Athletics Compliance Office | ASK BEFORE YOU ACT
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Athletics Compliance Office > Alumni & Boosters
Thank you for your tremendous support of our entire athletics program. Our 750+ student-athletes, coaches and administrative staff are very appreciative of your spirit and affinity for Notre Dame, in particular intercollegiate athletics.
With that, your adherence to all applicable NCAA rules and regulations is essential as we strive to maintain and enhance our national athletic prominence while protecting the University’s tradition of integrity and values. As you embark on campus in order to cheer on the Irish, please be mindful of your interaction with prospective and current Notre Dame student-athletes, their families and friends. Ask before you act!
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Ask us. Before you ask them - video Click Brittany to view the most recent compliance video; Very funny! |
Representatives of Athletics Interests
What You Need to Know - Compliance Top 10
Extra Benefits
Defining a Booster
Are Notre Dame Alumni Considered Boosters?
Boosters & Prospective Student-Athletes
Boosters & Current Student-Athletes
Miscellaneous Information
Notre Dame Alumni Clubs
Donation Requests
Top 10 Things You Need to Know
1. ALWAYS ASK BEFORE YOU ACT! Breaking NCAA rules can render prospects and
student-athletes ineligible for competition. The
NCAA holds the university accountable for the actions of its fans
and friends.
2. You MAY NOT make recruiting contacts with prospects,
their relatives or legal guardians. A prospective student-athlete is a student
who has started classes for the ninth grade (7th grade for Men’s Basketball) or
above. This prohibition includes written and telephone communications.
3.
You MAY NOT contact a prospect’s coach, principal, or counselor in an attempt to
evaluate the prospect.
4. You MAY send newspaper clippings and other
information about talented prospects to the designated coaching staff. Also, you
MAY continue established relationships with friends and neighbors whose children
are prospects or current student-athletes, provided the relationship pre-dates
reaching prospect status and is not based on their status as an
athlete.
5. You MAY attend high school or junior college competitions
provided no contact occurs with the prospect or the prospect’s
relatives.
6. You MAY NOT entertain any coach from a junior or senior
high school, preparatory school, or junior college or provide them with tickets
or any other type of benefit.
7. You MAY NOT become involved in
arranging for a prospect, a current student-athlete or their family to receive
gifts, money or financial benefits of any kind.
8. You MAY NOT provide
transportation to a prospect, student-athlete or their friends and family. Also,
you MAY NOT spend funds to entertain prospects, student-athletes or their
friends and family.
9. You MAY employ a student-athlete provided you are
paying them only for the work they actually perform, paying the going rate for
similar services, are not paying them or providing perks based on their status
as a student-athlete and the employment has been approved by the Compliance Office.
10.You MAY NOT use a photo or name of a student-athlete
for commercial purposes or sell student-athlete memorabilia.
Thank you to our colleagues in the University of Michigan Compliance Office who created this Top Ten.
Extra Benefits should not be offered to a prospective student-athlete, current student-athlete or their family or friends by anyone (regardless of a booster affiliation). An extra benefit is defined as anything that is offered based solely on participation in intercollegiate athletics. If something is offered to all students at Notre Dame or to the general public, a student-athlete may accept the benefit as it doesn't carry an athletics nexus. Examples of extra benefits are (but are not limited to):
- Money, loans or credits
- Complimentary or discounted services
- Selling, trading or upgrading any athletics gear or participation awards
- Acceptance of any item of tangible value in exchange for complimentary tickets
The list above is not exhaustive. Please refrain from ever offering our prospective and current student-athletes, their families, and their friends anything that isn't available to all students or the general public.
Who is a Representative of Athletics Interests?
The NCAA broadly defines a "booster" as an individual, agency, entity or organization who is known by an institution to:
- Have participated in or been a member of an agency that promotes the institution's intercollegiate athletics program
- Have made financial contributions to the athletics department or a booster organization for the department
- Have been involved otherwise in promoting the institution's athletics program
- Have been a season ticket holder
- Have provided benefits to student-athletes or their relatives or friends
I'm an Alumnus, am I a Booster?
Not necessarily. Not all Notre Dame alumni are considered boosters. Likewise, a booster does not have to be a graduate of Notre Dame. Boosters meet at least one of the criteria listed above. Thus, an individual who has ever made a financial contribution to the Athletics Department is a booster. In a general sense, a season ticket holder in any sport at any time is a booster. Members and financial supporters of the Notre Dame Monogram Club or any other Notre Dame athletic organization are boosters. These are only a handful of examples of typical "boosters" who may be affiliated with an athletic program. Many additional scenarios exist, but, regardless of a booster affiliation with the university, it is important that all supporters follow NCAA rules as they interact with prospects, current student-athletes, their families and friends.
