NCAA Rule: getting paid to string?
 

Is there a rule against athletes getting paid to string racquets? I plan on googling it later, but I was wondering if any of the experts here knew off the top of their heads.

Thanks guys.

Hey - how is your ankle? I think you string for the team right? Do you mean getting paid for that versus as a side job in the summer? I don't know answers, but it may make a difference.

Getting paid for stringing for the team.

My ankle is almost back to 100%, I haven't updated the other thread because of the multitude of other injuries that have occurred this summer... Kind of disheartening to come to a tennis forum when you aren't playing no where near 100%. I will update it later today or later this week when I get time.

Everyone, please do not rely on Google or Talk Tennis for information like this. Contact the Compliance Department in the AD's office and present all the facts.

Even on D3 teams, I think there should be good enough communication among coaches, players, and administrators that it does not become necessary to rely on Google or TT for answers to NCAA compliance questions.

Agree, handle this in house

If it is a occupation or employment for the school, it is not likely a violation but if it can be looked at as a favor then it could be a violation.

Here's the link:

http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/AMA/complian...egulations.pdf

No one on the Board can give you any more definitive information than what appears in the document cited above.

But I think it would be folly to proceed without getting clearance from the Athletic Compliance Department. I urge all collegiate athletes to get in the habit of doing this

I contacted my coach who contacted the AD of my school. He told her to tell me that "There is a rule about that and he should look it up and figure it out." That is paraphrasing, but yeah.

Thank you very much for the link though.

I know of a player at a D1 school that did this. It shouldn't be a problem.

So you are saying that at Rochester Institute of Technology, if an athlete has a question about NCAA compliance, the AD advises the athlete to come to a determination about legality on his own? Or maybe it was unique that just you got the brush-off.

Even for a D3 school that doesn't award athletic scholarships, the first word that comes to mind is "appalling".

At D1 programs that I am familiar with, the Compliance Director convenes a "Compliance Team Meeting", or whatever, prior to the start of practice to go over rules and answer questions. My experience is that athletes are advised and encouraged to contact the Compliance Department whenever they think there might be the remotest possibility of an issue.

For all college athletes out there, if you think there might be an issue, get clearance from the Compliance Dept. If the AD tells you to buzz off, don't engage in the questioned activity............and be prepared for your program, I don't know when, but someday, to suffer compliance problems

kenny are you a great stringer ? high level players are very picky about their string jobs. lol

Who paid, the players or the school?

How much was paid? Market rate or premium?

I have my opinion about this too, but I'm not going to substitute my judgment for that of the athlete's compliance department and express it here.

I think the lesson to be learned here is not whether stringing rackets for pay at a D3 is consistent with NCAA rules......I think the lesson should be to go to Compliance whenever there is an issue

I am thinking it is the latter. Tennis at RIT is kind of bottom rung, IN MY OPINION, since both of our men's and women's hockey teams are D1.

We do have a meeting like that, but it is a large group meeting with all of the RIT teams.

I read through the link that you posted and found this:
"You are not eligible in any sport if, after you become a student-athlete, you accept
any pay for promoting a commercial product or service or allow your name or picture
to be used for promoting a commercial product or service. [Bylaws 12.5.2.1 and
12.5.2.2]"

I probably do not understand it fully, but I believe that this rule is for service outside of the school. I think in my case here it is referring to running a stringing business out of my apartment, but as I said, I may not be understanding the rule fully.

I am no where near P1 level stringing, and I have never said that. I consider myself to be a good stringer, though, and I have strung my fair share of racquet since starting four years ago. I still have a lot more to learn, but I don't think it is fair for one person, me, to go through 70+ hours of stringing on a drop weight machine and not even have it recognized as work study by the school.

Uhhhhh.....I think it is Section 4 of the link I posted

In all fairness to the OP, The section on Employment Earnings isn't very clear when it comes to something like stringing teammates racquets. Those 3 sub-rules are created so that a SA can't take a job at a car dealer who uses the athletes names in ads. Also SAs have to perform actual work for realistic wages, not just No-Show jobs.

What he needs to ask his AD is whether he can do $20 string jobs for his teammates and be paid by the team's budget on a regular basis. Most schools I know of would probably say no. They buy string for the team in bulk and let the players and coaches use a team owned machine. Don't know if this is how it is at RIT or not.

Good point about going to the AD. I agree.

The school (tennis team budget) paid $10 per racket. This is no different then someone stringing on their own time for a club or something. As long as the student actually does the work and it isn't some sort of scam to pay players, it shouldn't be a problem.

I would think you are good.

I don't see why it would be any different then getting paid to teach lessons over the summer.

Maybe I am wrong, but it seems to me Rochester Institute of Technology is not willing to pay Kenny. If they were, there wouldn't be an issue, would there?

If Kenny is trying to induce them to pay by getting advice on TalkTennis that it is not an NCAA violation to pay......well he knows what makes the AD move more than we do, good luck with that.

Guess the teammates aren't willing to fork over to Kenny either. I stand to be corrected on any of this.