BILL ANALYSIS
AB 95
Page 1
Date of Hearing: January 11, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Anthony Portantino, Chair
AB 95 (Torlakson) - As Amended: August 19, 2009
SUBJECT : Student athletes: recruiting: disclosure.
SUMMARY : Requires a collegiate athletic recruiter representing
a postsecondary educational institution in California or outside
California to provide California student athletes in elementary,
junior high, high school, or college 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 in writing
to the student athlete all of the following information within
one week of any personal contact with a student athlete for
purposes of recruiting the student athlete for a collegiate
interscholastic athletic program:
a) A description of the medical insurance policies that
affect student athletes, including, but not limited to,
terms of eligibility for medical insurance coverage,
covered conditions and events, medical premiums,
copayments, deductibles, maximum benefits, and the process
for obtaining independent medical opinions.
b) The total sum of medical payments, including, but not
limited to, deductibles and copayments that the
postsecondary educational institution did not pay for
sports-related injuries incurred by members of each
athletic team in each of the last four years.
c) Any scheduling conflict between the mandatory classes in
majors offered at the postsecondary educational institution
and the schedule of the athletic team for which the student
athlete is being recruited, as well as the athletic
program's policy for how the conflict is resolved.
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d) The number of student athletes in each academic major.
e) The number of student athletes who changed majors and
the names of the original majors.
f) Each athletic team's policy concerning the criteria for
the renewal or nonrenewal of an athletic scholarship,
including circumstances in which a student athlete 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.
g) The average percent of decrease in the dollar amount of
a renewed one-year athletic scholarship for a temporarily
injured and a permanently injured student athlete on each
athletic team for the previous four years.
h) The number and percentage of student athletes on each
athletic team whose scholarships were not renewed in each
of the previous four years.
i) The number of and rate at which student athletes with
remaining athletic eligibility did not return to each
athletic team in the previous four years.
j) The number of and rate at which student athletes from
any athletic team with remaining athletic eligibility
transferred to another school, were denied an
intercollegiate transfer request in the previous four
years, and the average length of time it took to grant an
intercollegiate transfer request for any student athlete
from any athletic team in the previous four years.
aa) The sum of expenses included in the cost of attending
the postsecondary educational institution that are not
included in a full grant-in-aid athletic scholarship for
the current year and previous three years.
bb) A summary of the intercollegiate athletic program's use
of funds that may be used toward assisting student athletes
with expenses that are not included in a full grant-in-aid
scholarship.
cc) The average monthly payment received for an on-campus
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and off-campus full scholarship student athlete enrolled in
classes in each sport during the regular academic and
summer sessions in each of the last four years.
dd) The number of rescinded written scholarship offers for
each athletic team in each of the previous four years.
ee) Institutional policies that may restrict the athletic
eligibility of a student athlete who wishes to transfer to
another postsecondary educational institution.
ff) The number of full-scholarship student athletes on each
athletic team who enrolled in summer school in each of the
previous four years.
2)Requires postsecondary higher education institutions who
recruit student athletes in California to conduct an anonymous
annual student athlete survey concerning student athletes'
opinions about the safety of their workout environment,
academic support, and their coaches and to provide the results
of this survey as part of the disclosures described above.
3)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. The written offer shall include at
least all of the following information:
a) Any specific academic qualifications that will guarantee
the student athlete's enrollment in the postsecondary
educational institution.
b) A description of the medical insurance policies that
will affect the student athlete, including but not limited
to, terms of eligibility for medical insurance coverage,
covered conditions and events, medical premiums,
copayments, deductibles, maximum benefits, and the process
for obtaining independent medical opinions.
c) Each athletic team's policy and standard practices
concerning the criteria for the renewal or nonrenewal of an
athletic scholarship, including circumstances in which a
student athlete suffers a temporary or permanent
sports-related injury, there is a coaching change, or a
student athlete's athletic performance is deemed to be
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below expectations.
d) The number and percentage of student athletes on the
team whose scholarship was not renewed in each of the
previous four years.
e) Which expenses, if any, will be paid for by an athletic
grant or scholarship, including summer school expenses.
f) Expense items included in the cost of attendance that
will not be paid for by the postsecondary educational
institution, including summer school expenses.
g) A summary of the intercollegiate athletic program's use
of funds that may be used toward assisting student athletes
with expenses that are not included in a full grant-in-aid
athletic scholarship.
h) Which, if any, meals the intercollegiate athletic
program regularly makes available during the regular
academic year and during the summer.
i) The average monthly deduction, if any, that is deducted
from a full-scholarship student athlete's payment to pay
for meals that the intercollegiate athletic program
regularly makes available during the regular academic year.
j) The terms and the amount of any death benefit provided
by the postsecondary educational institution in case of
sports-related death.
aa) Whether or not an athletic scholarship offer will
expire.
