Major Breakthrough for Players’ Rights

June 10, 2011

In a major breakthrough for what POPA calls Truth in Recruiting, the Connecticut House of Representatives has unanimously passed House Bill #5415, a state law that requires Connecticut colleges and universities to disclosure crucial facts about the scholarship it is offering to prospective student-athletes. Bill #5415, which is law effective January 1, 2012, instantly makes Connecticut the most player-friendly state in the USA.

Under the new law, any institution with an intercollegiate athletic program that recruits student athletes by soliciting them to apply to, enroll in, or  attend the institution for the purpose of participating in intercollegiate athletics must provide on the front page of its official athletic website a hyperlink to a page entitled “Student Athletes’ Right to Know.” This web page address must be included in any written materials provided by recruiters to prospective student athletes.

The “Student Athletes’ Right to Know” web page must include:

1) the school’s most recent cost of attendance for the full academic year and summer school session(s), as published by its financial aid office, and the portion of that cost that is not covered by the scholarship due to the annual limit set by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA);

2) the institution’s policy on providing scholarships for summer school sessions;

3) the average monthly full scholarship payment received by all student athletes who live on campus during the academic year and off campus during summer school session;

4) the institution’s policy on signing more recruited student athletes than there are available scholarships and how that affects scholarship opportunities for recruited and current student athletes.

5) the National Letter of Intent (NLI) details, including:

a) it is a binding one year agreement under which the institution provides financial aid in exchange for the prospective student athlete’s agreement to attend the institution for one academic year;

b) it must be accompanied by an institutional financial aid agreement;

c) signing an NLI and not enrolling at the institution for a full academic year may subject a student athlete to specific penalties, including loss of a season of eligibility and a mandatory residence requirement.

The website must also state that, per NCAA rules, a verbal commitment is not binding on either the student athlete or the institution.

Bill #5415 requires the website to contain the school’s policy regarding the renewal or nonrenewal of athletic scholarships, specifically as it applies to (1) a temporary or permanent sports-related injury suffered by a student athlete in good standing, (2) a coaching change, and (3) athletic performance that is below expectations.

The website must also contain the NCAA’s policy regarding scholarship duration.

The web page must include NCAA and the school’s policies concerning whether the school may refuse to grant a release to a student athlete who wishes to transfer.

With regard to sports related medical expenses, the institution’s website must include the following information:

1. The NCAA’s policy regarding whether athletic programs must pay for such expenses and the institution’s policy concerning whether it will pay for such expenses, including deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance, or any expenses that exceed maximum insurance coverage limits;

2. The school’s policy concerning who must pay for required sports-related insurance premiums for student athletes without insurance coverage;

3. How long a school will pay for sports-related medical expenses after a student athlete’s athletic eligibility expires;

4. Whether an athletic program’s medical policy covers services provided by a physician not associated with the program, including the provision of a second opinion for a sports-related injury.

POPA believes this new Connecticut law takes a major step in requiring college sports recruiters to disclose many of the facts about athletic scholarships that parents of players use to choose the best school for their son. We hope other states will follow Connecticut’s lead. The next major step will be to pass an amendment to Bill #5415 that requires the same level of disclosure on academic performance and academic policies by schools.