Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 9 No. 6 | June 2017

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12 Inside Hokie Sports
Q: I saw where Michigan held part of
its spring practice in Rome. I’m guessing
that’s legal, right? I’d like to see Coach
Fuente and the Hokies try something like
that. That would be a huge selling point for
recruiting. Cheers, Bubba in New Castle.
TP: “Well, neither Coach Fuente and the
Hokies, nor any other Power 5 school will
be doing this any time soon. The autonomy
conferences passed legislation at the NCAA
Convention in January that prohibits off-
campus practice during a vacation period
outside of the championship season. The
amended legislation, viewed by many as a
rebuke of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh
and his unconventional recruiting tactics, was
defeated 58-20, and was actually part of a
package of amendments designed to provide
more time off for Division I athletes, many of
whom want their school vacations to be actual
vacations. This rule also goes into effect Aug. 1.”
Q: It’s time for your obligatory North
Carolina question. You get that one in
every issue. It even has its own Wikipedia
page. Looks like they’re doubling down,
The compliance corner answers questions concerning the governance of
intercollegiate athletics and its impact on our athletics department. Have
a question? Please send it to , and we’ll answer
it in upcoming issues. Now, here are some questions that we’ve received
from Tech alums and fans over the past few months, with responses
from Tim Parker, Senior Associate AD for Compliance & Governance:
according to recent reports. What say
you? Thanks, Marc in Christiansburg.
TP: “For those unfamiliar with the case,
the North Carolina Athletics Department is
facing accusations of five serious violations,
including lack of institutional control over
athletics and offering impermissible benefits
by giving athletes special access to the ‘bogus
classes.’ North Carolina’s 90-day deadline
to respond to the latest notice of allegations
passed in mid-March, but according to
reports, the school and the NCAA Committee
on Infractions were in consultations.
“Then reports came out in late May that
officials at North Carolina were countering
the allegations by challenging the NCAA’s
jurisdiction in the case and by disputing the
number of athletes who enrolled in those
classes. North Carolina officials believe that
NCAA bylaws cover athletics matters —not
how academics are managed. They cited
independent study controversies at Auburn
and Michigan that drew little or no action
from the NCAA as the foundation of
their argument.
Keeping up with Compliance
by
Jimmy
Robertson
“SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, the
Infractions Committee chairman, wants
to have the infractions hearing in August.
Given the nature of the case, the many
amended notices, and the changing levels
of responsiveness from pivotal witnesses,
it remains difficult to say when the case will
actually come to a conclusion.”
Q: Just how big is the NCAA rules
manual? I’ve read that it’s nearly 500
pages, but can’t seem to find a copy online
to verify this. That seems like a lot of rules
to follow. Thanks for all you do! Pam in
Christiansburg.
TP: “Good question. The NCAA Division
I Manual for the 2016-17 year consists of
414 pages. That includes everything—table
of contents, index, rules, etc. That’s actually
smaller than in previous years. I can remember
the manual being as many as 450 pages, but
the organization’s recent reforms have given
more autonomy to the conferences/schools,
and between that and some deregulation
efforts earlier in the decade, the manual is
slightly more streamlined than before.”