Who is a booster / representative of athletic interests?
NCAA rules state that all alumni, friends, and employees of the University are categorized as "representatives of athletics interests." The NCAA stipulates that once an individual has been identified as a representative or "booster/donor" of the University's athletics programs, he or she retains this status forever even if the individual is no longer associated with the athletics program. Furthermore, the NCAA states that it is possible to be a representative of athletics interest at more than one university at the same time.
A representative of athletics interests is anyone who has ever:
- made any type of contribution to the athletics department or to a booster club
- joined the institution's booster club or any sport specific support group
- provided or helped arrange employment for a student-athlete
- provided benefits to enrolled student-athletes or their families
- assisted in any manner in the recruitment of prospective student-athletes
- promoted the institution's athletics program in any manner
- purchased season tickets from the University
As a representative of athletics interests (booster/donor), you may not:
- contact a prospect's coach, principal or counselor in an effort to evaluate a prospect
- visit the prospect's institution to pick up film or transcripts pertaining to the evaluation of the prospect's áacademic eligibility or athletic ability
- contact a prospect, his/her parents, legal guardians or spouse on or off campus
- contact a prospect by telephone or by letter
- make special arrangements for entertainment for recruiting purposes
- provide extra benefits to a prospect, student -athlete at UT or another institution or to the parents, family and/or guardians of the prospects or student athlete's
Who is a prospective student-athlete?
NCAA rules stipulate that a prospective student-athlete is a person who has started classes for the ninth (9th) grade, regardless of his/her athletics ability and/or participation.
Note: In the sport of men's basketball, an individual becomes a prospective student-athlete when he enrolls in classes for the seventh (7th) grade.
Remember:
- A prospective student-athlete remains a prospect even after he or she has signed a National Letter of Intent or accepts an offer of financial aid to attend an institution.
- The prospect remains a prospect until he/she reports for the first day of classes for a regular term (fall or spring) or the first official day of practice (whichever comes first).
Don't forget about transfer students!
As a representative of athletics interest you are not permitted to contact any student-athlete or the family member/guardian of a student-athlete who is or has enrolled at another institution for the purposes of recruiting and/or to determine the possibility of transferring to UT. The same rules apply to these students as they do for prospective student-athletes.
What is an extra benefit?
The NCAA defines an extra benefit as any special arrangement by an institutional employee or a representative of the institution's athletics interest ("booster/donor") to provide a student-athlete (or a student-athlete's relative or friend) a benefit that is not generally available to other UT students and their relative and/or friends. Therefore, please be aware of the following:
- A student-athlete cannot accept anything from an employee of UT or athletic booster/donor (e.g., use of a car, haircut, clothing, gifts, money, tickets for any kind of entertainment, payment of long distance telephone calls).
- A student-athlete cannot accept free or reduced cost room and/or board from any UT employee or booster/donor of UT's athletic programs. This includes in on or off campus, in the student-athlete's home city or any other location. This would preclude a student-athlete from "house sitting" without paying rental costs at a comparable rate for similar housing in that locale.
- A student-athlete may not accept free or reduced cost storage room for personal belongings for the summer months from any UT employee or booster/donor of UT's athletic programs.
- A student-athlete cannot accept free or reduced merchandise or services from any merchant unless that free or reduced cost item is also available to the general public.
- A student-athlete cannot eat at a restaurant as the guest of an athletic booster/donor or an employee of UT.
- On infrequent, special occasions (e.g., a birthday, Thanksgiving, etc.), a student-athlete may accept an invitation to the home of an employee of UT or an athletic booster/donor for a meal.
- A student-athlete cannot use a Department of Athletics copy machine, fax machine or make long distance phone calls using departmental equipment or the long distance access code of an employee of UT or athletic booster/donor.
- Members of the Department of Athletics staff or an athletic booster/donor are not permitted to type reports, papers, letters, etc., for a student-athlete.
- A student-athlete cannot receive a special discount, payment arrangement or credit on a purchase (e.g., airline ticket, clothing), or service (e.g., laundry, dry cleaning) from an employee of UT or an athletic booster/donor.
- An UT employee or a booster/donor cannot provide a student-athlete with a loan of money, a guarantee of bond, the use of an automobile or the signing or co-signing of a note to arrange a loan, or pay or provide other compensation for work not performed or at unreasonable levels for work performed.
- An UT employee may provide a student-athlete only reasonable and occasional local (i.e., within a 30 mile radius of the UT campus) transportation. However, an UT employee may not utilize a University vehicle for purposes of assisting a student-athlete's move from one residence to another.
What are the consequences of NCAA violations?
- A currently enrolled student-athlete being declared ineligible to participate
- Jeopardized eligibility for prospective student-athlete(s)
- NCAA sanctions imposed on the University and its athletics programs
What are the consequences of NCAA violations for athletic representatives (boosters/donors)?
The University of Tennessee is required by the NCAA to notify boosters of consequences regarding rules violations. Boosters found in violation of NCAA rules are subject to losing benefits and privileges, including but not limited to disassociation from the University of Tennessee and/or loss of ticket privileges.
