Student Athlete General Information
Student Athlete Employment
Student-athletes are allowed to work both during and outside the academic year. However, studentathletes must only be paid:
 for work they actually performed, and
 at the going rate for similar type jobs in the area in which they are working.
Student-athletes should not be paid based on publicity, reputation, or fame they have gained because of
their athletic ability.
Before engaging in any work activity all student-athletes are to inform the athletic department of where
they are working and must fill out a Student-Athlete Employment Form via JumpForward.
Fee-for-Lesson Instruction
Any student-athlete who wishes to teach lessons in his or her sport may do so provided:
 SMC facilities are not used;
 Playing lessons shall not be permitted;
 SMC obtains and keeps on file documentation of the recipient of the lesson(s) and the fee for
the lesson(s) provided during any time of the year; and
 The compensation is paid by the lesson recipient (or the recipient's family) and not by another
individual or entity.
 Instruction provided to more than one individual at-a-time is comparable to the instruction that
each individual would be provided during a private lesson.
 The student-athlete is paid at a rate commensurate with the on-going rate in the area for similar
services.
 The student-athlete does not use his or her name, picture, or appearance to promote or
advertise the availability of fee-for-lesson sessions.
A student-athlete must complete a Fee for Lesson form via JumpForward prior to teaching any
lessons.
Extra Benefits
NCAA Dictionary
Extra Benefit --noun
1. any special arrangement by an institutional employee or a representative of the institution's
athletics interests (booster) to provide a student-athlete or the student-athlete's relative or
friend a benefit not expressly authorized by NCAA legislation.
2. 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.
Examples of Impermissible Extra Benefits
Extra benefits that could cause a student-athlete to become ineligible include, but are not limited to:
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Cash or gifts
Use of personal property (e.g., boats, summer homes, cars, phones)
Discounts on purchases (e.g., tickets, clothing)
Discounts on services (e.g., dental/medical services, automotive services, laundry)
Arranging, providing or co-signing on a loan
Meals at restaurants or groceries
Clothing or equipment
Free or reduced cost housing
Complimentary Admissions to SMC Athletic Events
SMC student-athletes may receive complimentary admissions to SMC athletic events under the
following conditions:
 Student-athletes are allowed a maximum of four complimentary admissions to both home and
away contests in their own sport.
 Student-athletes are allowed a maximum of six complimentary admissions for post season
contests in their own sport
 The complimentary admissions are provided through a pass list only (no hard tickets may be
provided).
 A student-athlete may not sell or exchange their complimentary tickets for any item of value.
Occasional Meals
Student-athletes may be invited to the home of a booster on an infrequent basis to have an "occasional
meal." These meals may only be provided in the home of a booster (as opposed to a restaurant) and
may be catered. All occasional meals must receive prior approval by the SMC Compliance Office.
Financial Aid
Terms and Conditions
SMC offers grant-in-aid, scholarships, and/or financial aid to select student-athletes which can cover
some or all of tuition, room & board, and/or books. Student-athletes must meet all SMC, WCC and NCAA
eligibility requirements in order to receive financial aid for athletics.
Tuition: If a student-athlete is awarded full-tuition, they do not need to make any payment for tuition. If
the student-athlete receives partial tuition, they are required to pay the balance of their tuition to the
Cashier's Office on campus by the tuition deadline for each semester.
Room and Board: If a student-athlete is awarded a room and board amount and they are living on
campus, the Athletic Department will pay that amount directly to the housing office. If the studentathlete is living off campus, they will receive the amount in equal monthly payments payable on the first
school day of each month.
Books: If a student-athlete is awarded books, Student Services will provide a class schedule to the
Campus Bookstore. The bookstore then gathers and boxes all required books for each accepting
student-athlete. Boxes are retrieved by the student-athlete. At the end of each semester, studentathletes are responsible to return books to the Student Services Center. Failure to return textbooks can
result in the student-athlete’s account being charge the cost of the books.
In general, student-athletes on a full or partial athletics scholarship may receive their scholarship for one
year; however, multi-year athletics scholarships are permissible. Each year, student-athletes must sign a
receipt acknowledging acceptance of their athletics aid for that year. A student-athlete must be notified
whether their athletics award is renewed or cancelled by July 1. Student-athletes may have their
scholarships reduced or cancelled, but NCAA Bylaw 15 requires a student-athlete be notified in writing
of the opportunity for a hearing when financial aid is reduced or cancelled during the period of the
award.
