Boosters, Alumni and Friends

Boosters, Alumni, and Agents
 
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is committed to maintaining an athletics program in compliance with all NCAA, Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and University regulations. The responsibility to maintain compliance falls on all members of the UW-Whitewater family, including boosters. Your awareness of and adherence to NCAA regulations are essential to the success of UW-Whitewater’s athletics programs. Under NCAA rules, UW-Whitewater is responsible for boosters who violate NCAA rules, so we encourage you to contact the UW-Whitewater athletics compliance office if you have any questions or knowledge of a potential rules violation. Asking the compliance staff questions about what you can and cannot do is the best way to protect UW-Whitewater and our current student-athletes, as well as safeguard against future problems. To promote our mission of developing champions in the classroom, in competition and in life, we must always seek the highest standard of ethical conduct and institutional control. With your assistance and cooperation in adhering to NCAA rules, we believe these goals can be accomplished. UW-Whitewater thanks you for your continued support and loyalty to the University and its athletics programs.
 
ASK BEFORE YOU ACT
Call us at 262-472-5782 or reach out
via email to carollok@uww.edu
 
Representatives of athletics interest (see definition below; more commonly referred to as a “booster”) receive annual emails reminding them of NCAA, WIAC and UW-Whitewater rules applicable to their connection with UW-Whitewater intercollegiate athletics.  The UW-Whitewater compliance office also maintains a "representatives of athletics interest" section on the compliance website. This section provides additional education materials and easy access to the rest of the UW-Whitewater athletics compliance office website.
 
13.02.9   A “representative of the institution’s athletics interests” is an individual who is known (or who should have been known) by a member of the institution’s executive or athletics administration to:
(a) Have participated in or to be a member of an agency or organization promoting the institution’s intercollegiate athletics program;
(b) Have made financial contributions to the athletics department or to an athletics booster organization of that institution;
(c) Be assisting or to have been requested (by the athletics department staff) to assist in the recruitment of prospective student-athletes;
(d) Be assisting or to have assisted in providing benefits to enrolled student-athletes or their families; or
(e) Have been involved otherwise in promoting the institution’s athletics program.
 
13.02.9.1 Once an individual is identified as such a representative, the person retains that identity indefinitely.
 
Key Definitions
 
Compliance Guidelines
Representative of Athletics Interests (Booster):
You are a representative of UW-Whitewater athletics interests under any of the following conditions:
  • You are a member of ANY organization that promotes UW-Whitewater athletics (e.g., Quarterback Club, Fastbreak Club, Tip-Off Club).
  • You have made financial contributions to UW-Whitewater athletics or to an athletics booster organization.
  • You have assisted or been asked to assist in the recruitment of prospective student-athletes (which is not permitted).
  • You have provided benefits (e.g., summer jobs, occasional meals) to current student-athletes or their families.
  • You are a former student at UW-Whitewater.
 
Extra Benefit/Recruiting Inducement:
An extra benefit or recruiting inducement is any special arrangement by an UW-Whitewater employee or booster to provide a student-athlete or prospect (or their relatives or friends) with a benefit that:
  • Is not authorized by NCAA rules.
  • Is not available to the general student body.
  • Is not available to a particular segment of the student body on a basis unrelated to athletics.
 
BOOSTERS MAY:
  • Notify or forward information to appropriate members of UW-Whitewater’s coaching staff about a prospect in your area.
  • Attend a prospect's athletics contest, as long as no contact is made with the prospect, his/her relatives or friends, or any individual associated with the prospect.
  • Accept telephone calls initiated by prospects that are not related to UW-Whitewater athletics. All recruiting or athletics questions must be deferred to the appropriate coaching staff.
  • Employ prospects, as long as the compensation is for work actually performed and is commensurate with the going rate for similar services. The UW-Whitewater athletics compliance office must be notified if you are employing a student-athlete or prospect.
  • Employ or arrange for employment of a student athlete, provided all compensation is:
    • Only for work actually performed;
    • Paid at a rate commensurate with the going rate for similar services in the locale; and
    • Not related to the student-athlete's reputation, fame, or publicity the student/athlete obtained because of athletics.
BOOSTERS MAY NOT:
  • Contact a prospect or his/her relatives or friends for recruiting purposes. This includes contact via telephone, mail, email, instant messenger, fax, or social networking (e.g., Twitter, Facebook). Face-to-face contact cannot be made on- or off-campus for the purpose of recruiting
  • Assist UW-Whitewater’s coaching staff by picking up transcripts, game film, or any other information from a prospect's educational institution.
  • Provide benefits of any kind (e.g., cash, clothing, discounts, lodging, meals, transportation, loans, etc.) to a prospect or his/her relatives or friends.
  • Contact a prospect to congratulate him/her on committing to UW-Whitewater.
  • Make contact with a prospect or his/her parents while on campus for an official visit.
  • Provide or arrange transportation for a prospect or his/her relatives or friends.
  • Employ or arrange employment for a prospect prior to the completion of his/her senior year in high school or graduation or withdrawal from prep school/junior college.
  • Pay or arrange for payment of room, board, or transportation at any time for currently enrolled student-athletes or their relatives or friends.
  • Provide a student-athlete or his/her relatives or friends with any type of extra benefit or any benefit not available to the general student-body.
  • Provide cash, special discounts (e.g., free or reduced costs meals/housing), payment arrangements (e.g., co-signing a loan), or services (e.g., transportation, use of telephone) to student-athletes or their relatives or friends.
  • Provide awards or gifts of any value to student/athletes for any reason, including honorariums for speaking engagements.
  • Entertain student-athletes or their family or friends.
  • Facilitate any communication between a student/athlete and agents or representatives of agents.
 
FAQ
 
  • Extra Benefit and Offers and Inducements Information for Boosters
  • Recruiting Information for Boosters
  • Student-Athlete and Promotional Activities
  • Student-Athlete Employment Information for Boosters