Who is a booster?
A USF booster is any person or entity who has participated in promoting USF’s athletics interests, made financial contributions to Dons Athletics or any other USF athletics booster club, assisted in the recruitment of prospects, provided financial assistance to current student-athletes or their families, or otherwise helped promote USF Athletics. Once a person or entity becomes a booster, that person or entity remains a booster indefinitely.
Common examples of USF boosters include:
- USF students;
- USF employees;
- USF alumni;
- USF donors; and
- USF ticket holders.
What is an impermissible benefit?
NCAA legislation specifically defines and categorizes different types of impermissible benefits (e.g., extra benefits, recruiting inducements, and preferential treatment). Regardless of the type of impermissible benefit, however, the prohibition is generally the same: under most circumstances, prospective and enrolled student-athletes (along with their friends and families) cannot receive goods or services based on their status as athletes. The following are categories of benefits that NCAA legislation prohibits boosters and other athletics stakeholders from providing:
- Cash and cost-free goods and services;
- Special discounts, payment arrangements, or credit options for products or services if the same are not available to all USF students;
- Preferential treatment, benefits, or services based on a student-athlete’s athletics reputation, skill, or pay-back potential as a future professional athlete;
- Payment for work not performed or at unreasonable levels; and
- The purchase of items or services from student-athletes or their relatives at inflated prices.
Prospective and enrolled student-athletes who receive such benefits jeopardize their eligibility to compete in intercollegiate athletics. Additionally, USF may face institutional penalties if a USF booster provides impermissible benefits to prospective or enrolled student-athletes.
Boosters who provide impermissible benefits to prospective student-athletes or student-athletes may be subject to disciplinary measures such as loss of booster benefits or dissociation from USF.
Who is a student-athlete?
A prospective student-athlete becomes a USF student-athlete once her or she:
- Enrolls in and begins attending USF classes during the summer before initial fall enrollment;
- Participates in practice or competition for USF that occurs before the beginning of any academic term;
- Enrolls full-time and begins attending fall or spring classes at USF; or
- Attends regular student orientation within 14 days of the first day of the normal academic term.
Who is a prospective student-athlete?
Under NCAA legislation, a prospective student-athlete is anyone who:
- Is in the ninth through twelfth grades of high school;
- Has not yet started the ninth grade, but has received financial assistance or other benefits from USF;
- Is enrolled at a two-year college; or
- Is a student-athlete from a four-year college who has entered the transfer portal.
Note that while some communications, contacts, and publicity restrictions are lifted after a prospective student-athlete signs a National Letter of Intent with USF, the signee remains a prospective student-athlete until he or she becomes a student-athlete.
What boosters CANNOT do for or with USF prospects or student-athletes:
- Provide transportation to a prospect or student-athlete or loan an automobile to a student-athlete host for a prospect’s use during an official paid visit.
- Provide or cosign for a loan.
- Allow the use of a telephone or other personal property (e.g., boat, home, car, computer, iPad).
- Give cash or allow the use of a credit card.
- Provide free or reduced cost entertainment, services, or products.
- Provide free or reduced cost lodging.
- Provide academic assistance.
- Give a gift of any kind for any reason, including birthdays and holidays.
- Purchase items or services from prospects, student-athletes, or their relatives at inflated prices.
Additional restrictions relating to prospects:
NCAA rules more strictly regulate booster activities involving prospects than activities involving student-athletes. The following are other things that boosters cannot do when it comes to interacting with prospects:
- Engage in any recruiting activities.
- Host a meal for a prospect.
- Contact a prospect through social media.
- Arrange for or finance a prospect’s unofficial visit to USF.
What boosters CAN do for or with USF prospects:
**What boosters can do may depend on whether they are interacting with a prospective or enrolled student-athlete:
- Attend high school, community college, and public events in which prospects are participating so long as they do not attempt to contact or recruit prospects while they are there.
- Continue established family relationships with prospects, their parents, and their relatives if the conversations are unrelated to USF Athletics and attendance at USF.
- Accept calls from prospects.
- So long as the calls are not for recruiting purposes (e.g., not directed or arranged by staff members); and
- There is no discussion of athletics during the call.
What boosters CAN do for or with USF student-athletes:
- Speak with student-athletes at games, events, banquets, etc.
- Host an occasional home meal for a student-athlete or an entire team, but only if:
- The booster receives prior approval by the Compliance Office and head coach (through completion of necessary paperwork available on the compliance website); and
- The meal occurs at the booster’s home or on the USF campus, not at an off-campus restaurant.
- Send a birthday, graduation, or holiday greeting so long as the greeting does not include any money, gift cards, or presents.
- Accompany a student-athlete to a movie, play, sporting event, or other form of entertainment. The student-athlete must, however, pay his/her own expenses, including the cost of transportation, admission, food, etc.
- Employ a student-athlete so long as all of the steps outlined are followed.
