Account/Position No.:            16010/211010                                                 Level 12

                                                Position Title:                          Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance & Student-Athlete Welfare

Department:                            Intercollegiate Athletics

Expectations for All Employees

East Tennessee State University pursues its mission based upon core values.  An employee's job performance must support and exhibit the university's core values:

PEOPLE come first, are treated with dignity and respect, and are encouraged to achieve their full potential;

RELATIONSHIPS are built on honesty, integrity and trust;

DIVERSITY of people and thought is respected;

EXCELLENCE is achieved through teamwork, leadership, creativity, and a strong work ethic;

EFFICIENCY is achieved through wise use of human and financial resources; and

COMMITMENT to intellectual achievement is embraced.

Function of Position

Responsible for coordinating all aspects of a comprehensive rules education and compliance program in areas of amateurism, recruiting, initial eligibility, transfer and continuing eligibility, financial aid, extra benefits, playing season, participation, summer camps, promotions, and employment.  Maintain institutional control of NCAA compliance program; Institutional control, as adopted by the NCAA membership, locates the primary responsibility for rules compliance squarely on each institution and requires each institution both to self-police and to self-report when potential violations are uncovered.  Minimize risk to ETSU of NCAA violations, sanctions and investigations by maintaining an atmosphere of NCAA compliance and institution control.  Responsible for NCAA and conference championship team involvement, coordinating and assisting with the administration of internal and external departmental operating procedures, team supervision, and advancement of the athletic program at large; Responsible for supervising academic and student welfare services necessary to provide a broad base of student-athlete supports; and performing other related duties as assigned.

Essential Functions

-          Monitors 12 head coaches, approximately 22 assistant coaches, athletic staff and over 200 student-athletes (SA) to insure compliance with NCAA rules in the areas of:

·         Amateurism – works with NCAA eligibility center to evaluate every student’s amateur history and insure all ETSU athletes meet NCAA rules; advises SAs who hope to compete professionally on how to maintain amateur status.

·         Recruiting – examines all coach recruiting activities for compliance with NCAA rules; tracks and maintains documentation for all off campus recruiting, contacts with prospective SAs and families, evaluations of high school sporting events, paid and unpaid visits by prospective SAs to ETSU campus, coach involvement in local sports club and teaching private lessons and telephone and mailings by the department of athletics to prospects.

·         Initial eligibility – works with NCAA eligibility center to evaluate every student’s high school transcript history and insure all ETSU athletes meet NCAA rules; advises coaches which SAs to recruit by correctly predicting NCAA eligibility; communicates with high schools to facilitate the initial eligibility process with the NCAA; serves as liaison with admissions regarding status and potential issues of incoming SAs.

·         Transfer and continuing eligibility – works with registrar’s office to evaluate every student’s collegiate history and insure all ETSU athletes meet NCAA rules including: requirements regarding degree applicable credits earned per semester, degree applicable credits earned per academic year, percentage of degree earned by stated benchmarks and transfer exceptions; advises coaches which transfer SAs to recruit by correctly predicting NCAA eligibility; maintains knowledge of numerous degree programs to insure SA eligibility and graduation.

·         Financial aid – scrutinizes all student-athlete financial aid, including all non-athletics aid, to determine NCAA permissibility; authorizes athletic scholarship payments to Financial Aid and examines student-athlete accounts to adjust for fluctuating charges; counsels coaches regarding scholarships to stay within NCAA team scholarship limitations; assists SAs with all Financial Aid issues and questions.

·         Playing season – monitors NCAA limitations regarding daily and weekly practice hour limitations, number of days with allowable practice, number and timing of competitions, and competition of SAs in non-ETSU events and international competitions. 

·         Summer camps – examines all ETSU summer sport camps for compliance with regards to SA employment, discounts given to campers, timing of camps, payment of staff, cost of camps, promotion of camps and camp attendees.

·         Promotions – approves any publications, promotional events or additional items using a SA name or image to confirm NCAA rules are followed.  This includes any promotions for ETSU, charities, or other local non-profit events.  Proper NCAA permissions must also be documented.

·         Employment – monitors school year and summer employment for all SAs; documents all SA jobs to verify that SA is being treated equally with all other employees; and conducts spot checks with employers to check NCAA rule compliance.

