There is a Time for
Every Season
Playing and Practice Seasons –
Division II
Overview
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General Information.
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In-Season Hour Limitations and Permissible Activities.
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Definition of countable athletically related activities.
Declaration of the Playing Season.
In-season daily and weekly hour limitations.
Preseason and academic year vacation period hour limitations.
Missed class time.
Out-of-Season Hour Limitations and Permissible Activities.
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Out-of-season daily and weekly hour limitations.
Academic year vacation period hour limitations.
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Definition of Voluntary.
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Safety Exception.
New Legislation.
Monitoring Strategies.
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General Principle for Playing and
Practice Season Regulations
NCAA Constitution 2.14
The time required of student-athletes for
participation in intercollegiate athletics shall
be regulated to minimize interference with
their opportunities for acquiring a quality
education in a manner consistent with that
afforded to the general student body.
Definition of Countable Athletically
Related Activities – NCAA Bylaw 17.02.1
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Any required activity with an athletics purpose
involving student-athletes and at the direction of, or
supervised by, one or more of an institution's coaching
staff (including strength and conditioning coaches).
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Administrative meetings, activities incidental to
participation (e.g., taping, rehabilitation) and voluntary
activities shall be excluded from the weekly and daily
time limitations.
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Educational materials available on the NCAA Web site
(NCAA Division II Governance – Committees).
Declaration of the Playing Season
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The playing season refers to the period of time
between the team's first officially recognized
practice session and the last practice session or
competition, whichever occurs later.
The playing season for a specific sport is the
only time in which official practice and
competition activities may occur.
Declaration of the Playing Season
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For all sports other than football and
basketball, each member institution may divide
the playing season into not more than two
distinct segments: championship and
nonchampionship.
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An institution may not declare the summer
vacation period as its nonchampionship
segment.
Declaration of the Playing Season
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Declaration of the institution's playing season
in each sport shall be on file in writing in the
department of athletics prior to the beginning
of the institution's playing season for that
sport.
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Changes in declaration for a particular sport
are permissible and also shall be filed in
writing.
Declaration of the Playing Season
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A "week" is defined as any seven consecutive days
(determined at the institution's discretion).
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Once the institution determines the seven-day period
that shall constitute its week, it shall not change that
designation for the remainder of the segment.
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A day is defined as a calendar day (i.e., 12:01 a.m. to
midnight).
Review of Daily and
Weekly Hour Limitations
During the Declared Playing Season
(In-Season)
In-Season Hour Limitations
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Maximum of 20 hours per week.
Maximum of four hours per day.
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Golf practice rounds.
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A practice round of golf may exceed the four hours per day
limitation, but the weekly limit of 20 hours shall remain in
effect.
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A practice round played on the day prior to the start of a
collegiate golf tournament at the tournament site shall count as
three hours, regardless of the actual duration of the round.
Multi-sport student-athletes.
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The total of all sports may not exceed 20 hours per week and
four hours per day.
In-Season Hour Limitations
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Day of Competition – All competition and any associated
athletically related activities shall count as three hours.
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Exempted Scrimmages [Bylaw 17.1.9.2-(d)] – count as the
actual duration of the activity, but may not exceed four
hours per day.
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Activities associated with participation in an exempted scrimmage
(e.g., travel, warm-up, breaks between contests, etc.) shall not count
against the time limitation on such scrimmages.
After the Competition – No practice may occur at any
time after the competition (including vacation periods)
until the next day.
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Exceptions: Between contests, rounds or events during a
multi-day or multi-event competition (e.g., doubleheaders
in softball or baseball, rounds of golf in a multi-day
tournament).
In-Season Hour Limitations
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All countable athletically related activities are
prohibited during one calendar day per week.
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Exceptions:
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preseason practice and vacation periods.
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participation in one conference and postseason
championship.
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participation in postseason certified bowl games or
National Invitational Tournaments.
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participation in NCAA championships.
In-Season Hour Limitations
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Travel Day – May count as a day off provided
no countable athletically related activities
occur.
Cancelled Competition – If cancelled prior to
the start or prior to being considered a
completed event, that day may count as a day
off provided no further countable athletically
related activities occur.
Preseason and In-Season Vacation
Periods
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Daily and weekly hour limitations do not apply to
countable athletically related activities that occur:
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during preseason practice prior to the first day of classes
or the first scheduled contest, whichever is earlier.
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during the academic year when vacation periods occur
during the declared playing season.
Daily and weekly hour limitations do apply during
final exam periods.
Missed Class Time
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Student-athletes may not miss class to attend
practice.
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Exceptions:
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practice in conjunction with an away-from-home
contest.
Competition in Nonchampionship Segment.
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In team sports, no class time shall be missed for
competition, including activities associated with
such competition (e.g., travel and other pregame
or postgame activities).
Review of Daily and
Weekly Hour Limitations
During the Academic Year and
Outside of the Declared Playing
Season (Out-of-Season)
Out-of-Season Hour Limitations
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Countable athletically related activities may
occur not more than eight hours per week.
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All countable athletically related activities
are prohibited during two calendar days per
week.
