AD Yell: SEC Spring Meetings Recap
As many of you know, I recently joined Coach Blair, Coach Fisher, Coach Kennedy, and several members of our Senior Staff at the annual SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, Fla. Over the course of four days of meetings, a variety of items are discussed and voted upon that shape the future of the SEC and, to some degree, college athletics. Overall, 10 legislative measures successfully evolved from proposals to reality on the SEC level, and an additional 5 proposals will move on from the SEC to the NCAA with the intent of becoming a national standard.
The following SEC proposals were approved:
Football
- To increase football bowl revenue distribution by $25,000 at each designated level;
- In football, to specify that specified forms of artificial noise shall not be used from the time the offensive center puts a hand on the football until the football has been snapped;
Academic Eligibility
- Eliminated conference postseason competition academic eligibility requirements;
- Amended current Validity of Academic Credentials legislation to specify that a Special Report to the Commissioner shall not be required when; 1) the number of core courses taken during a prospective student-athlete's senior year is disproportionate to the number of core courses completed prior to his/her senior year, 2) the prospective student-athlete has been enrolled in sequential courses in a single academic year/term, and 3) the prospective student-athlete has completed more than one core course after his/her junior year of high school;
Recruiting
- Eliminated on-campus evaluation legislation which prohibits an institution from conducting an on-campus athletic tryout of a prospective student-athlete;
- Specified that a prospective student-athlete who has been convicted of or plead guilty or no contest to a felony involving serious misconduct, or has been subject to official disciplinary action by an educational institution due to serious misconduct, shall not be eligible for athletically-related financial aid, practice, or competition at an SEC member institution;
Transfers
- Specified that an individual who has requested and received a release from a signed SEC Financial Aid Agreement shall no longer be subject to the terms and conditions of SEC Bylaw 15.01.2 or the SEC Financial Aid Agreement;
- Specified that a student-athlete enrolled at a member institution that is prohibited by the NCAA or the SEC from participating in postseason competition shall not be subject to intraconference transfer restrictions;
- Provided an exception to the intra-conference transfer rule for graduate transfers who enroll in a graduate or professional school at a member institution other than the member institution from which he or she received a baccalaureate degree;
Sportsmanship
- Reorganized current sportsmanship legislation to prioritize provisions which require appropriate conduct and good sportsmanship. Further, to remove specified provisions from the Bylaws to be inserted into the Commissioner's Regulations.
The following NCAA proposals were passed:
- In golf, to specify that on a day in which a practice round occurs, other countable athletically related activities may also occur, provided all activity is limited to a total of five hours per day;
- In sports other than men's hockey and skiing, to specify that, prior to full-time enrollment, an individual's participation in; 1) officially recognized competition from which participants may be selected to a national team that will participate in the Olympic Games, Pan American Games, World Championships, World Cup, World University Games (Universiade), World University Championships, and 2) established regional (e.g., North American Championships, European Championships) competition, shall be exempt from the application of the delayed enrollment legislation;
- In football, to specify that a coaching staff member or a non-coaching staff member with football specific responsibilities shall not be involved in any capacity with a football club that includes prospective student-athletes;
- To specify that an institution may provide a maximum of five complimentary admissions to a prospective student-athlete to home athletics events as part of an official visit;
- In baseball and softball, to increase, from three to four, the limit on the number of coaches who may be employed by an institution and who may contact or evaluate prospective student-athletes off-campus. Further, to specify that an institution may not utilize the services of a volunteer coach in baseball or softball.
