Milwaukee Athletics

COACHES & STAFF FORMS

POLICIES & PROCEDURES

COACHES MEETING EDUCATION

AMATEURISM

Prospective Student-Athletes
Prior to a student-athlete's initial, full-time collegiate enrollment, an individual may accept prize money based on his/her place finish or performance in an open athletics event provided that prize money is provided by the open event's sponsor and does not exceed actual and necessary expenses.

An individual may not participate in activities with a professional team, receive compensation for play (or otherwise based on athletics ability), or make any sort of agreement with an agent. The eligibility impact of a student-athlete's actions is evaluated by the NCAA on a case-by-case basis and often results in significant penalties including permanent ineligibility to participate in intercollegiate athletics.

Current Student-Athletes
Agents: A student-athlete may not agree, either orally or in writing, to be represented by an agent or organization in the marketing of his or her athletic ability or reputation until after the completion of the last intercollegiate contest, including postseason games. This NCAA prohibition includes an agreement that is not effective until after the last game. A student-athlete is also not permitted to accept any expenses from an agent for anything.

Playing and/or Marketing Contracts: NCAA rules forbid a student-athlete or anyone acting on behalf of a student-athlete from negotiating or signing a playing or marketing contract in any sport in which the student-athlete intends to compete or to market the name or image of the athlete.

Finally, NCAA rules forbid a student-athlete from receiving any material or tangible benefits from anyone as a result of the student-athlete's athletics reputation, skill or potential. A good rule of thumb is that the student-athlete should not accept anything that is not available to the general public or the general student body without consulting the Compliance Office. See the Extra Benefits section of this website for more information.

PROMOTIONS

The Athletics Department provides a variety of promotional opportunities for local organizations and charities. However, the NCAA has strict guidelines in place that must be adhered to in order to ensure that promotions are in accordance with national and institutional rules and regulations.
The University allows the donation of equipment and tickets to organizations, so long as the donation does not directly or indirectly benefit a prospect or high-school athletics program. In order to govern equipment and ticket donations, the Compliance Office requires all individuals or organizations requesting a donation complete and submit the Donation Request Form.

AWARDS & BENEFITS

NCAA Bylaw 16 governs the provision of extra benefits and awards to student-athletes. A student-athlete who receives an award, benefit or other allowance not authorized by NCAA legislation renders themselves ineligible for athletics competition.

Extra Benefits
An extra benefit is any special arrangement provided by coaches, staff, or boosters to a student-athlete or a prospective student-athlete that is not generally available to students or prospective students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Preferential treatment is any other special arrangement provided to a student-athlete or prospective student-athlete on the basis of his/her athletics ability or reputation. Both are violations of NCAA rules and both may render a student-athlete permanently ineligible.

Awards
NCAA Bylaw 16 limits the types and values of awards that may be provided to student-athletes in recognition for outstanding academic or athletic achievement. An award may not be provided to a student-athlete unless the award receives pre-approval from the Compliance Office. Student-athletes receiving benefits not expressly authorized by NCAA legislation will have their eligibility adversely impacted.

OCCASIONAL MEALS

An institutional staff member may provide a student-athlete or an entire team an occasional meal either in a restaurant in the locale of the institution or at the staff member's home.

Boosters ("representatives of athletics interests") may provide a student-athlete or an entire team with an occasional meal, provided:

• The meal is approved in advance by the Head Coach and Compliance Office,
• It is done only on an infrequent and special occasion,
• The meal (which can be catered) must be provided at the home of the booster, on campus or at a facility that is regularly used for home competition, and
• Any local transportation provided to attend the meal (1) is reasonable (no helicopters or limousines) and (2) is provided only by the booster hosting the event.

CAMPS & CLINICS

All NCAA Camps & Clinics must be conducted in accordance with NCAA regulations. Student-athletes may be employed at an institutional camp under certain conditions. Camps must be open to any and all entrants and may not offer free or reduced-cost admissions unless pre-approved by the Compliance Office.