-          Oversees Athletic Academic Services Department and staff; supervises the staff that provides tutoring, at risk intensive mentoring, advising, academic planning towards graduation, and all other academic services to over 200 student-athletes; and manages academic staff to maintain academic eligibility within NCAA rules by working with advisors in all majors around campus to jointly advise student-athletes. 

-          Researches and interprets NCAA, Atlantic Sun Conference and ETSU rules for coaches and staff and analyzes presented scenarios to determine permissibility.

-          Prepares all NCAA waivers and reports including: 

·         Academic Progress Program report assessing eligibility, retention, academic progress, and participation of all student-athletes on a semester by semester basis.

·         Sport sponsorship report which determines payment of NCAA sport sponsorship funds to ETSU, and assesses NCAA contest limitations, SA participation numbers, and SA and staff ethnicity.

·         Graduation success rate report which assesses graduation rates by using federal graduation rate and adjusting for transfers, financial aid, and eligibility.

·         Initial and continuing eligibility waivers for ascertaining the best line of reasoning to present to the NCAA to obtain exceptions to NCAA rules for deserving SAs (successful waivers can allow a SA to practice, compete or receive financial aid from ETSU in cases where NCAA rules prohibited it).

·         Hardship and five-year clock waivers to determine when a SA fits the criteria for participation waivers and advocate to the Atlantic Sun Conference and NCAA to allow the SA another year of intercollegiate competition based on extenuating circumstances.

-          Educates coaches, athletic staff, SAs and campus staff to insure understanding and compliance with NCAA rules.

-          Serves as ETSU liaison to the Atlantic Sun Conference and NCAA for all compliance related matters. 

-          Maintains all required NCAA documentation including eligibility reports, financial aid squad lists, scholarships, Letters of Intent, recruiting documentation, and practice documentation.

-          Communicates with Financial Aid, Registrar, Admissions, Residence Life, Bursar’s Office, and International Programs on a daily basis regarding all facets of student-athlete enrollment to insure correct application of NCAA rules.

-          Investigates all suspected and reported rule violations to determine if a NCAA violation occurred and proper corrective action.  

-          Administers NCAA Special Assistance Fund and NCAA Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund (these funds are given to ETSU by the NCAA to help SAs with extreme financial need to receive benefits not permitted by NCAA rules); determines how to divide these funds in order to help as many SAs as possible with the limited money given.

-          Maintains Student-Athlete handbook and planner detailing all student-athlete policies for the department; maintains Compliance policy and procedure manual to meet NCAA requirements (subject to yearly review during Atlantic Sun Compliance evaluation); maintains NCAA Booster manual to educate ETSU athletic boosters regarding NCAA rules (ETSU is responsible for the actions of its boosters in regards to NCAA rules); and maintains new employee manual used to train new staff members in all the intricacies of NCAA rules.

-          Directs and manages a comprehensive program to enhance the welfare and assist in the personal development of a diverse group of student-athletes; coordinates with other staff to develop and implement career development, community service programs, personal development, academic recognition programs and related events.

Secondary Functions:

-          Mentors the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to accomplish goals and oversee related events.  Functions and goals of SAAC:

·         Promotes communication between athletics administration and student-athletes.

·         Disseminates information to all SAs.

·         Provides feedback and insight into athletics department issues.

·         Generates a student-athlete voice within the campus athletics department formulation of policies.

·         Builds a sense of community within the athletics program involving all athletics teams through communications and SA events.

·         Solicits student-athlete responses to proposed conference and NCAA legislation.

·         Creates a vehicle for student-athlete representation on campus-wide committees (e.g., student government).

·         Promotes a positive student-athlete image on campus.

-          Performs other related duties as assigned.

Knowledge and Abilities

-          Knowledge of constantly changing NCAA rules and related interpretations for each of ETSU’s 17 varsity sports. NCAA rules are different for each sport.

-          Knowledge of NCAA compliance assistant, LSDBi, APP software.

-          Ability to think critically to interpret rules to fit various real world situations.

Supervision Given and Received

Determines own methods for performing assigned work. Supervises administrative and classified employees.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree required, master’s degree in related field preferred; three to five years experience required.

August 2008