Both students and fans often want to know how the NCAA regulates college sports. Any college or university that participates in college sporting events must agree to follow the regulations established by the NCAA. Those rules and regulations apply to how students can dress when playing sports and what recruiters can do when finding new players. Any violations can result in serious fines and other penalties. Schools caught breaking the rules can even have their teams banned from competing in sports. A governing body is responsible for both setting and overseeing the rules.
Recruiting Standards
One way in which the NCAA helps regulate sports is with the recruiting standards it established. High school athletes cannot receive any financial incentives to play for a team. Recruiters cannot give prospective players new clothing, vehicles or money. While they can offer scholarships for athletes based on their performances, those players cannot receive any type of financial award. If the NCAA catches a violation of this rule, it can ban the recruiter from working and prevent the athlete from playing for that school or any other college. Players cannot receive money or awards from alumni or anyone else associated with the college.
Athlete Apparel
The NCAA also regulates the way athletes can dress when they play college sports. These rules vary across sports. Football players must wear uniforms that completely cover their knees and jerseys that cover their stomachs. They cannot expose their stomachs or other body parts while in uniform. There are also rules regarding what players can wear in basketball and other sports such as shorts that cannot sag below their buttocks. These rules also apply to how students can get their uniforms. The NCAA allows boosters and others to make donations for new apparel for athletes and allows for some sponsorship opportunities.
Player Grades
One of the biggest ways in which the NCAA regulates college sports is through player grades. The idea is that players should be students first and athletes second. They must maintain high grades to keep playing. The NCAA also requires that players regularly attend their classes and that they complete all the work required of them. Students who fall below the required grade point average cannot play for the college until they get their grades back up. There are also rules regarding how much help students can get in their classes.
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New Players
Another way in which the organization regulates college sports is with the rules established for new players. According to the NCAA, college players must have a high school diploma and a transcript that shows the athlete took 16 different common core classes. They will need to take at least 10 of those classes by the beginning of their senior years. The NCAA also requires that players take at least seven core courses in science, English, and math, which are the classes that help them at the college level. Students cannot compete at the college level without meeting these standards.
The NCAA is responsible for ensuring that colleges and their athletes meet all its established standards. These standards apply to what students can do during games and while at school. Those looking at how the NCAA regulates college sports will find that it has regulations relating to new and existing athletes.
