BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2079
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Date of Hearing: April 20, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS, TOURISM, AND
INTERNET MEDIA
Mike Davis, Chair
AB 2079 (Torlakson-Davis) - As Amended: April 12, 2010
SUBJECT : Student athletes: recruiting
SUMMARY : Requires a collegiate athletic recruiter representing
a postsecondary educational institution to provide California
student athletes, as defined, with specified information
relating to the college athletic program within one week of
initiating personal contact with the student athlete for
purposes of athletic recruiting. Requires any scholarship
offer, to be made in writing within one week of a verbal offer
and prior to a student athlete signing an athletic scholarship
agreement with a postsecondary educational institution and to
include specified information relating to the institution's
athletic program. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a collegiate athletic recruiter to provide a
disclosure letter within one week of personal contact with a
student athlete for purposes of recruiting the student athlete
for a collegiate interscholastic athletic program or, in the
case of a student athlete who has not yet entered grade 11, to
direct the student athlete to a disclosure letter that is
posted on the institution's Internet Web site, and requires
the disclosure letter not to exceed 1,250 words and to include
the following information:
a) Athletic Scholarship Information (not to exceed 250
words), as follows:
i) The most recent cost of attendance expenses, as
specified,
ii)
The sum of expenses identified in the above paragraph
that are prohibited from inclusion in a full grant-in-aid
athletic scholarship pursuant to the National Collegiate
Athletic Association's (NCAA) rules and regulations,
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iii)
The policy of the postsecondary educational institution's
athletic program as to whether student athletes will
receive athletic scholarships for summer school, and, if
so, whether these scholarships are proportional to
athletic scholarships received during the regular
academic school year, and;
iv)
The average monthly full grant-in-aid athletic
scholarship payment received by student athletes who live
on-campus and off-campus, respectively, during the
regular academic year and summer school session.
b) Athletic Scholarship Renewals (not to exceed 250 words):
i) The NCAA's policy on scholarship duration, and;
ii)
The policy of the postsecondary educational institution's
athletic program concerning the renewal or non-renewal of
an athletic scholarship, including circumstances in which
a student athlete in good standing suffers a temporary or
permanent
sports-related injury, there is a coaching change, or
a student athlete's athletic performance is deemed to be
below expectations.
c) Athletically Related Medical Expenses (not to exceed 500
words):
i) The NCAA's policy on whether athletic programs are
mandated to pay for athletically related medical
expenses.
ii) The policy of the postsecondary educational
institution's athletic program on whether it will pay for
student athletes' athletically related medical expenses,
including deductibles, copays, coinsurance, and whether
the program will pay for athletically related medical
expenses that exceed any maximum insurance coverage
limits.
iii) The policy of the institution's athletic program
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concerning who is required to pay for any required
athletically related insurance premiums for student
athletes who do not have such insurance.
iv) The duration of time the postsecondary educational
institution's athletic program continues to pay for
athletically related medical expenses after a student
athlete's athletic eligibility expires.
v) Whether or not an athletic program's medical policy
covers expenses associated with attaining a second
medical opinion for an athletically related injury from a
medical physician that is not associated with the
athletic program and whether the athletic program
provides coverage for services received by such a
physician.
d) Athletic Release (not to exceed 250 words):
i) The NCAA's policy on whether an athletic program may
refuse to grant an athletic release to a student athlete
who wishes to transfer to another postsecondary
educational institution,
ii) The policy of the postsecondary educational
institution's athletic program concerning whether it may
use any power to refuse to grant an athletic release for
a student athlete who wishes to transfer to another
postsecondary educational institution,
iii) Commencing January 1, 2011, each interscholastic
athletic program that recruits any student athlete shall
prominently post the disclosure letter described in
paragraph 1 on its official athletic Internet Web site,
and;
iv) Changes to any athletic program policy included in a
disclosure letter shall be sent in writing to all student
athletes, as well as any athletes currently enrolled in
the institution who were recruited from the state of
California.
2)Requires any scholarship offer to be made in writing within
one week of a verbal offer and shall include all of the
following information.
