball that may permit calls during the months of April, May and/or June.
   E. Official Visits
What is an Official Visit?
An Official Visit is when an institution invites you to visit campus at their expense. These visits may not last more than 48 hours. You may not make more than one official visit to any one institution and may not make more than five official visits in total. You may not make an official visit until the opening day of classes of your senior year in high school.
Information that a prospective student-athlete must provide us before they can make an official visit:
• A high school or college academic transcript
• A PSAT, SAT, PLAN or ACT score taken on a national testing date under national testing conditions, except that a state-administered ACT may be used to meet the requirement. The score must be presented through a testing agency document, on a high school or preparatory school academic transcript (official or unofficial) or through the use of the applicable testing agency's automated-voice system.
• An NCAA Eligibility Center (formerly known as the NCAA Clearinghouse) ID number so that we can verify that the prospective student-athlete is registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center.
    F. Unofficial Visits
An unofficial visit occurs when a prospective student-athlete visits the institution at his or her own expense. A prospective student-athlete may visit a member institution's campus at his or her own expense an unlimited number of times. A prospective student-athlete may make unofficial visits before his or her senior year in high school.
If known, inform the Compliance Office of an unofficial visit 24 hours prior to the visit. If the visit was unanticipated, notify the Compliance Office at the first reasonable opportunity not to exceed 24 hours.
   G. Complimentary Admissions
During an official or unofficial visit the institution may provide a prospective student-athlete a maximum of three complimentary admissions to a home athletics event at any facility within a 30-mile radius of the institution's main campus in which the institution's intercollegiate team practices or competes.
• These complimentary admissions may only be used by the prospect and those persons accompanying the prospect on the visit.
• The complimentary admissions must be issued through a pass list on an individual game basis.
• The complimentary admissions may provide seating only in the general seating area of the facility utilized for conducting the event.
• An institution may reserve tickets, only for the use of immediate family members accompanying a prospect during an official visit and for seat locations adjacent to the complimentary seats being provided to the prospect. These tickets must be purchased at face value.
• Providing seating during the conduct of the event (including intermission) for the prospect or those persons accompanying the prospect in the facility's press box, special seating box(es) or bench area is specifically prohibited.
• A member institution may not provide complimentary admissions to a prospect for a postseason conference tournament. The prospect may purchase tickets only in the same manner as any other member of the general public.
• The provision of complimentary or reduced-cost admissions to prospects for an NCAA championship (all rounds) or other postseason contests (e.g., NIT championship) constitutes excessive entertainment and is prohibited. The prospect may purchase these tickets only in the same manner as any other member of the general public.
   H. Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I know if I am considered a prospective student-athlete?
A: In general, if you are between 9th and 12th grades of high school, you are considered a prospective student-athlete. This is generally true even if you don't plan to play college sports. In addition, if you have not yet started 8th grade, but an institution has provided you with benefits that it does not provide to all prospective students, that institution must treat you as a prospective student-athlete.
Q: I want to contact a coach to let them know that I would like to be a Colonel. Can I do that?
A: Yes, you may contact a coach at your own expense and on your own initiative at any time, but please be aware that they may be prohibited from contacting you. So if you leave a telephone message or send a letter, they may be prohibited by NCAA rules from calling you back or writing to you. If you do contact a coach, be sure to tell them your age so that they can determine when or if it would be permissible for them to contact you.
Q: What is a dead period?
A: Under NCAA rules, each calendar year is divided into different recruiting periods. These periods are contact periods, evaluation periods, quiet periods and dead periods. Each of these periods have different limitations on the recruiting activities a coach can participate in, as follows:
   I. Contact Period
During a Contact Period authorized athletics department staff members may make in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts and evaluations.
   J. Evaluation Period
During an Evaluation Period authorized athletics department staff members may be involved in off-campus activities designed to assess the academic qualifications and playing ability of prospective student-athletes. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts shall be made with the prospective student-athlete during an evaluation period.
   K. Quiet Period
During a quiet period it is permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts only on the member institution's campus. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts or evaluations may be made during the quiet period.
   L. Dead Period
During a dead period it is not permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts or evaluations on or off the member institution's campus or to permit official or unofficial visits by prospective student-athletes to the institution's campus. It remains permissible, however, for an institutional staff member to write or telephone prospective student-athletes during a dead period.
   M. Prohibited Benefits and Inducements
Staff members and representatives of the University's athletics interests are prohibited from any involvement in offering or giving financial aid or other benefits to a prospective student-athlete unless expressly permitted under NCAA rules.
Examples of specifically prohibited financial aid, benefits and arrangements include, but are not limited to, the following:
• An employment arrangement for a prospect's relatives;
• Gift of clothing or equipment;
• Cosigning of loans;
• Providing loans to a prospective student-athlete's relatives or friends;
• Cash or like items;
• Any tangible items, including merchandise;
• Free or reduced-cost services, rentals or purchases of any type;
• Free or reduced-cost housing;
• Use of the University's athletics equipment;
• Sponsorship of an awards banquet for high school athletes.
Your receipt of any impermissible benefits or inducements could jeopardize your eligibility to compete in intercollegiate athletics
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What to do if an agent approaches you?
During high school, a player-agent might contact you. A player-agent may want to represent you in contract negotiations or for commercial endorsements if you show the potential to be a professional athlete. Agents may contact you during your high-school years to gain an advantage over other individuals who may wish to represent you when your college eligibility expires. Many times, these individuals will not represent themselves as agents, but rather as someone interested in your overall welfare and athletics career. These individuals also may try to give gifts or benefits to you and your family.
NCAA rules don't prohibit meetings or discussions with an agent. However, you jeopardize your college eligibility in a sport if you agree (orally or in writing) to be represented by an agent while in high school or college, regardless of whether the agreement becomes effective immediately or after your last season of college eligibility. Also, receiving any benefits or gifts by you, your family or friends from a player-agent would jeopardize your college eligibility.
If an individual contacts you about marketing your athletics ability, please be careful. If you have concerns about a player-agent, contact your high-school coach, director of athletics or the NCAA national office for assistance.
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