Here is how the rule on meals reads: 16.12 BENEFITS, GIFTS AND SERVICES 16.12.1 Permissible 16.12.1.6 Occasional Meals. A student-athlete or the entire team in a sport may receive an occasional family home meal from an institutional staff member or representative of athletics interests under the following conditions: (a) The meal must be provided in an individual's home (as opposed to a restaurant) and may be catered; (b) Meals must be restricted to infrequent and special occasions; ... Note that this is how extra benefits are defined: 16.02.3 Extra Benefit. 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 not expressly authorized by NCAA legislation. Receipt of a benefit by student-athletes or their relatives or friends is not a violation of NCAA legislation 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. Also note that according to 13.02.11, a "representative of athletics interests" can include anyone who either is somehow involved in promoting the institution's athletics programs or who has made financial contributions to the athletics department or to an athletics booster organization of that institution (paraphrased). By that definition, many of us here can be considered to be a "representative of athletics interests", especially if you are a member of an organization like "Friends of State U Hockey" and/or contribute to that organization. The question is, if you provide a SA a benefit like a free meal because you are friends with him/her and not strictly because of the SA's athletics involvement, are you in violation of the rules? I can't claim to be an expert on this topic, so I will leave this to those who are more familiar with the rules than me. On the one hand, it is not a benefit provided to a SA because of athletics. But on the other, the rules also state clearly that any benefits not expressly authorized are forbidden. --- --- Mike Machnik [log in to unmask] Cabletron Systems, Inc. *HMM* 11/13/93 >>> Merrimack softball - 1994: 45-4/NC$$ DivII Champions <<< >>> 1995: 39-9/NC$$ Northeast Regional Champions & on to the Final 6 <<<