| Summary: | The member schools of the NSAA understand the importance of balancing fair competition and the choices that students have for school attendance. The NSAA and member schools cannot prevent all communications and efforts to recruit. Without self-policing of the member schools, enforcement is very difficult. The purpose of this undue influence provision is to create rules that are enforceable by member schools and the NSAA. This rule applies to students currently in grades 9-12.
For purposes of this provision, a “school official” includes school board members, employees, and volunteers officially recognized and approved by the school.
School officials who engage in any of the following conduct are subject to penalties as specified in this section or other sections of the Constitution, Bylaws, and NSAA rules:
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Offering or implying access to items of value when the offer is made to students or any other individual affiliated with a student, such as a family member, representative, outside coach, etc. Items of value include monetary, in-kind, and other items that have non-monetary value when those items are not offered to all students enrolled or seeking enrollment in the school or participating in the activity. That includes but is not limited to: living with a school official; other free or discounted housing; transportation arrangements; gifts; payments; employment; overpayment for goods or services; playing time; opportunities for additional training or coaching; or any other similar items.
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Directly or indirectly contacting a student or any other individual affiliated with the student for purposes of encouraging the student to enroll or transfer for activity participation. This includes requesting others to make contact, or permitting others to make contact when the school official knows it may occur, even if the school official has not requested another person(s) to make contact.
Students or others affiliated with the student who have engaged in any of the following conduct are subject to penalties as specified in this section or other sections of the Constitution, Bylaws, and NSAA rules:
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Accepting a prohibited item of value, whether or not the student enrolls.
- Enrolling or transferring after receiving an offer of an item of value, whether or not it is provided.
- Requesting any item of value from a member school or school official in which the student is not enrolled, if that item is not made available to all students enrolled or seeking enrollment in the school or participating in the activity. This rule applies whether or not the request is honored by the receiving school or school official. This includes requests made by the student or anyone affiliated with the student, regardless of who benefits from the item of value.
The following conduct is not considered undue influence:
- Promoting the member school through social media, mailings, and other information shared publicly.
- Open events available to all students and potential students, such as open houses, camps, informational meetings, and school tours as long as no undue influence occurs.
- Other enrollment-related activities consistent with regular member school practices, if such activities are available to all students interested in attending the school. This may include speaking with an administrator or teacher who heads an academic program, an activity program sponsor, or a coach as long as no undue influence occurs.
- Providing factual information in response to questions about the enrollment process and courses, programs, or activities offered by the school, if such information is made available to all students interested in attending the school.
- Providing free items such as tumblers, t-shirts, or other items provided to any student interested in attending the school.
- Students engaging in NIL activities permitted by NSAA rules, so long as the NIL activity is not conditioned on the student’s enrollment or transfer.
The best way to address undue influence is self-policing. The following penalties and any combination of penalties may be imposed for violations of this rule. When imposing penalties, the NSAA will take into consideration: member schools or students that self-report potential violations; and information provided to the NSAA about consequences the member school plans to impose internally.
- Member School and School Official Penalties
- Corrective action plans.
- Fines up to $10,000.
- Forfeiture of contests.
- Suspensions of school officials.
- For subsequent violations, long-term or permanent bans for school officials from coaching or sponsoring NSAA activities.
- For subsequent violations, postseason ineligibility.
- Student Penalties
- Ineligibility for a number of contests or a season or seasons.
- For subsequent violations, permanent ban from participating in NSAA activities.
The NSAA will not automatically investigate allegations of undue influence. The NSAA and anyone reporting an alleged violation will follow the process contained in section 1.10 of the Constitution. When determining whether to investigate a reported allegation, the NSAA will consider the following:
- The report or complaint must comply with section 1.10 of the Constitution, which does not require the NSAA to respond to or investigate anonymous reports.
- The report must be made to the NSAA within 7 calendar days of the reporting member school or individual discovering the possible violation; information/evidence supporting the basis of the report must be provided within 7 days of the initial report.
- Whether there is any documentation available at the time of the report tending to prove or disprove whether a violation occurred. The member school or individual from the member school making the report must provide all documentation and information available prior to making the report. For example, if an athletic director reports that one of their students received a recruiting text message from a coach at another member school, the athletic director must secure a copy prior to reporting.
- The nature of allegation, such as direct observation compared to rumor or speculation, and the proximity of the source of the information reported.
- Whether evidence of the violation will be discoverable even with a good-faith investigation.
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