EXTRA BENEFITS VIOLATIONS
Extra Benefit Defined
An extra benefit is any special arrangement by an institutional employee or a representative of the institution’s athletics interests to provide a student-athlete or the student-athlete’s relative or friend a benefit that is not expressly authorized by NCAA legislation. Receipt of a benefit is not a violation if it is demonstrated that the same benefit is generally available to the institution’s students or their relatives or friends or to a particular segment of the student body (e.g., foreign students, minority students) determined on a basis unrelated to athletics ability.
Prohibited Financial Aid, Benefits and Arrangements
An institutional employee or representative of the institution’s athletics interests may not provide a student-athlete with extra benefits or services, including, but not limited to:
- Special discounts, payment arrangements or credit (e.g., credit line at a store) on a purchase or service (e.g., dry cleaning).
- Use of institutional telephones, long distance access codes or credit cards for personal reasons.
- Use of institutional copy machines and fax machines for personal reasons.
- An automobile or use of an automobile.
- Free or reduced-cost services, rentals or purchases of any type.
- Free or reduced-cost housing. A student-athlete cannot accept free or reduced-cost housing from any RMU employee or booster. This includes in Pennsylvania, in the student-athlete’s home city or any other location.
- Free or reduced-cost storage of personal belongings.
- Loan of money, signing or cosigning of loans or guarantee of bond.
- Transportation (e.g., a ride home with a coach, ride with a booster).
- Cash or like items (e.g., gift certificates).
- Tangible items (e.g., clothing, cars, jewelry).
- Impermissible academic services (e.g., typing reports, papers, letters for a student-athlete).
- Free or reduced-cost entertainment services from commercial agencies (e.g., movie tickets, dinners, use of car, reduced admission to institutional or community events).
- Educational expenses (other than from permissible institutional and outside sources).
A student-athlete cannot accept anything from a RMU employee or booster. The acceptance by a student-athlete of any extra benefit is a violation of NCAA regulations and places the student-athlete’s eligibility for intercollegiate competition in jeopardy.
Permissible Benefits
- Hometown Awards
- A hometown group (other than a RMU booster club) may pay reasonable and necessary expenses of a student-athlete returning home to receive an award for athletics accomplishments.
- Transportation
- It is permissible for a student-athlete to receive reasonable local transportation (within a 30-mile radius of campus) on an occasional basis from a RMU employee.
- Occasional Meal
- A student-athlete or the entire team in a sport may receive an occasional meal (one per month) in the locale of RMU’s campus (within a 30-mile radius of campus) on infrequent and special occasions from an institutional staff member. An institutional staff member may provide reasonable local transportation to student-athletes to attend such meals. A student-athlete may receive an occasional family home meal from a representatives of athletics interests on infrequent and special occasions under the following conditions:
- The meal must be provided in the individual’s home (as opposed to a restaurant) and may be catered; and
- A representative of RMU’s athletics interests may provide reasonable local transportation to student-athletes to attend the meal function only if the meal function is at the home of that representative.
- A team may receive an occasional meal from the parent of a teammate at any location.
- Incidental Benefits
- RMU may provide student-athletes with reasonable refreshments (e.g., soft drinks, snacks) for student-athlete’s educational and business meetings and, on an occasional basis, for celebratory events (e.g., birthdays).
ROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITY
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