Many thanks to Charlie Shub for his succinct overview of the Cadet sponsor
program at the Air Force Academy.  I hadn't realized that *all* cadets,
athletes or not, were matched with sponsor families - I'd actually been
led to believe that only the hockey players were "sponsored" (by the
Academy equivalent of a hockey booster organization).  Since no money
is involved and ALL cadets are involved in the program, the NC$$ certainly
can't be concerned about "benefits [for athletes] not available to the
student body at large" :-)
 
I'm disappointed, however, in the apparent lack of interest on the part of
the HOCKEY-L readership to the concerns I'd expressed in my earlier post.
I'm sure that most of us have social contact with players away from the
rink in one way or another, yet it's not at all clear to me whether some-
thing as innocent as inviting a player over for dinner could blow up in
our faces and possibly jeopardize the entire program.  Perhaps many of
you consider this a far-fetched or unlikely occurrence, but having watched
the athletic program of my current employer - The University of Maryland -
get dragged through the wringer over seemingly "trivial" rules violations
such as arranging for players to get an occasional ride to class, let me
assure you that the threat of disciplinary action is very real.  We can
all behave like ostriches with our heads in the sands of ignorance re:
what is/is not permitted when fans fraternize with players, or we can shine
a light into the darkness.  Surely someone on HOCKEY-L has better access
to their school's "Compliance Coordinator" than I do - won't someone accept
the challenge to get some REAL answers ??
 
					Cheers from the Chesapeake - Jim