University of Oklahoma Athletics
Compliance Corner: June 2010
June 29, 2010 | Athletics
Now that the school year has ended you may be wondering what all of the student-athletes do over the summer months. In today's world of college athletics many student-athletes work out on a year-round basis; during the academic year countless hours of workouts may be required by coaches, but during the summer the decision to work out is left up to the student-athlete. The NCAA has developed a set of guidelines to govern summer workout activities in an effort to ensure they are voluntary.
The NCAA has created a rule which specifically outlines the requirements for an activity to be considered voluntary.
• Coaches may not observe the activity. The student-athlete must not be required to report back to a coach or other athletics department staff member (e.g., strength coach, trainer, manager) any information related to the activity. In addition, no athletics department staff member who observes the activity (e.g., strength coach, trainer, manager) may report back to the student-athlete's coach any information related to the activity;
• The activity must be initiated and requested solely by the student-athlete. Neither the institution nor any athletics department staff member may require the student-athlete to participate in the activity at any time. However, it is permissible for an athletics department staff member to provide information to student-athletes related to available opportunities for participating in voluntary activities (e.g., times when the strength and conditioning coach will be on duty in the weight room or on the track). In addition, for students who have initiated a request to engage in voluntary activities, the institution or an athletics department staff member may assign specific times for student-athletes to use institutional facilities for such purposes and inform the student-athletes of the time in advance;
• The student-athlete's attendance and participation in the activity (or lack thereof) may not be recorded for the purposes of reporting such information to coaching staff members or other student-athletes; and
• The student-athlete may not be subjected to penalty if he or she elects not to participate in the activity. In addition, neither the institution nor any athletics department staff member may provide recognition or incentives (e.g., awards) to a student-athlete based on his or her attendance or performance in the activity.
It is allowable for strength and conditioning coaches to design and conduct specific workout programs for returning student-athletes, provided the workouts are voluntary and conducted at the request of the student-athlete. In the sports of football and basketball incoming student-athletes that have signed a National Letter of Intent or scholarship agreement, or are enrolled in summer school may participate in voluntary weight lifting and conditioning workouts conducted by a strength and conditioning coach. Further, in the sport of football these strength and conditioning activities are limited to a maximum of eight (8) hours each week. In sports other than football and basketball, incoming student-athletes may participate in voluntary weight lifting and conditioning workouts conducted by a strength and conditioning coach provided he/she is enrolled in the institution's summer term.
Student-athletes in individual sports may actually request individual workout sessions with their coaches during the summer (cross country, golf, gymnastics, tennis, track and wrestling). Due to safety concerns in the sports of gymnastics, wrestling and field events in track, the NCAA permits coaches of these sports to be present during voluntary workouts to provide safety or skill instruction (as opposed to conducting the workout).
We greatly appreciate your support of Oklahoma athletics and contribution to the success of our programs. We look forward to continue working together to ensure our institution is compliant with NCAA regulations. We hope you have a great summer! As always, contact the Athletics Compliance Department at (405) 325-7004 with any questions.
Related Links: OU Compliance Online
