Dear FGCU Alumni, Faculty, and Fans,

We appreciate each and every one of you who has helped support the Eagles in their rise in intercollegiate athletics. The Eagles have achieved so much in their short existence. Your continued support is essential in our move forward in intercollegiate athletics. The NCAA requires that each member institution educate its boosters about the NCAA rules and regulations that apply to our fans and alumni. Your efforts to follow this legislation are greatly appreciated. If you have any questions concerning any compliance issue, contact Shelana Poindexter in our Compliance office, at spoindexter@fgcu.edu, or you can log onto the NCAA website, www.ncaa.org, for more information. If you have any questions, we encourage you to ask before you act. Compliance with these rules and regulations is vital to the eligibility of our student-athletes. We cannot stress enough the importance of rules compliance as we move into Division I. Thank you again for your continued support of FGCU Athletics!

Statement of Compliance

It is Florida Gulf Coast University's (FGCU) intention and goal to be fully compliant with the letter and spirit of NCAA, conference, and University rules and regulations. The athletic department is committed to the principle of institutional control through rules education for coaches, athletics department staff, institutional staff, student-athletes, and boosters of the athletics program.

Institutional staff, as well as the athletics staff, is responsible for knowing the rules and abiding by them. All staff follows the "rules of compliance":

1. Each coach is responsible for knowing and adhering to all NCAA rules and regulations. WHEN IN DOUBT, CHECK BEFORE ACTING.

2. The intercollegiate athletics program is monitored to assure compliance. Any instance of non-compliance that is identified is reported to the NCAA.

3. It is expected that each intercollegiate athletics personnel will self-report any knowledge of NCAA violations to the Director of Athletics or to the Compliance Director.

4. Coaches, athletic department staff, and select institutional staff are provided print materials for which they are held responsible for the content: (a) Current NCAA Division I Manual, (b) FGCU Athletics Compliance Policies and Procedures Manual, and (c) The NCAA News.

1. Prospective Student Athletes:
1. NCAA College Bound Student Athlete Guide
2. NCAA
3. National Letter of Intent Website
4. NCAA Eligibility Center
5. Initial Eligibility Standards
6. NCAA Recruiting Site
7. NCAA Banned Substances List
8. International Student-Athletes
9. Transfer Guide
10. Atlantic Sun
11. FGCU Admissions
12. 2008 Academic Success Rate
13. 2008 Federal Graduation Rate
14. APR Report for 2008-09 (FGCU is currently not subject to APR penalties)
15. Prospective Student-Athlete Summer Activities
16. Your Path to the Student-Athlete Experience 2010-11
17. Roadmap to Initial Eligibility
2. Current Student Athletes:
1. NCAA
2. Student Athlete Eligibility
3. Student Athlete Insurance Programs
4. NCAA Banned Substances List
5. NCAA "Don't Bet on it" Guide
6. Atlantic Sun
7. 2011-12 Student Athlete Handbook
8. Appeal of Denial of Release Form
9. Student-Athlete Employment Verification Form
10. Defining Countable Athletically Related Activities
11. Baseball Amateurism Tip Sheet
3. Coaches:
1. Championship Handbooks
2. NCAA Recruiting Guides
3. Atlantic Sun
4. NCAA 2009-10 Division I Manual
4. Boosters:
1. Definitions
2. Partial List of Penalties for NCAA Infractions
3. Basic Do's and Don'ts Involving Prospective Student
4. Basic Do's and Don'ts Involving Current Student Athletes
5. Extra Benefits Involving Current Student Athletes
6. Established Relationships

Agents and Professionall Issues
NCAA rules state that a student-athlete cannot have a written or verbal agreement with an agent or anyone who will market the student-athlete's athletics ability or reputation. Also, a student-athlete may not agree, verbally or in writing, to have an agent represent them in the future.

Student-athletes and their families may not receive benefits from an agent.

Who is an Agent?
An agent is anyone who markets your athletics ability or reputation. Whether or not someone calls themselves an agent, if they perform the functions of an agent under NCAA rules, they are considered an agent. Activities such as these would make someone an agent:

• Negotiating with a professional team
• Contacting a professional team on your behalf
• Arranging tryouts with professional teams
• Sitting in on your negotiations with a professional team Please click here to verify that a given agent is licensed in the state of Florida.

Advisors
A student-athlete may have an advisor to help them evaluate their professional opportunities, but they must be careful that their advisor does not engage in any activities that would make them an agent under NCAA rules. As a good rule of thumb, an advisor can talk to you and your family, but if they are talking about you to any third parties (professional teams, media, scouts) they have probably crossed the line to being an agent.

Tryouts with Professional Teams
• Student-athletes may participate in tryouts with professional teams without losing their eligibility, provided they follow certain rules:
• Student-athletes cannot miss class for a tryout with a professional team.
• Student-athletes may receive actual and necessary expenses in conjunction with one 48-hour tryout per professional team.
• A tryout may extend beyond 48 hours if the student-athlete pays any additional expenses, including return transportation.
• A tryout paid for by the student-athlete may last any length of time, provided the student-athlete does not miss class.