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a) The disclosure letter, as defined previously,
b) The expiration date and expiration terms of the athletic
scholarship offer,
c) Whether or not the athletic program will guarantee that
the student athlete's acceptance of the offer prior to any
expiration will be honored,
d) A description of the institution's policy for awarding
financial aid for summer school,
e) Whether or not the student athlete will be guaranteed
admission and full athletic participation at an institution
if a specific academic level is achieved during the
remainder of the student athlete's high school career and a
description of any such academic level, and;
f) The terms and the amount of any death benefit provided
by the postsecondary educational institution in case of a
sports-related death.
3)If the written offer is sent more than one year in advance of
the earliest date a student athlete is authorized to sign an
agreement with an institution's athletic program, pursuant to
the rules and regulations of the NCAA, the athletic program
shall send a subsequent letter stating whether or not the
offer is still valid no later than five months prior to the
earliest signing period.
4)Defines the following:
a) "Student athlete" means an individual who resides in
California and who attends an elementary, junior high, high
school, or college.
b) "Athletic program" means any intercollegiate athletic
program from a postsecondary educational institution that
solicits student athletes to apply, enroll, or attend the
postsecondary educational institution in order to have the
student athlete participate in intercollegiate sporting
events, contests, exhibitions, or programs at that
institution.
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c) "Personal contact" means any direct, individualized
contact made by a collegiate athletic recruiter for
purposes of athletic recruiting with a student athlete or
his or her family members, including, but not limited to,
telephone calls, personalized mail, in-person contact, or
e-mail.
5)Provides nothing in this section shall be construed to require
a postsecondary educational institution to revise athletic
scholarship contracts entered into prior to the effective date
of this bill.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Defines a student athlete as a student at a public or private
institution of postsecondary education who engages in, is
eligible to, or may be eligible to engage in, any
intercollegiate sporting event, contest, exhibition, or
program, or any individual who has applied, is eligible to, or
may be eligible to apply in the future to a public or private
institution of postsecondary education.
2)Prohibits any person from offering, promising or attempting to
give money or other item of value to induce, encourage or
reward a student athlete's application, enrollment or
attendance at a public or private institution of higher
education to participate in specified intercollegiate
activities. Exceptions to this prohibition:
a) Any public or private institution of higher education
acting in accordance with a written policy in compliance
with NCAA bylaws.
b) Any intercollegiate athletic awards approved or
administered by the student athlete's institution.
c) Any other student of the institution (non-athletes).
d) Any of the student athlete's immediate family members.
3)Prohibits student athletes and members of their immediate
family from soliciting money or other item of value as an
inducement, encouragement or reward, subject to the same
exceptions listed above.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
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COMMENTS :
1)Background :
a) NCAA : The NCAA is a voluntary association of about
1,200 colleges and universities, athletic conferences, and
sports organizations that administer intercollegiate
athletics. Volunteer representatives from these schools
and conferences establish rules that govern the NCAA and
programs designed to further its purposes and goals.
Currently, NCAA bylaws impose a number of restrictions on
student athlete financial assistance. For example, NCAA
Division 1 schools:
i) Cannot guarantee scholarships for more than one
academic year.
ii) Cannot finance student health insurance if the
insurance is provided or offered to the general student
body only on an optional basis.
iii) Cannot award financial aid to a student athlete that
exceeds the cost of attendance that normally is incurred
by students enrolled in a comparable program at that
institution or that exceeds the limitations established
by Division I, whichever is less.
iv) Must include earnings from the student athlete's
employment during semester or term time to determine
whether a full grant-in-aid is reached and can only allow
$2,000 in earnings over a full grant-in-aid award, as
defined.
b) What You Don't Know Can Hurt You: Grant-In-Aid Gap :
According to supporters of AB 2079, lack of
awareness about potential financial shortfalls can lead
athletes into debt and worse. A few years ago some
athletes in California and Arizona on "full ride"
scholarships were accused of committing welfare fraud in
order to make ends meet. According to news reports,
scholarship athletes were given $350 a month to pay for
rent, utilities and food. In order to subsidize their food
allowance, the student athletes declared themselves
homeless, in order to collect an additional $100 per month
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in food stamps. Other students defended their actions, by
pointing out that it is a violation for a student athlete
to hold a job during the school year or receive any other
form of financial aide, including outside scholarships,
unlike merit scholars who are allowed to earn additional
stipend money through paid research work on campus.