Camps & Clinics Approval Information
Camp brochures must be approved by the Compliance Office prior to being sent out. Camps may be conducted at any time excluding dead periods, except in the sport of basketball where they must occur between June 1 and August 31. Basketball camps must include an educational session per NCAA Bylaw 13.13.1.6.

Corporate sponsors may be involved with your camp, so long as (1) no current or prospective student-athlete's names or pictures are used to promote the camp, (2) the sponsor does not provide recruiting or scouting services, (3) the sponsor's funds are not targeted at particular prospects, and (4) all other camp/clinic regulations are followed.

The cost of any awards (e.g., t-shirts) provided to camp participants must be included in the camp fees. Boosters may not provide anything of value (gifts, transportation, etc.) to camp participants.

Coaches may not work for a camp conducted or sponsored by an individual/company that provides prospect recruiting or prospect scouting services.

Camp Employees
Student-athletes may be employed at an institutional camp under the following conditions:

• No organized practice activities are conducted with student-athlete employees.
• Travel expenses, cash advances, and transportation can only be provided to student-athlete employees if they are also provided equally to all other camp employees and are pre-approved by the Compliance Office.
• Student-athletes must perform duties that are of a general supervisory character. Student-athletes that only lecture or demonstrate/coach at a camp may not be paid.

High school, prep school and two-year college coaches may be employed by an institutional camp, provided the coach is paid the going rate for camp counselors of similar experience (and not on the basis of the coach's reputation, prospect contacts, or number of campers brought to the camp).

Camp Participants
A coach or other staff member may only be involved with a camp that is open to any and all entrants, limited only by number and age. Prospects may be invited to a camp (so long as it is genuinely open to any and all entrants, limited only by number and age, and is advertised as such).

A camp may not offer free or reduced-cost admissions to any prospects, except via an advertised group rate available to all camp participants.

ELIGIBILITY

The NCAA requires all prospective student-athletes to be certified by the NCAA Eligibility Center prior to competing at a collegiate institution. In order to be eligible to compete, student-athletes must (1) meet initial eligibility requirements, (2) meet UWM admissions standards, and (3) continue to meet institutional, Horizon League, and NCAA regulations throughout his or her collegiate career.

See the Prospective Student-Athlete tab for information about Initial Eligibility standards and UWM Admissions.

See the Current Student-Athlete tab for information about Continuing Eligibility standards.

TRANSFER STUDENTS

Notification of Transfer
A student-athlete that would like to transfer into or out of a 4-year institution must be either entered into the NCAA Transfer Portal (Division I and II) or must be granted permission to contact by their current institution.  This rule does not apply to student-athletes transferring from international 4-year institutions.  Current UWM student-athletes can request their name be entered into the NCAA Transfer Portal by submitting a Notification of Transfer Form via the Compliance website.

Eligibility
Determining the eligibility for practice, financial aid, and competition for 2-4, 4-4 and 4-2-4 transfers can only be completed after the coach has provided transcripts to the Compliance Office for the transfer student.  The Compliance Office will work with the Academic Support staff and Registrar’s Office to determine which eligibility criteria the student needs to meet.  After the evaluation is completed, a copy will be provided to the head coach.  Any questions regarding transfer eligibility should be directed to the Compliance Office.

OUTSIDE COMPETITION & SUMMER LEAGUES

NCAA regulations govern all athletic activities that occur outside of a sport's regular playing season. Unapproved participation or receipt of extra benefits may adversely affect a student-athlete's eligibility. Written approval is required prior to any outside competition or summer activity.  See Current Student-Athlete tab for more information.