Links and Resources
• Florida Agent Laws
• Uniform Athlete Agents Act (UAAA)
• Athlete Agent Application/Examination/Licensure
• Overview of NCAA Bylaws Governing Athlete Agents
• Questions to Ask Prospective Agents
• Professional Sports Organizations Educational Documents
• Agent Student-Athlete Brochure
• NCAA Agent Videos

Contact with Currently Enrolled Student-Athletes
• You may not provide a student-athlete any benefit or special arrangement that would not be offered to the rest of the student population. Such a benefit may cause a student-athlete to lose his or her eligibility. These activities include, but are not limited to:
• You may not entertain student-athletes, their friends or family. (Bylaw 13.5.1.1; 16.2.2; 16.12.2.2.3)
• You may not use the name or picture of an enrolled student-athlete to advertise, recommend or promote any product or service of any kind. (Bylaw 12.5.2.2; 12.5.2.3; 12.5.2.3.1; 12.5.2.3.2; 12.5.2.3.3; 12.5.2.3.4)
• You may not provide awards or gifts to a student-athlete. (Bylaw 16.02.4; 16.1.3; 16.12.2.3)
• You may not allow a student-athlete to use your telephone to make free calls, or allow use of a free or discounted automobile. (Bylaw 16.12.2.2.2)

You can however, invite an enrolled student-athlete to your home for an occasional home cooked meal, but you may not take a student-athlete to a restaurant. Any contact or planned activity with an enrolled student-athlete should be cleared by the Compliance Office.

Agent Registration
• Agent Registration Form

Who is a Booster?
NCAA Bylaw 13.02.11 defines "booster". In part, this regulation states:

"A booster (i.e., representative of the institution's athletics interests) is an individual, independent agency, corporate entity (e.g. apparel or equipment manufacturer) or other organization who is known (or who should have known) by a member of the institution's executive or athletics administration to:

• Have participated in or to be a member of an agency or organization promoting the institution's intercollegiate athletics program;
• Have made financial contributions to the athletics department or to an athletics booster organization of that institution; Be assisting or to have been requested (by the athletics department staff) to assist in the recruitment of prospects;
• Be assisting or to have assisted in providing benefits to enrolled student-athletes or their families; or Have been involved otherwise in promoting the institution's athletics program. 

The NCAA stipulates that once an individual has been identified as a "representative" of Florida Gulf Coast University’s athletic programs he or she retains this status forever. This is true even if the individual no longer contributes to the athletics program.

What is an Extra Benefit?
NCAA Bylaw 16.02.3 Extra Benefit.  An extra benefit is any special arrangement by an institutional employee or a representative of the institution's athletics interests to provide a student-athlete (or a student-athlete's relative or friend) a benefit not expressly authorized by NCAA legislation. Receipt of a benefit by student-athletes or their relatives or friends is not a violation of NCAA legislation if it is demonstrated that the same benefit is generally available to the institution's students or their relatives or friends or to a particular segment of the student body (e.g., foreign students, minority students) determined on a basis unrelated to athletics ability.

• A student-athlete can receive a "benefit" if s/he can demonstrate that the same benefit is generally available to other FGCU students and their relatives and/or friends.

• A student-athlete cannot accept anything from an employee of FGCU or an Eagles athletics booster (e.g., use of a car, hair cut, clothing, gifts, money, tickets for any kind of entertainment, payment of long distance telephone calls). A student-athlete cannot accept room and/or board from any booster of FGCU athletics programs (This includes here in Florida, in the student-athlete's home city, or any other location.)

• A student-athlete cannot accept free or reduced merchandise or services from any merchant unless that free or reduced cost item is also available to the general public.

• A student-athlete cannot eat at a restaurant as the guest of an athletic booster or an employee of FGCU.

• On infrequent, special occasions (e.g., student-athlete's birthday, Thanksgiving, etc.), a student-athlete may accept an invitation to the home of an employee of FGCU or an athletic booster for a meal. The student-athlete may be provided transportation.

• A student-athlete's becoming "friends" with an athletic booster and or employee of FGCU does not change their status as far as NCAA rules are concerned.

• A student-athlete cannot use a FGCU Athletic Department copy machine, fax machine or make long distance phone calls using Athletic Department equipment.

• Members of the Athletic Department staff are not permitted to type reports, papers, letters, etc. for any student-athletes.

• A student-athlete cannot receive a special discount, payment arrangement or credit on a purchase (e.g., airline ticket, clothing), or service (e.g. laundry, dry cleaning) from an employee of FGCU or an athletic booster.

• An FGCU employee or a booster cannot provide student-athletes with a loan of money, a guarantee of bond, the use of an automobile or the signing or cosigning of a note to arrange a loan.

• Providing transportation to student-athletes is prohibited.

The acceptance by a student-athlete of any of the above extra benefits is a violation of NCAA regulations and places the student-athlete's eligibility for intercollegiate competition in immediate jeopardy. NCAA regulations require that you do not treat a student-athlete any differently than you would any other student at FGCU.

Compliance Staff

Shelana Poindexter
Director of Compliance
spoindexter@fgcu.edu
239-590-7573

Prospective Student Athletes