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Compliance · Boosters and donors

Support us, the right way

If you give to Biola Athletics, promote it, or help our coaches, the NCAA considers you a representative of athletics interests. Here is what that means and where the lines are.

This is a guide, not the rulebook. It answers frequently asked questions, not every NCAA rule. If you have a question about NCAA rules and regulations, contact the compliance office before you act. The complete NCAA Division II Manual is the authoritative source.

Who counts as a booster

NCAA Bylaw 13.0.2.1.

You are considered a booster if any of the following apply. You have:

  • Participated in, or been a member of, an agency or organization including corporate entities that promotes Biola's intercollegiate athletics program
  • Made financial contributions to the athletics department or to a Biola athletics booster organization
  • Assisted, or been asked by Biola athletics staff to assist, in the recruitment of prospective student-athletes
  • Assisted in providing benefits to enrolled student-athletes or their families
  • Been involved otherwise in promoting the institution's athletics program

This does not expireOnce you trigger booster status you are always considered a booster, and you remain responsible for NCAA rules.

Extra benefits

NCAA Bylaw 16.02.3.

An extra benefit is any special arrangement by an institutional employee or a booster that provides a student-athlete, or their relative or friend, a benefit not expressly authorized by NCAA legislation.

Receiving a benefit is not a violation if the same benefit is generally available to Biola students, or to their relatives and friends, or to a segment of the student body determined on a basis unrelated to athletics ability. Extra benefits offered to prospects are called offers or inducements, and they are prohibited.

Prohibited extra benefits include, but are not limited to

  • Any tangible items, including merchandise
  • Employment for a prospect's relatives
  • Special discounts or free services
  • Sponsoring an awards banquet at a high school, prep school or two-year college
  • Free or reduced rent or housing
  • Use of a car or personal property
  • Payment for participation in a sport
  • Payment for enrollment at an institution
  • Athletics camp registration fees

Recruiting

Recruiting is any solicitation of a prospective student-athlete, or their relatives or legal guardians, by an institutional staff member or by a booster, for the purpose of securing that prospect's enrollment and participation in the institution's athletics program.

Boosters are prohibited from making in-person off-campus recruiting contacts or telephone calls with a prospect or their relatives or legal guardians. On-campus contact is permitted, as is written communication. Recruiting contact by boosters during a prospect's official visit is confined to campus.

Boosters can
  • Observe a prospect's athletic contest, provided there is no contact with the prospect or their family
  • Notify the coaching staff of outstanding prospects in the area
  • Continue normal contact with a neighbor, relative or family friend who happens to be a prospect, as long as you do not engage in recruiting
  • Refer any and all recruiting questions to an athletics department staff member
  • Meet with a recruit on campus, but only at the direction of the athletics department
Boosters cannot
  • Call a prospect or their parents or legal guardians
  • Contact a coach, high school principal or counselor to evaluate a prospect
  • Visit a prospect's school to pick up transcripts or video
  • Affect, directly or indirectly, the admission or financial assistance awarded to a prospect
  • Provide extra benefits to prospects, enrolled student-athletes, or their relatives or friends
  • Meet a prospect or their family off campus, or have any off-campus recruiting contact
  • Communicate with a prospect who has signed with another NCAA institution, or who has not yet reached June 15 prior to their junior year
  • Provide expenses or entertainment during unofficial visits, which would trigger an official visit
  • Pay a prospect's registration fees for athletics camps

Booster FAQ

1 A prospect or their family approaches me off campus with questions about playing for Biola. What do I do?

Do not speak with them beyond a friendly greeting. Explain that NCAA rules prohibit you from talking with them further, tell them to contact the coach, and take steps to end the conversation.

2 What if a prospect calls me with general questions about the university?

If a prospect initiates the call you may answer questions about attending Biola, as long as there is no discussion of the athletics program. If they ask about Biola athletics, refer them to the appropriate coaching staff member. Boosters may only have written communication with prospects.

3 May I provide anything to a recruit?

No. The extra benefit rule prohibits you from providing any tangible benefit to a prospect or their family or friends when that benefit is not available to the general public or to all Biola students, for example tickets to an athletic, institutional or community event.

4 I have family friends whose child is a prospect. Do the rules change our relationship?

Not necessarily. The rules are not meant to alter relationships that exist for reasons unrelated to athletics, so you may continue normal contact through church or family events. You cannot encourage the prospect's participation in Biola athletics, or provide benefits you were not already providing before they became a prospect.

5 Do extra benefit rules apply to enrolled student-athletes I already knew?

Yes. You may not provide any benefit or special arrangement to an enrolled student-athlete, such as tickets to a sporting event or concert, a meal, an award or gift for athletic performance, or special discounts. Pre-existing relationships may continue, but any benefits must be the same type you provided before that student-athlete enrolled at Biola.

6 I am a parent who would like to host my child's team for a meal while they travel through our hometown. Is that allowed?

Yes. Parents of current student-athletes can provide an occasional meal to their child's team, and other boosters can as well. It can only happen occasionally, and it requires prior approval from the institution.

7 Can a booster have contact with a prospect during an official or unofficial visit?

Yes, but only on campus during the visit. Off-campus contact is prohibited. If any component of the trip is paid for or provided by a booster, it becomes an official visit.

8 May a booster provide summer employment for student-athletes?

Yes. Compensation must be paid only for work actually performed, at a rate commensurate with the going rate in that locality for services of like character.

9 Can I contact prospects to encourage them to attend Biola?

No. Any such contact could result in the prospect being declared ineligible to participate in athletics at Biola.

10 May I evaluate prospects on behalf of the institution?

You may view a prospect's contest on your own initiative, provided you make no contact with the prospect or their family. The evaluation may not take place at the request or direction of an institutional staff member, and you may not contact anyone associated with the prospect in an effort to evaluate them.

11 May I attend a public event where prospects are present, such as a high school awards banquet?

Yes. Contact with prospects or their families may not occur, and no attempt can be made to recruit the prospect.

12 May a student-athlete's name, picture or appearance be used in a promotional activity?

Student-athletes are permitted to participate in NIL activities subject to state law. Student-athletes have access to Biola's policy on name, image and likeness activities and to a process for reporting and disclosing NIL activity.

Strategic plan

Biola University Athletics has strategic priorities available on request. The PacWest Conference strategic plan also shapes the Biola Athletics experience.

Request a copy

Contact the compliance office

This is not a complete list of NCAA rules. Contact the compliance office before taking any action that may conflict with them. The current NCAA Division II Manual is always the best source for how a rule applies today.

Neil Morgan
Associate AD for Compliance & Communications
neil.morgan@biola.edu
Compliance home Prospective student-athletes Current student-athletes Academic eligibility
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