FINANCIAL AID

Renewals/Reductions/Cancellations of Athletically-Related Aid
The renewal or non-renewal of institutional financial aid must be made on or before July 1 prior to the academic year in which the aid will be distributed. Student-athletes receiving an athletic scholarship the previous year will be notified as to whether their aid has been renewed, increased, reduced, or cancelled. Athletics aid granted by an NCAA institution may not be awarded for a period of less than one year. At the end of each award period, aid may be renewed, increased, reduced, or cancelled at the discretion of the institution.

Athletics scholarships may be reduced or canceled during the period of the award if a student-athlete:

• Renders himself or herself ineligible for intercollegiate competition in any manner, including failure to meet academic eligibility requirements or loss of amateur status (e.g., signing with an agent).
• Voluntarily quits the team.
• Fraudulently misrepresents any information on an application, letter of intent, or financial aid agreement.
• Engages in serious misconduct.

In order for a reduction or cancellation to take place, coaches, student-athletes and sport supervisors must sign the Change of Status form, and return it to the Athletic Compliance Office.

Athletics scholarships may not be reduced or cancelled during the period of the award on the basis of:

• A student-athlete's athletics ability, performance, or contribution to a team's success.
• An injury that prevents the recipient from participating in intercollegiate athletics.
• Any other athletics reason.
   

Please note that outside of the period of the award, an athletic scholarship can be cancelled or reduced for any reason - including an athletics reason - at the discretion of the institution. If a student-athlete's scholarship is cancelled, reduced, or not renewed for any reason, the student-athlete has the right to appeal this decision to the Director of Student Financial Aid within 14 business days.

Athletics Aid for Injured Student-Athletes
If a student-athlete is permanently unable to compete due to an injury sustained during University-sponsored practice, competition, or team travel, the student-athlete's scholarship may be continued until the student-athlete receives a baccalaureate degree or until eligibility for athletics aid would have been exhausted.

NATIONAL LETTER OF INTENT

A validly executed NLI binds a prospective student-athlete to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and requires the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to offer the prospective student-athlete athletically-related financial aid for one year. After a prospect signs the NLI, all other institutions must immediately cease recruiting activities until the prospect enrolls at the four-year college (at which time written permission to contact is needed) or the signed NLI is invalidated.

PLAYING & PRACTICE SEASONS

NCAA Bylaw 17 provides rules and regulations governing the Playing and Practice Seasons of all member institutions. Please contact the Compliance Office with any questions.

COUNTABLE ACTIVITIES LOG

Each coach must complete an Athletically Related Activities Log in order to ensure student-athletes only participate in permissible amounts of daily/weekly practice activities during the academic year. The log form must be signed by at least one student-athlete who participated in any countable activities during the week. This form must be turned into the Compliance Officer every two weeks during the academic year. Note that the log should be completed for each week of the academic year, even if no activities occurred.

RECRUITING

The NCAA defines a prospective student-athlete as any individual that has started classes for the ninth grade or any individual that, prior to the ninth grade, receives benefits from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee that are not available to the general public. A prospect is considered recruited if he/she or his/her relatives or spouse are telephoned on more than one occasion, contacted off-campus by an institutional staff member, or provided an official visit to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Contacts and Evaluations
Evaluations made during a prospect's summer vacation do not count against that individual prospect's annual limit (e.g., seven recruiting opportunities in sports other than football), but do count against team-specific limitations (e.g., 80 evaluations for women's volleyball). Evaluation days are coach-specific - i.e., two coaches performing evaluations on the same calendar day utilize two evaluation days!

Permissible contacts made at any time (including summer) count against an individual prospect's annual limit. For purposes of the contact limitations, the year is measured July 1 to June 30.

In addition, the following sports have specific limitations on evaluation days. Please see the appropriate form for more information. Women's Basketball is limited to 100 Recruiting Person Days, Men's Basketball is limited to 130 Recruiting Person Days, and Volleyball is limited to 80 Evaluation Days.

Recruiting Calendars
Please review your recruiting calendar prior to engaging in any on- or off-campus recruiting activity. You can access up-to-date recruiting calendars and recruiting guides HERE.

