The NCAA rules are so lengthy and so complicated: how well do athletes know them?

The NCAA has many expectations for athletes, coaches, and colleges when it comes to playing college sports. Many of these rules are ambiguous, resulting in confusion among athletes.

There are rules that are well-known, such as that athletes must pass a drug test given at any time, or that athletes must be meeting the academic standards of the school. There are also rules that are lesser known, such as that athletes may only be bandaged with licensed Johnson & Johnson products, or that athletes cannot get paid to promote any commercial product or service to using their name or photo.

By not being informed of the details of these rules, an athlete’s NCAA eligibility could be taken away.

Athletes cannot be involved in gambling at any level of sport. Also, his/her information cannot be given to another person involved in gambling activity.

The NCAA commissioned a study in 2012 that found that 57% of male student-athletes and 39% female student-athletes reported gambling in some form during the past year. Student-athletes in Division I reporting the lowest incidence of gambling, with 50% of male athletes and 30% female athletes reportedly gambling.

Another NCAA rule says that athletes cannot accept special gifts from their coach or any other outside source.

Baylor football player Silas Nacita, a walk-on running back, was declared ineligible last year because of NCAA violations. Nacita was set up in an apartment by a close family-friend and was supported with living expenses, thus terminating his college football career. He was considered to have broken the rule that athletes cannot accept money, transportation, lodging, entertainment, or other benefits.

In his statement, Nacita said, “I had no idea I was breaking any rules, but I respect the decision of the NCAA.”

A different, more surprising NCAA rule is that athletes cannot accept meals from their coaches, but they may accept snacks.

Caroline Wysocki ’16 has recently signed her NLI to the University of New Hampshire to play Division I soccer. When Wysocki was asked if she would accept a bagel with peanut butter from her coach, she says, “Of course!”

Little does she know, that by taking this bagel, she is in violation of an NCAA Rule. If this bagel was without a peanut butter topping, it would be considered a snack; however, with the peanut butter it becomes a meal and is not able to be taken by the athlete.

Wysocki adds, “My coach hasn’t explained all of the NCAA rules in detail to me, but hopefully when I get to college he will make sure I know of any violations that would end my college career.”