At 7:43 AM -0500 8/13/96, Jack C. Berenzweig wrote:
> As the parent of a collegiate athlete, I have had several occasions to
> contact the NCAA for some guidance, relating to questions of collegiate
> eligibility.  On no occasion was I ever able to receive a definitive
> answer from the NCAA as to whether some particular act would jeoparize
> by son's eligibility.  Sometimes, after receiving an answer from one
> person at the NCAA, I would call back a second time and ask a different
> person the same question and receive an entirely different answer, which
> was inconsistent with the first answer. Furthermore, after the NCAA
> rendered its advice, they would refuse, as a matter of policy, to put
> their advice in writing.
 
I found this interesting because it almost exactly mirrors examples of
cases that appear in the book written several years ago as a sort of expose
of the NCAA - author and title escape me and the book is packed away
someplace, but it is called something like "The NCAA's Injustice For All"
(perhaps a subtitle).  The book may have gone a little too far in some
cases - I'm not sure - but it did raise some important questions in my mind
as to how the NCAA conducts itself and this was one of them.
 
In the book, the author detailed numerous cases in which a student-athlete
attempted to get a clarification from the NCAA on an issue and as Jack
says, he was either given conflicting information or not allowed to have a
written interpretation of the rule in question (or both).  In some cases, I
believe, it turned out that the verbal interpretation given by the NCAA
staff was incorrect and the student-athlete and/or institution was still
sanctioned.
 
This seemed scary to me then, and it bothers me that they still seem to
have the same philosophy (which I thought might have changed, but
apparently not).  The NCAA should be willing to stand behind the
interpretations it issues as advice to SAs and their parents, in the form
of a written declaration that their interpretation is correct.  If it is
not willing to do this, then its staff should not be rendering these
decisions.
 
I'd certainly be interested to hear justification for why the NCAA thinks
it is okay for the staff to issue conflicting information and also why it
is unwilling to issue written verification.  I'm sure we all remember the
huge flap over IRS staffers giving conflicting and incorrect information to
people who called their help line with tax questions.
 
The NCAA is supposed to be in the position of helping student-athletes, as
part of its job, and it does not seem that the way in which it handles
questions such as those Jack posed is either helpful or fair.  Was there
supposed to have been a different way for Jack to pursue this matter in
order to get a definitive answer with written proof?  If so, what is it?
It seems as if even the advice I gave about contacting the NCAA with
compliance questions may not fully settle the issue, and I'd like to know
what people are really supposed to do.  It would be nice if there was a way
to get an answer from someone at the NCAA about this.  After all, we are
only trying to do what is right.
 
When people ask important questions like this, they want real answers, and
it looks like there is still some doubt as to whether the NCAA is willing
or able to provide those answers.  And if that is true, how can SAs and
schools really be held responsible if no one is accountable?
 
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                   [log in to unmask]            *HMM* 11/13/93
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