4)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
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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 the bylaws of the National Collegiate Athletic
Association (NCAA).
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
COMMENTS : Double referral : This bill is double-referred to the
Assembly Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and Internet
Media Committee.
Background : 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:
1)Cannot guarantee scholarships for more than one academic year.
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2)Cannot finance student health insurance if the insurance is
provided or offered to the general student body only on an
optional basis.
3)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.
4)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.
Need for this bill : According to the author, current law does
little to regulate the relationship between student athletes and
colleges and universities-these relationships are governed by
the NCAA. The author contends that recruiters make verbal
scholarship offers that do not provide information regarding
summer school tuition, academic conflicts with practice
schedules, coverage of medical expenses, and the specifics of
scholarship offers. In particular, the author expresses concern
that recruiters lead student athletes to believe that they will
receive four-year scholarships, while the NCAA only allows
one-year scholarships that may be renewed each year.
NCAA written disclosure requirements : Currently, the NCAA does
not require recruiters to provide written disclosure of NCAA
financial aid restrictions or preliminary offers to
student-athletes until the signing of the National Letter of
Intent (NLI) accompanied by a financial aid agreement.
According to the NCAA, this is the only document that is binding
on both parties.
Administrative burden : As outlined previously in the Summary,
this bill requires colleges and universities across the country
to do the following:
1)Provide 20 data items in writing to each student athlete with
whom a recruiter has had personal contact within one week of
that contact (see Bill Summary, item 1, a-p).
2)Provide eight data items to student athletes when any
scholarship offer is made, within one week of a verbal offer
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and prior to signing an agreement (see Bill Summary, item 3,
a-k).
3)Conduct a survey of student athletes' opinions about the
safety of their workout environment, academic support, and
their coaches and provide the results to students as part of
the initial 20 data items (see Bill Summary, item 2).
While some of this data may be readily available by the campus,
other data will need to be customized for each student. For
example, each institution will have to disclose any scheduling
conflict between mandatory classes in majors offered at the
postsecondary institution and the schedule of the athletic team
for which the student athlete is being recruited. What if a
student is undecided? What if the student is being recruited
for more than one sport? What if a mandatory class has several
sections? Could these administrative requirements serve as a
disincentive for postsecondary institutions to recruit
California student-athletes, especially female athletes and
athletes in sports other than Division I basketball and
football?
Value to students : Student athletes will receive a significant
amount of data from each institutions with whom they have
contact. Will this data aid student athletes in their decisions
or overwhelm them with information? Is it helpful for a
student-athlete to have this data without context? Will the
data be so voluminous as to discourage the student athlete from
reading the information?
NCAA implications : Requiring a "written scholarship offer" is
likely a violation of NCAA and NLI regulations. Since
elementary and junior high students are included in this bill,
there may be implications regarding NCAA recruiting rules.
Enforcement : This bill is silent on how violations will be
enforced. What is the recourse for student athletes if the
postsecondary institution does not provide this information,
inadvertently omits one of the data items, or provides incorrect
information? Who enforces these provisions, and how are they
enforced with out-of-state institutions? Does this bill create
a private right of action for student athletes and/or their
parent or guardian?
Suggested amendments : The author notes that student athletes
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are not always aware of current NCAA provisions regulating the
financial aid a postsecondary institution can provide and could
be misled by a recruiter into thinking that a four-year
scholarship can be guaranteed. Since the NCAA does not require
this information be provided to student athletes, staff suggests
the author amend the bill to remove the current notification
provisions included in (b) and (c) and add language to require a
collegiate athletic recruiter to provide in writing to the
student athlete a copy of the restrictions on student athlete
financial assistance as set forth in the National Collegiate
Athletic Association bylaws.
Previous legislation : SB 193 (Murray) of 2003, which was held
in the Assembly Higher Education Committee, would have
prohibited California institutions of higher education from
participating in any organizations that regulates student
athlete scholarships, including the NCAA.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
National College Players Association
United Steelworkers, District 12
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960