Who are Prospective Student-Athletes?
A prospective student-athlete is any student who has started classes for the ninth grade (seventh grade in basketball). Any student younger than the ninth grade who receives any benefits from an institution or athletics representative would also be considered a prospective student-athlete as would an enrollee at a preparatory school or two year college. It is important that prospects enjoy a positive campus visit within the constraints of the NCAA regulations. Football game weekends are an invaluable experience for all 26 varsity sports to showcase the tradition of our beloved university to prospective student-athletes. Thus, please do not provide anything to a prospect, the prospect’s family or the prospect’s friends that is not available to the general public without consulting with the Compliance Office.
It should be our goal, as the best alumni and fans in the country, to preserve and protect each and every student-athlete’s eligibility. All NCAA legislation cannot be covered in a limited space such as on this site. Therefore, any questions should be forwarded to the Compliance Office in the Department of Athletics at 574-631-9647.
Why is it so important boosters be educated?
Boosters Can Cause Violations! Only countable coaches are authorized to recruit. Supporters of Notre Dame are prohibited from contacting a prospective student-athlete and cannot participate in recruiting conversations. Boosters continue to reach out to prospective student-athletes, their families or friends. In particular, social media such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter have created an open forum for boosters to overstep NCAA boundaries. Notre Dame does NOT condone this contact.
It is necessary for the NCAA and Notre Dame Compliance to regulate social media. Otherwise, we would be unable to maintain a level playing field for recruiting consistency as some coaches and programs receive more prevalent support than others.
Boosters are prohibited from any contact with a recruit, unless a recruit contacts the booster, and even then, the booster is not allowed to discuss recruiting. NCAA rules do not allow comments about possible recruits on an institution’s social media page or a page belonging to someone affiliated with the institution. In addition, these pages cannot feature photos of prospects and messages cannot be sent to recruits using these social media technologies other than through their e-mail function. Consider the recent headlines and keep Notre Dame out of the news:
IU Men’s Basketball is denying any involvement in the "1,000 Hoosier Fans For Cody Zeller" campaign sweeping Facebook
Kentucky fans "Bring Patrick Patterson to Kentucky" Campaign to Facebook
Ohio State admits 'secondary violations' of NCAA recruiting rules in pursuit of lineman Henderson
WHEN BOOSTERS ATTEMPT TO RECRUIT PROSPECTS, INSTITUTIONS SUFFER.
What can you do for a current student-athlete as a supporter of Notre Dame Athletics?
You May:
- Contact a current student-athlete regarding employment opportunities in which the student-athlete will be paid the going rate for work performed. Student-athletes are to be hired based on their qualifications and not on their status as a student-athlete.
- Provide a student-athlete an occasional meal in your home or on Notre Dame’s campus. Occasional meals must be approved in advance by the Compliance Office.
Please refrain from offering current student-athletes, their families, and friends anything that is not available to the general public or the Notre Dame student body. This includes any benefit or special arrangement such as free or reduced cost lodging, meals or services.
Institutional Memorabilia Requests
Student-athletes are highly encouraged to personalize any items that they autograph to the recipient. This ensures that items are less likely to appear for sale on internet auction sites for the financial gain of a third party vendor.
Donation Requests
The University of Notre Dame receives several hundred requests for memorabilia from organizations each year. Please know that all requests are given serious consideration, however, due to the high volume of requests we receive, the following guidelines must be followed to assure fairness.
- Due to ticket demand, complimentary tickets cannot be provided as a donation.
- Due to NCAA regulations, we are unable to fulfill requests that would benefit students in grades 9-12. This includes all high school auctions, raffles, fundraisers, and requests for prizes.
- Requests for operating expenses and other monetary donations cannot be honored.
- Memorabilia is limited to one request per organization during the University of Notre Dame fiscal year (7/1-6/30).
- Due to the high volume of requests that we receive, we are not able to guarantee that we will have an item for your event. We appreciate your support of Notre Dame Athletics, and hope that your event is a success.
- Requests for items to be autographed by student-athletes cannot be honored. Check the promotions page (und.com) for information on fan fests or team autograph sessions.
Types of Donations
Items used for donation requests are typically promotional giveaways. We hope that you enjoy the item that is selected for your event.
Request Process
- All donation requests must include the combined donation request form.
- Please submit at least six weeks prior to the date for which the donation is needed.
- Donation requests must be received by mail, fax or email, (please choose just one method).
- All decisions made by the University of Notre Dame are final.
- All requests should be submitted to:
Event Marketing Donation Requests
Purcell Pavilion
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Fax: 574-631-0854
Email: eventreq@nd.edu
ASK BEFORE YOU ACT (574) 631-9647 I ASK an NCAA Compliance Question
Thursday, November 4, 2010
