Elite-Level Criteria & Chargeable Outside Competitive Experience Effective May 1, 2022 as applied to eligibility decisions for NAIA competition in August 2022 or beyond. This bylaw goes into effect on May 1, 2022, as applied to eligibility decisions for NAIA competition in August 2022 and beyond. This means that this criteria is not retroactive. If a student was charged for a league prior to May 1, 2022, that would not be chargeable under the new criteria they cannot have that competition reviewed again. This amendment was proposed by the Competitive Experience Committee with the intention of making the application easier to understand. The current bylaws intend to charge students for any competition that is roughly equivalent to the NAIA-level of competition or above. Through its work, the committee believes that students may often be charged for competition that technically meets the criteria but that common sense would determine should not be chargeable. Attempts to adjust the specific criteria have made minor improvements, but some underlying challenges make this approach difficult. Much of the criteria relies on evaluating specific participants within leagues/teams and relying on statements from league/team officials, who may have an inherent conflict of interest in marketing their teams to sound highly competitive but also don’t want the students’ eligibility to be impacted. The committee has focused on finding a new approach that is (1) more transparent for current and prospective students/parents, coaches and administrators, (2) allow individuals to more easily and more consistently be able to predict when a student may be charged, and (3) raise the standard for charging students season of competition to help ensure students are not losing seasons except when it is clearly necessary.
Article V, Section B, Item 19: Participation in any professional-level competition on or after the first day of the thirteenth month following high school graduation. A student will be charged a season of competition for participating in at least one professional-level event within a 12-month period. A team, league or event will be defined as professional-level competition and result in charging a student a season of competition if any one of the following is met: i. Competition on a team or within a league (all sports) shall result in a season of competition if the team or league self-declares as professional. ii. Competition on a team or within a league (all sports) shall result in a season of competition if both of the following are met: 1) The team or league self-declares as semi-professional; and 2) Team(s) within the league pay or reimburse participants beyond actual expenses of travel, meals and lodging.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS Last Modified: 9/7/22
9