(Without Aid, Students Turn to Food Stamps, The Tech, Vol.
114, Issue 26: May 6, 1994.)
There does seem to be merit to the supporter's claims. In
a recent class action lawsuit, White vs. NCAA, it was
alleged that student scholarship athletes participating on
numerous NCAA Division 1 teams and sports were damaged by
the gap between the NCAA cap on athletic-based financial
aide, and student-athlete's actual cost of attendance at
university. While denying any wrongdoing, the NCAA settled
the case with the student athletes, and established a $10
million dollar fund to reimburse the student class for
various educational expenses and career counseling.
Shortly after the White settlement was reached in 2008, a
study which examined the cost of attendance at each NCAA
Division 1 college and university, and compared what the
schools termed "full" athletic scholarships, found a clear
and ongoing financial aide gap.
The authors of the study, An Examination of the Financial
Shortfall for Athletes on Full Scholarship at NCAA Division
1 Institutions, Huma and Staurowsky (2009), reported that
"NCAA scholarship limitations can leave a full scholarship
athlete with expenses ranging from as low as $200 up to
$6000 per year depending on the institution." Id. The
average estimated scholarship shortfall was $2,763 per
year. Projected out over a four year period, a student on
full scholarship would bear debt of $11,050.
2)Need For Legislation: Forewarned is Forearmed : The sponsors
of this measure, the National College Players Association
(NCPA), state in support, "each year, tens of thousands of
high school student-athletes, most of whom are minors, are
recruited by college athletic programs. College recruiters
make verbal promises about various protections and benefits
that recruits will receive as college athletes. Sadly, these
recruits often wind up on campuses expecting protections and
benefits that are not provided by the university. While
college sports generate $10 billion per year, student-athletes
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are too often left to pay for their own sports-related medical
expenses, can lose their scholarship if they get injured, can
have the eligibility held hostage for arbitrary reasons, and a
'full scholarship' can leave them with more than $30,000 of
education-related debt."
According to the authors, this bill is necessary because,
"Although these athletic programs must follow the rules of
their athletic association, such as the NCAA, important
policies and practices that affect student-athletes can vary
tremendously from one college to the next. However, few
recruits and parents know this.
"College athletic associations do not require colleges or
universities to pay for sports-related injuries, limit
scholarships to 1 year, and design 'full' scholarships to
leave student-athletes with thousands of dollars in
out-of-pocket educational expenses. However, recruiters that
compete for talented athletes often guarantee coverage for
sports-related injuries and a '4-year full' scholarship that
will cover all of education-related expenses. Currently,
recruits and parents are forced to select a college or
university while misleading recruiting practices are
prevalent. Even the most informed parents and recruits must
rely on verbal promises of a recruiter.
"It is time for us to address this lack of transparency.
Student-athletes contribute to athletic programs at higher
learning institutions around the country. These programs
benefit the students, alumni, administration and ultimately
the university or college. Therefore the administration owes
a duty of good faith in negotiation with prospective student
athletes and should not allow recruiters and coaches to make
promises to take care of them which they cannot keep. Our
bill will protect California's recruits as they make one of
the most important decisions in life by requiring all
institutions with intercollegiate athletic programs to provide
a written disclosure letter to the student recruits within one
week of a recruiter's contact with a student-athlete."
3)Prior Related Legislation :
AB 95 (Torlakson) of 2009, would have required athletic
recruiters to provide student athletes with specified
information relating to the college athletic program within
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one week of initiating personal contact with the student
athlete for purposes of athletic recruiting. Status: Filed
with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. Died pursuant
to Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the Constitution.
SB 193 (Murray) of 2003, would have prohibited California
institutions of higher education from participating in any
organizations that regulates student athletic scholarships,
including the NCAA. Status: Held in the Assembly Higher
Education Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
National College Players Association (Sponsor)
California Labor Federation
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Dana Mitchell / A.,E.,S.,T. & I.M. /
(916) 319-3450