1.
December 2015
The Hornet
Compliance Newsletter
Compliance Staff:
Assistant Athletic
Director of
Compliance:
Kevin D. Kendrick
Compliance
Coordinator:
Tatiana Cummings
Compliance Intern:
Kevarian Warren
Student Assistant:
Ty Singletary
Contact
Information:
Alabama State
University
915 S. Jackson St
Montgomery, Alabama
36101
(P) 334-229-7628
(F) 334-229-4992
E-mail
compliance@alasu.edu
Legislation
12.5.1.1.2 Promotions Involving Commercial Locations/Sponsors
A member institution, a member conference or a charitable, educational or nonprofit
organization may use the appearance, name or picture of an enrolled student-athlete
to promote generally its fundraising activities at the location of a commercial
establishment, provided the commercial establishment is not a co-sponsor of the
event and the student-athlete does not promote the sale of a commercial product in
conjunction with the fundraising activity. A commercial establishment would become a
co-sponsor if the commercial establishment either advertises the presence of the
student-athlete at the commercial location or is involved directly or indirectly in
promoting the activity.
14.4.3.6 Exceptions to Progress-Toward-Degree Rule.
Non-recruited, Nonparticipant. A student-athlete may qualify for an exception to the
application of the progress-toward-degree regulation for the initial season of eligibility
if the student was not recruited; has not received athletically related financial
assistance; has never practiced or participated in intercollegiate athletics, except that
a student may have participated in limited preseason tryouts; and is otherwise
eligible under all institutional, conference and NCAA rules. e student-athlete’s
eligibility in following seasons would be governed by the provisions of the progress-
toward-degree rule, which would be applied from the beginning of the first term the
student began participation. is exception shall not apply to the percentage-of-degree
(see Bylaw 14.4.3.2) and minimum grade-point average (see Bylaw 14.4.3.3)
requirements.
17.1.7.3.6 Vacation Periods and Between Terms.
Daily and weekly hour limitations do not apply to countable athletically related
activities occurring during an institution’s term-time official vacation period, as listed
in the institution’s official calendar, and during the academic year between terms
when classes are not in session. If such vacation periods occur during any part of a
week in which classes are in session, the institution is subject to the daily and weekly
hour limitations during the portion of the week when classes are in session and must
provide the student-athletes with a day off (see Bylaw 17.1.7.4), which may be a
vacation day.
17.1.7.3.7 Final-Examination Periods.
Daily and weekly hour limitations apply to countable athletically related activities
during final-examination periods and to all official preparatory periods leading to final-
examination periods.

2. Football 12/1-19 Contact Period 12/20 Quiet Period 12/21-31 Dead Period
Baseball 12/1-31 Quiet Period
Softball 12/1 Quiet 12/2-5 Dead Period 12/6-31
Women’s/ Men’s Cross
Country
12/1-13 Contact Period 12/14 Quiet Period 12/15-18 Dead Period
12/19-31 Quiet Period
All Other Sports 12/1-31 Contact Period
Women's Track Indoor/
Outdoor
12/1-13 Contact Period 12/14 Quiet Period 12/15-18 Dead Period
12/19-31 Quiet Period
Volleyball 12/1-6 Contact Period 12/7-15 Quiet Period 12/16-31 Dead
Period
Men’s Track Outdoor/
Indoor
12/1-13 Contact Period 12/14 Quiet Period 12/15-18 Dead Period
12/19-31 Quiet Period
Women's Basketball 12/1-23 Evaluation Period 12/24-26 Dead Period 12/27-31
Evaluation Period
Men's Basketball 12/1-23 Contact Period 12/24-26 Dead Period 12/27-31 Contact
Period
Men's Cross Country 12/1-13 Contact Period 12/14 Quiet Period 12/15-18 Dead Period
12/19-31 Quiet Period
December Recruiting Calendar
The Legislative Services Database (LSDBi) sites twelve secondary violation involving
the word Christmas.
Here are the facts from one of the violations:
During the 2011 fall semester, an assistant football coach (FB AC) sent one text
message to a prospective student-athlete (FB PSA), and an assistant women's soccer
coach (SOC AC) sent one text message to a prospective student-athlete (SOC PSA).
Specifically, the FB AC received a "Merry Christmas" text, and he replied to the text
believing it was from a current student-athlete. The FB AC subsequently discovered
that he had replied to a text from the FB PSA. In addition, when the SOC PSA arrived
at the airport for her official visit, she sent a text to the SOC AC. The SOC AC replied
before realizing her mistake.
The institution self imposed a four-week period of no contact with football PSAs for the
football staff and a two-week ban on contact to soccer PSAs.

3. Happy Holidays from the Offices
of Compliance and Business

4. Committee approves plan to assist
limited-resource and HBCU schools
Committee on Academics members seek to support
academic success
The Committee on Academics approved a plan Wednesday to continue to
assist limited-resource schools and Historically Black Colleges and Universities
in improving the academic success of their student-athletes.
Traditionally, Academic Progress Rates of teams at limited-resource schools
and HBCUs have lagged behind the rates of teams at other Division I schools,
though the rate for these schools has increased 16 points in the last four years.
Teams from those schools also are penalized more often for academic
shortcomings. These schools often have a clearly stated mission to provide
access to educational opportunities to a broad group of students, including
those who might not otherwise have the opportunity to attend college.
An advisory group comprised of representatives from limited-resource schools
and HBCUs studied the issue and recommended a three-part plan. The plan
includes a continuation of the existing filters, with a subtle shift in how schools
use filters that relieve them of Academic Performance Program penalties. Also,
the recommendations involve stronger requirements for schools writing and
implementing Academic Progress Rate improvement plans and a robust
educational component.
Greg Burke, athletics director at Northwestern State University and a member
of the Committee on Academics, chaired the advisory group.
“We agreed that all Division I schools must be committed to the foundational
principle of the Academic Performance Program and the academic success of
students,” Burke said. “At the same time, these schools serve a very important
role and serve an under-represented population in many cases. We tried to
balance both of those considerations with our recommendations to the
Committee on Academics.”

5. Under the new recommendations, the filters that allowed schools to escape
penalties based on various factors – including resource level, mission and
academic improvement – would be available only twice over a five-year period.
The filters had been available every year. The committee will revisit this issue at
the close of the five-year period.
Additionally, a more rigorous review of the APR improvement plans required of
every school that uses a filter will be employed. New criteria for improvement
plans will be refined by the committee, but could require:
• Schools to directly relate their improvement plans to previously identified
critical issues.
• Schools to set performance-based, outcome-specific goals for both the
long- and short-term and describe how goals will be achieved.
• Schools to develop plans with broad-based campus support, including
from the highest-ranking academic authority, faculty and technology staff.
• A school’s president or chancellor and the APR improvement plan team
to present the improvement plan in a videoconference with the NCAA
staff.
Also, follow-up reports signed by the school’s president or chancellor must
demonstrate that initiatives from the plan were implemented.
Finally, the committee approved a comprehensive educational programming
approach aimed at helping schools improve academic performance. The
educational initiatives will be refined by the committee in the spring, but may
include programming designed for individual campus administrators (e.g.,
athletics directors, head coaches, faculty athletics representatives, presidents),
and provide education and enhanced conference involvement. Additional
elements will be added over the coming months.
Produced by: Ty Singletary
Michelle Brutlag Hosick