Oklahoma State University Athletics
Extra Benefits
June 28, 2007 | General
Extra Benefit Information
NCAA rules clearly state that a student-athlete shall not receive any extra benefit. The term "extra benefit" refers to any special arrangement by an institutional employee or representative of the institution's athletics interests to provide the student-athlete or his or her relatives or friends with a benefit not expressly authorized by NCAA legislation.
Common Examples of Extra Benefits Include:
- Free Meals
- Transportation Costs (plane tickets, use of an automobile)
- Loans
- Special Discounts not available to the General Public
- Housing
- Free or Reduced Legal/Medical advice
If you are found to have received an extra benefit, the NCAA requires that you make a donation in the amount of the benefit you received to a local charity. In many cases, the NCAA will also require that you be withheld from competition for a percentage of your season.
Two Recent NCAA Cases Involving Extra Benefits
1. Facts: A booster provided a student-athlete and his parents with an extra benefit by taking them out and paying for their dinners. A representative of the institution's athletics interest's mother is a friend of the family and she suggested that the representative meet the student-athlete's family for dinner prior to an off-campus contest. The representative contacted the student-athlete's family and they joined him at the hotel restaurant for dinner prior to the contest, which was paid for by the representative.
NCAA Penalties:
- The institution declared the football SA ineligible and reinstated him after receiving proof of reimbursement ($80). /li>
- The institution reiterated the extra benefit rule with all football boosters. /li>
- The head football coach discussed the rule with the football team. /li>
2. Facts: The assistant softball coach permitted a student-athlete to use her washing machine to wash two loads of clothes at no cost to the student-athlete (a value of $4). The coach and the student-athlete erroneously believed that Bylaw 16.12.2.1 was not applicable since the student-athlete used the coach's washing machine and dryer while on Christmas break.
NCAA Penalties:
