Living by the NCAA rule book

The 2002-2003 NCAA rules manual features a sleek glossy cover and 460 pages jammed with legislation.

But while the NCAA's main constituency is its athletes, the NCAA targets the manual to virtually everyone under its jurisdiction except for the student-athlete.

Enter the athletic department's compliance coordinator.

Because of the amount of NCAA legislation -- the manual contains 33 articles -- athletic departments throughout the country have been forced to hire a person specifically assigned to ensure that a program complies with NCAA policies.

"My job is to coordinate our compliance efforts," Penn compliance coordinator Elton Cochran-Fikes said.

"But each staff member is equally responsible for compliance. We are relying on coaching staff to educate student-athletes."

Cochran-Fikes acts as the educational overseer of the athletic program -- he assures that every coach knows the information enclosed in the NCAA manual, but Cochran-Fikes then relies on coaches to transmit the information to his team.

"It's an ongoing process," Penn swimming coach Mike Schnur said. "A lot of [athletes] ask about certain rules -- they bring up ideas that they want to explore, and we tell them that they can't do it."

Penn volleyball coach Kerry Carr mainly chooses to educate her athletes by using practical applications of rules as they arrive -- the team's interaction with recruits usually serves as the biggest chance where athletes could violate a rule.

"Students get more out of [the education], as situations come up," Carr said. "I really don't talk about rules until they come in and make an effect on life."

Each year the NCAA administers a 40-question test to its coaches. And while the test is "open book," Carr contends that it is very effective in forcing coaches to familiarize themselves with many of the intricate rules in NCAA legislation.

"It's a pain in the neck, but it's a necessary evil," Penn field hockey coach Val Cloud said. "Because rules do change, and it's always wise to brush up on old ones."

Schnur, Carr and Cloud each contend that the NCAA's recruiting rules are the most specific among NCAA legislation. And for this reason, student-athletes have no need to know the minute details about how a coach can interact with a player during recruitment.

But many students learn the complexities of the recruiting process by going through it. Whether by attending camps that inform both athletes and parents about the recruiting process, or being forced to know the rules in order to maintain their eligibility, many student-athletes enter campuses knowing the minutia that is required of coaches.

"By the time they get here," Carr said. "It's that either the athletes know the rules, or were ignorant, and they somehow got lucky."

And while coaches inevitably informally educate their athletes about NCAA rules as situations arise, the athletic department also mandates that every athlete entering the program attend an eligibility seminar about NCAA rules.

Student-athletes "certainly have to know the rules," Cochran-Fikes said. "What is not reasonable is that they would have to cite word for word a rule that is printed in the NCAA manual."

But despite that many of the NCAA's rules are complex, and the manual itself is designed as a legal document, current chairman of the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Mike Aguirre, claims that the NCAA must make the official manual with legal terminology in order to assure clarity.

"That's inherent to governance -- common people are not going to understand the rules," Aguirre said. "It isn't a malicious attempt to deceive athletes."

The NCAA compensates for the overbearing nature of its manual by publishing smaller, colloquial documents meant for student-athletes -- the NCAA publishes specific guides devoted to recruiting, financial aid and eligibility.

But Penn also issues its own "Student-Athlete Handbook" in order to educate its athletes.

"I think it's invaluable," Cloud said. "How many students take advantage of it, I can't tell, but it's a pretty complete book."

The 187-page document breaks into four main sections -- university policies, NCAA policies, Ivy League Policies and Penn Athletics policies. Unlike the NCAA manual, however, the athletic department writes out all of its information, even highlighting specific statements, such as, "Change your course registration and you can change you eligibility."

Inserting pictures of various Penn athletes on virtually every page, the handbook also provides mandatory documents that athletes must sign, such as a physical evaluation form, a drug-testing consent form and an Ivy League eligibility form.

And while Penn attempts to select the most important points from the 460-page manual, it is impossible to include all applicable NCAA legislation in a book one-fourth of the original size -- granted, some NCAA legislation does not apply to Ivy League teams.

The Penn athletics' handbook is noted for being a resourceful tool, but when athletes have questions about compliance, the true test lies with the coach.

In the end, the fate of a program may rest with a 40-question test and a glossy blue book.

About the Series For the next four days, The Daily Pennsylvanian will investigate student-athletes' rights. The DP will focus on how student-athletes can approach the NCAA with concerns, and will discuss the contention that student-athletes lack a voice within the NCAA hierarchy. Using documents penned both within and outside of the NCAA, the DP will also examine how these works will serve to accentuate student-athletes' rights in the future.

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