AIAW Restructures Athlete Recruitment Policy

This article originally appeared in the April 1978 issue of AB with the headline, “AIAW Delegates Adopt Major Policy Changes.”

 

 

The fifth Annual Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) Delegate Assembly was held January 8th-11th in Atlanta, Georgia. Several changes in policy, regulations and procedures were passed. The new regulations go into effect with the 1978-79 academic year.

Here are some of the changes

Institutions may pay for all expenses incurred by athletic department personnel who attend scheduled high school and junior college athletic events for the purpose of assessing talent of prospective student-athletes.

Athletic personnel may not talk to any student-athlete or to any member of the athlete’s family while in attendance at such events.

Institutions may conduct on-campus group or individual auditions for selected student athletes. No prospective student-athlete may be denied access to a scheduled group audition and she may participate in only one audition per school, per sport in each academic year.

An institution must specify in the financial aid contract the conditions upon which such financial aid may be withdrawn or not renewed. Conditions must be consistent with existing AIAW regulations.

Aid for a student may be changed to a different designated sport only if the student ceases to participate in the sport for which her air was originally designated.

Financial aid may not be withdrawn if a student is injured or becomes ill and as a result cannot participate, provided that she is otherwise eligible.

Tutoring services may be offered to women student-athletes (and paid for by the athletic department).

Financial aid based on athletic ability may not exceed the value of tuition, fees, room and board. Athletic department personnel may not initiate contact with high school students, their parents or guardians, until such students have completed their junior year in high school.

If an athletic director or coach is contacted by an athlete who is enrolled at another institution, it is the responsibility of the athletic director at the contacted institution to notify, in writing, the AIAW ethics and eligibility chair and the athletics director of the athlete’s present institution within ten days of the first contact.

The Rules Standards Committee was effectuated. It has the power to investigate regulations imposed by individual institutions to see if they might be in conflict with AIAW regulations.

The Delegate Assembly voted the enabling legislation which will allow the Executive Committee to pursue negotiations with AAHPER in order to establish the AIAW as a separate legal entity.

Division restructuring

There will be three divisions. Schools must declare divisions by May 1978 and be in full compliance by Fall of 1981.

Division I permits the awarding of financial aid for athletes in each sport but not to exceed the respective maximums permitted by AIAW regulations.

Division II permits the awarding of financial aid up to but not to exceed 25% in financial aid equivalencies of the maximum dollar amount and not exceeding the maximum number and amount of awards permitted by AIAW regulations in each sport.

Division III shall be open to and limited to sports from institutions that do not give financial aid based on athletic ability to student-athletes.

The divisions do not have separate rule-making powers. A division may recommend departure from common policy or other divisional policies for its specific division. However, the power to act on these recommendations shall rest with the Delegate Assembly.

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