Athletics scholarships may be reduced or canceled during the period of the award if a student-athlete:
 Renders himself or herself ineligible for intercollegiate competition in any manner, which may
include failure to meet academic requirements, signing with an agent, or any other act which
would make a student-athlete ineligible.
 Voluntarily quits the team.
 Provides any fraudulently information on an application, letter of intent, or financial aid
agreement.
 Engages in serious misconduct in violation of the law, NCAA rules, WCC rules and/or St. Mary’s
rules.
Athletics scholarships may not be reduced or cancelled during the period of the award on the basis of:
 A student-athlete's athletics ability, performance, or contribution to a team's success.
 An injury that prevents the recipient from participating in intercollegiate athletics.
 Any other athletics related reason.
Fifth-year athletics aid may be available to scholarship student-athletes who have completed their
eligibility in four years. For more information regarding fifth-year financial aid, please contact the
Compliance Office.
Countable and Non-Countable Aid
What is ‘countable' aid? Every sport is given a scholarship limit by the NCAA, and there are several
instances in which an athlete's financial aid can ‘count' against that limit. An athlete's aid counts against
the team's total scholarship limit if:
 He/she receives grant-in-aid from the athletic team.
 He/she receives outside aid for which athletics was a major criterion and the awarding individual
is a booster of St. Mary’s Athletics or the awarding individual restricts the college choice of the
recipient.
 He/she receives an institutional scholarship that is not solely based on academics.
 He/she receives education expenses from an Olympic committee or national governing body.
NOTE: There are exceptions when the aid listed above wouldn't count against a team, such as when an
athlete is considered medically unable to participate; however, in most cases these rules hold true.
What is ‘non-countable' aid?
 Federal financial aid, such as Pell, SMART and ACG grants, along with federal (Stafford) loans, do
not count against a team's limit.
 Institutional scholarships (i.e., awarded by the SMC Financial Aid or individual
colleges/departments) that are solely based on academics.
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Parent-tuition benefits, available to children of St. Mary’s employees, have the potential to
count until the parent has been employed at St. Mary’s for 5 years, depending on whether the
athlete is receiving aid from his/her athletic team.
 Awards from outside organizations, such as a local Elks club or a corporation, even if they are
based on athletics in any degree are considered non-countable as long as the individual
donating the aid is not a booster and they do not restrict the choice of institution for the
recipient.
Given the various circumstances and exceptions, it is important that athletes accurately report all
sources of financial aid.
Can ‘non-countable' aid ever become ‘countable' aid? In a word, yes. There are times when aid that
normally wouldn't count – such as a scholarship from a department – will count because an athlete is
receiving aid from the team. Again, a number of factors are included in determining the ‘countability' of
any type of aid, so coaches & athletes should always check with the Compliance Office before assuming
that any kind of aid will or will not count.
Outside Competition
Student-athletes cannot participate in outside competition during the academic year. If they do, they
will render themselves ineligible for intercollegiate competition. This includes seemingly insignificant
competition such as organized city league games.
During official vacation periods (including the summer), it may be permissible for a student-athlete to
participate in outside competition (i.e., summer leagues). However, all outside competition must be
approved by the Compliance Office prior to participation. Student-athletes risk losing eligibility if they do
not have it approved beforehand.
*Outside competition is not permissible with the sport of basketball year round except through a
certified summer league approved by the Compliance Office prior to participation.
In order to avoid any unnecessary consequences, student athletes should contact the Compliance
Office when competing in any non-SMC competition and complete an Outside Competition Form via
JumpForward.
Components
Permissible for Basketballanytime*
Permissible for Other Sports
Teams are regularly formed
NO
Only during summer and official
vacation periods
Competition is scheduled in
advance
NO
Only during summer and official
vacation periods
Official score is kept
NO
Only during summer and official
vacation periods
Individual or team standings are
maintained
NO
Only during summer and official
vacation periods
Components
Permissible for Basketballanytime*
Permissible for Other Sports
Official timer or game officials are
used
NO
Only during summer and official
vacation periods
Team uniforms are used
NO
Only during summer and official
vacation periods
Admission is charged
NO
Only during summer and official
vacation periods
Commercial sponsor is involved
NO
Only during summer and official
vacation periods
For all sports, the following exceptions exist:
 A high school alumni game;
 Olympic Games;
 Official Pan American Games tryouts and competition;
 U.S. National teams;
 Official World championships, World University Games and World Cup tryouts and competition;
and
 Multi-sport events.