If a question remains as to whether a recruiting activity is permissible during a period, please contact the Compliance Office.

Recruiting Material
The following items may be provided at any time during the prospects high school career:

1. Camp Brochures: Information in camp brochures must relate specifically and exclusively to camp activities. Camp brochures must be approved in advance. Any follow-up correspondence may be sent only to individuals that have expressed interest in the camp and must relate exclusively to camp activities.
2. Questionnaires: No recruiting materials or correspondence may be included with the questionnaire.
3. NCAA Educational Information: An institution may provide educational materials published by the NCAA.
4. Non-Athletics Publications (e.g., Admissions, Student Services): An institution may provide non-athletic publications that are available to all students.
5. Responding to Prospect's Request: Staff members may respond to a prospect's letter requesting information from the Athletics Department **provided the letter's only purpose is to inform the prospect of NCAA recruiting limitations and the written response does not include any information that would initiate the recruitment of the prospect or information related to the athletics program.

The following items may be provided after June 15 at the conclusion of the prospects' sophomore year of high school (for baseball and women's basketball, items may not be provided until September 1 of a prospects' junior year):
 

1. General Correspondence: There are no restrictions on the design or content of general correspondence and attachments, except that the size of the printed material may not exceed 8 ½ by 11 inches when opened in full.  There are no restrictions on the design or content of the envelope used to send general correspondence and attachments, except that the size of the envelope may not exceed 9 by 12 inches.
2. Electronic Correspondence: All forms of electronic correspondence may be sent to a prospective student-athlete.  Prior to signing an NLI all electronic correspondence must be private (i.e. no message boards, Facebook walls). 
3. Video/Audio Materials: Video and audio materials may only be provided to a prospective student-athlete via permissible electronic correspondence.  The following types of video/audio materials may be provided: Media Available to All Students, Material Not Created for Recruiting Purposes, Computer-Generated Recruiting Presentations, and Pre-enrollment Information.

Official Visits
Per NCAA rules, a prospective student-athlete may only visit UWM once.  Prospects are limited to a total of 5 official visits to DI institutions. In sports other than baseball and women’s basketball, a prospect may not take an official visit prior to August 1 of their junior year in high school. In baseball, a prospect may not take an official visit prior to September 1 of their junior year of high school. In women's basketball, unofficial visits may occur at any time. Official visits are limited to 48 hours.

An institution is not allowed to publicize a prospect’s visit.  Personalized recruiting aids including any decorative items and special additions to any location the prospect will visit (hotel room, locker room, coach’s office, arena, conference room, etc), regardless of whether or not the items include the prospects name or picture, are impermissible.

Boosters may not have contact with prospective student-athletes even when they are on official visits.

Prior to Official Visit
MAY NOT provide an official visit to a prospect UNLESS:

• UWM Permission to Recruit Form
• PSAT, SAT, PLAN or ACT score(s) taken on a national testing date (High School prospects ONLY)
• An academic transcript (may be unofficial)
• Registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center (HS prospects ONLY)
• Approval email will be sent by Compliance Staff

Post Official Visit
After an Official Visit, the following documentation must be submitted to Compliance Staff:

• Official Visit Guidelines Form
• Post Official Visit Form
• Any receipts from the visit
   

Unofficial Visits
Prior to an unofficial visit, the coach should complete an Unofficial Visit Form and submit it to the Compliance Office. In sports other than baseball and basketball, an unofficial visit may not occur prior to August 1 of the prospects junior year of high school. In baseball, unofficial visits shall not occur prior to September 1 of a prospects junior year of high school.  In men’s basketball, unofficial visits may not occur prior to August 1 of a prospects sophomore year of high school. In women’s basketball, unofficial visits may occur at anytime.

No unofficial visits are permissible during dead periods. In addition, no unofficial visits are permitted for nonqualifiers in their first year at a two-year college. In the sport of men's basketball, no unofficial visits are permitted during the month of July.