Out-of-Season Hour Limitations
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In sports other than football, only individual
skill instruction (required or voluntary) and
required weight-training or conditioning
activities are permitted.
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A maximum of eight hours per week, of which not more
than two hours per week may be spent on individual skill
workouts.
A maximum of four student-athletes from the same team
may be involved in skill related instruction with their
coach(es) at any one time in any facility.
Out-of-Season Hour Limitations
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Football
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Out-of-season activities are limited to required
weight training, conditioning and review of game
film.
Participation is limited to eight hours per week,
with not more than two hours spent on film review.
Football – Spring Practice
Treated as in season for counting purposes.
29 consecutive calendar days.
15 designated practice days and the spring game.
Days with only conditioning or film review do
not count as one of 15 designated days.
Out-of-Season Hour Limitations
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Conditioning drills:
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May simulate game activities;
May not set up offensive or defensive alignments;
May not use equipment related to the sport.
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Ice hockey: Use of skates is permitted.
Effective August 1, 2006: Swimming and diving: Inpool conditioning activities and the use of swim-specific
equipment (e.g., starting blocks, kickboards, pull buoys)
is permitted.
Out-of-Season Vacation Periods
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No countable athletically related activities permitted
outside the playing season during any institutional
vacation period and/or summer.
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Strength and conditioning personnel may monitor
voluntary individual workouts for safety purposes
without the activity being considered a countable
athletically related activity.
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If a strength and conditioning coach is also a
coaching staff member for any institutional team,
the coach must perform strength and conditioning
duties for all teams.
Voluntary Activities
Definition of "Voluntary"
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No requirement to report back to coach/staff
information related to the activity.
Activity must be initiated and requested solely by
the student-athlete.
Attendance/participation may not be recorded for
the purposes of reporting the information to coaches
or other student-athletes.
No penalty for electing not to participate in the
activity.
No recognition can be provided for participation.
Safety Exception
Safety Exception
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In certain sports, a coach may be present
during voluntary individual workouts in
the institution's regular practice facility
(without the workouts being considered as
countable athletically related activities)
when the student-athlete uses equipment in
that sport.
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The coach may provide safety or skill
instruction, but cannot conduct the
individual's workout.
The Safety Exception is Applicable to
the Following Sports:
Archery
Skiing
Equestrian
Swimming and Diving
Fencing
Synchronized Swimming
Gymnastics
Track and Field (field events only)
Rowing
Water Polo
Rifle
Wrestling
Newly Adopted Legislation
2006 Convention
Proposal No. 2006-35 Summer
Practice – Facility Fees
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Permits an institution to pay fees associated
with the use of the institutional practice and
competition facilities by student-athletes
engaged in voluntary athletically related
activities in his or her sport during the summer.
This allows student-athletes to use practice or
competition facilities at a reduced rate (or free)
during the summer, just as is permissible
during the academic year.
Proposal No. 2006-36 First Date of
Competition – Fall Sports
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In cross country, field hockey, football, soccer
and women's volleyball, to specify that an
institution shall not engage in its first date of
competition before the Thursday preceding
August 30.
Rationale: To provide for 13 consistent weeks
for the championship segment for fall sports.
Proposal No. 2006-37 Football Five-Day
Acclimatization Period – Walk Throughs
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During the five-day acclimatization period, have the option
of conducting:
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Proposal permits a one-hour walk through per day during the
five-day acclimatization period.
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one on-field practice per day, not to exceed three hours in length, or
one on-field testing session (speed, conditioning, or agility tests) per day, not
to exceed one hour in length and one on-field practice, not to exceed two
hours in length.
No protective equipment (e.g., helmets, shoulder pads) may be worn.
No equipment related to football (e.g., footballs, blocking sleds) may be used.
No conditioning activities may occur.
Must be provided with at least three continuous hours of
recovery time between any session (i.e., testing, practice or
walk-through) occurring that day.
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No meetings or other athletically-related activities (e.g., weight lifting) may
occur.
Medical treatment and eating meals may be included as part of the recovery
time.
Proposal No. 2006-38 Golf –
Practice and Competition Dates
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Permits multi-day golf tournaments (up to a
maximum of five tournaments) to count as one
date of the 24 practice or competition dates
during the nonchampionship segment.
Proposal No. 2006-34 Skill Instruction
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Status: Defeated
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Intent:
In sports other than football, to permit studentathletes and members of the coaching staff to
engage in countable athletically related
activities outside the institution's playing
season, as specified.
Monitoring Strategies
Monitoring Strategies
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Institutions must record countable hours on a
daily basis for each student-athlete who
participates in an individual/team sport.
Any countable individual or group athletically
related activity must count against the time
limitation.
Time limitations are not applicable to studentathletes who do not participate in the countable
athletically related activity.
Monitoring Strategies
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Real Time Information
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Random polling of
student-athletes
Comment box
Observe practices
Accurate documentation
provided to studentathletes
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After the Fact Information
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Exit interviews
Open forums
Educational meetings
Practice logs
Student-Athlete Advisory
Committee
Summary
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Declaration of Playing Season
In-Season Activities
Out-of-Season Activities
Voluntary Activities
Safety Exception
New Legislation
Monitoring Strategies
Questions?