Promotional / Charitable Activities
University of Tennessee student-athletes are often asked to participate in promotional activities (e.g., speaking engagements). However, a student-athlete's involvement in a promotional activity is also subject to specific NCAA rules and is limited to institutional, charitable, educational and/or nonprofit activities.
Groups interested in requesting a student-athlete's involvement in promotional activities must complete the request form. Requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Permissible Activities
A member institution or recognized entity thereof (e.g., fraternity, sorority or student government organization), a member conference or a non-institutional charitable, educational or nonprofit agency may use a student-athlete's name, picture or appearance to support its charitable or educational activities or to support activities considered incidental to the student-athlete's participation in intercollegiate athletics, provided the following conditions are met:
- The student-athlete receives written approval to participate from the director of athletics (or his or her designee who may not be a coaching staff member), subject to the limitations on participants in such activities as set forth in Bylaw 17;
- The specific activity or project in which the student-athlete participates does not involve co-sponsorship, advertisement or promotion by a commercial agency other than through the reproduction of the sponsoring company's officially registered regular trademark or logo on printed materials such as pictures, posters or calendars. The company's emblem, name, address and telephone number may be included with the trademark or logo. Personal names, messages and slogans (other than an officially registered trademark) are prohibited;
- The name or picture of a student-athlete with remaining eligibility may not appear on an institution's printed promotional item (e.g., poster, calendar) that includes a reproduction of a product with which a commercial entity is associated if the commercial entity's officially registered regular trademark or logo also appears on the item;
- The student-athlete does not miss class;
- All moneys derived from the activity or project go directly to the member institution, member conference or the charitable, educational or nonprofit agency;
- The student-athlete may accept actual and necessary expenses from the member institution, member conference or the charitable, educational or nonprofit agency related to participation in such activity;
- The student-athlete's name, picture or appearance is not utilized to promote the commercial ventures of any nonprofit agency;
- Any commercial items with names or pictures of student-athletes (other than highlight films or media guides per Bylaw 12.5.1.8) may be sold only at the member institution at which the student-athlete is enrolled, institutionally controlled (owned and operated) outlets or outlets controlled by the charitable or educational organization (e.g., location of the charitable or educational organization, site of charitable event during the event); and
- The student-athlete and an authorized representative of the charitable, educational or nonprofit agency sign a release statement ensuring that the student-athlete's name, image or appearance is used in a manner consistent with the requirements of this section.
Recently Reported NCAA Violations
The Tennessee Compliance Office will periodically release self-reported NCAA violations. The following is an account of recent self-reports:
| Bylaw(s) | Summary | Corrective Actions Taken |
|---|---|---|
| Women's Basketball – Jan. 23, 2013 | ||
| 13.6.7.9 | Coach created personalized recruiting aids (notebooks) and placed them in PSA's hotel room | Reinstatement request; Admonishment; Rules education |
| Baseball – Jan. 14, 2013 | ||
| 17.1.6.2 | Strength coach conducted workout within a week of the fall final exam period | Two-for-one reduction in CARA for the first week of the Championship segment; Rules education and letter of admonishment |
| Men's Swimming – Jan. 9, 2013 | ||
| 13.10.2 | Retweeted about a PSA during a competition on campus | Admonishment; Rules ed; Ban from Twitter for a week |
| Women's Swimming – Dec. 13, 2012 | ||
| 13.4.1.1 | Sent recruiting materials to a junior. | Prohibited contact and phone calls |
| Football – Dec. 5, 2012 | ||
| 11.7.1.1.1.1 | Football administrative intern provided coaching to SA's during a football game. | Admonishment; Rules ed; Withheld from attending practice for one week |
| Men's Basketball – Oct. 23, 2012 | ||
| 16.11.2.2.1 | SA's received impermissible personal grocery shopping services over the course of Summer I and Summer II, 2012. | Admonishment; Rules ed; Repayment of benefit to charity of SA's choice |
| Registrar's Office / Track and Field – Oct. 16, 2012 | ||
| 14.3.5.1.1 | SA was inadvertently cleared to receive financial aid by the institution's certifying officer. SA subsequently received impermissible financial aid prior to being certified by the NCAA Eligibility Center. | Rules education and letter of reprimand |
| Track and Field – Oct. 10, 2012 | ||
| 12.4.2.1 | SA received payment for lessons given at institutional facility. | Rules ed for student; Repayment of benefit to charity of student's choosing |
| Media Relations – Sept. 24, 2012 | ||
| 13.4.1.1.2.1 | Printed football media guide exceeded the NCAA prescribed page limit. | Rules education; Collecting of all undistributed guides |
| Men's Basketball – Sept. 21, 2012 | ||
| 17.1.6.2.2 and 13.11.1 | Individual skill instruction was conducted in front of a general audience prior to a football game. Subsequent to the skill instruction, PSA's making official visits were permitted to shoot on the court while the coaches were present. | Admonishment; Rules ed for coaches and university staff members involved in decision to open concourse of TBA |
| Men's Basketball – Aug. 30, 2012 | ||
| 13.12.1.4 | Alleged inconsistent camp registration process. Specifically, the NCAA Basketball Focus Group declared a secondary violation occurred in men's basketball because the team camp registration process was different than all other camps. | None |
| Football – July 19, 2012 | ||
| 14.3.5.1.1-2 and 12.1.1.1.3.1 | 6 SAs participated in countable athletically related activities beyond the temporary certification period prior to being certified as qualifiers | SAs withheld from one day of comparable activity for every four days over the permissible period; Compliance Office must henceforth communicate temporary certification periods directly to the coaches |
| Football – July 12, 2012 | ||
| 13.10.5 | Football recruiting office maintained Twitter page that re-tweeted a post by PSA | Rules education for involved personnel; post deleted |
| Football – July 5, 2012 | ||
| 16.3.1.1.1 or 16.11.2.2.1 | SA received impermissible typing services for one page paper from academic counselor | Rules Education; Letter of admonishment to academic counselor; SA repaid cost of the benefit received to charity |
| Softball – May 4, 2012 | ||
| 17.1.9(b) | Team inadvertently rescheduled a postponed game during a final exam period without submitting a waiver | Institution will not request a waiver of SEC Bylaw 17.1.9(b) for the sport of softball for two years |
| Women's Basketball – April 25, 2012 | ||
| 16.11.2.2 | Fans paid for a SA's meal without her knowledge, and she did not pay them back | SA donated $15 to the charity of her choice |
| Men's Swimming – Feb. 13, 2012 | ||
| 10.3 | SAs placed bets on professional and collegiate sports besides their own | Rules education to all SAs on sports wagering; SAs ineligible for team activities for the remainder of the year |
| Women's Volleyball – Feb. 13, 2012 | ||
| 13.4.1 | A member of the coaching staff responded to an email received from PSA prior to the permissible time to send recruiting correspondence to PSA | Rules Education; No correspondence with PSA for 60 days after first permissible date of correspondence; education on compliance system software blocking emails outside of permissible period |
| Men's Track and Field – Feb. 9, 2012 | ||
| 13.1.1.3 | A member of the coaching staff had eight telephone contacts with PSA without receiving adequate permission to contact from PSA's prior institution | 28-day ban on recruiting phone calls for coach; Rules Education; Letter of Admonishment; no telephone contact with involved PSA for 60 days |
| Women's Track and Field – Jan. 17, 2012 | ||
| 13.1.1.3 | A member of the coaching staff had telephone contact with two PSAs, who were SAs at a four-year college, prior to receiving written permission to contact from their current institution | 30-day ban for coach from telephone contact with any SA; SAs declared ineligible to participate at institution; letter of admonishment to coach; rules education |
| Media Relations – Sept. 13, 2011 | ||
| 17.1.6.2.2 | Office sent a press release to local media to inform them of individual skill instruction in men's basketball and an interview opportunity | Rules education to Media Relations Office and all head coaches; letter of admonishment |
Last Updated: 2.13.13
Memorabilia, Autographs and Charitable Requests
This policy applies to all memorabilia, autographs, and charitable requests. Student-athlete autographs are not available by request but may be obtained at fan days, after select home events or other special events. Autograph items are available to IRC 501(c) (3) charitable organizations that register with the University and provide the required documentation.
Requests made through Marketing, Development, Ticket Office, individual sport offices and/or any other department entity are not acceptable. However, autograph items may not be available while the sport is in season and are subject to availability the rest of the year.
Autograph Requests
Due to the exceptionally large demand, requests for autographs made by individuals of the general public will not be fulfilled. Individual autographs may be obtained at Fan Day, Big Orange Caravan events, and other public signing events to be announced.
In lieu of autograph requests, individuals may purchase limited edition signature series balls and other items through volautographs.com.
Charitable Organizations
Memorabilia, autograph, and other charitable requests are limited to those organizations that qualify under IRC 501(c) (3). Further, all requests will be limited to those charity organizations that are approved online by the Tennessee Athletics Compliance Office.
Charitable organizations are limited to one item per year, subject to availability.
Requests from charitable organizations are not guaranteed to be filled. The Tennessee Athletics Department is asked to support thousands of worthwhile charitable causes and events each year. Every effort is made to accommodate as many requests as possible. However, due to the number of requests the department receives on a monthly basis, all requests that fit the guidelines will not be accommodated.
Requests filed during the season are unlikely to be fulfilled, so all requests should be made as early as possible.
Autographs are only available on items purchased from the University. This allows coaches to sign ahead and attempt to maintain an inventory as well as eliminating the potential for lost goods. Items sent to the Athletics Department to be autographed will be marked "return to sender" and placed in the mail at the sender's expense. The University is not responsible for items shipped or mailed to the Athletics Department.
Request Process
501(c) (3) organizations must complete the Donation Request Form on the Athletics Compliance website.
Requests cannot be accepted by Marketing, Communications, Ticket Office, individual sport offices or any other department entity. Items will be returned if sent to departments or individual sport offices.
At this point, an employee will review the documentation and approve or send a note of deficiency to the applicant. Once approved, the request will be placed in a queue waiting for an item to become available. When an item is available, an employee will contact the organization to request payment for the ball. Upon receipt of payment, the ball will be shipped. Again, no request is guaranteed.
