Faculty Governance Committee on Instruction

Exner Motion on Athletic Practices to Committee

Motion: That no varsity team activity be allowed for varsity athletes between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. ("class hours") Monday through Friday, except as permitted by paragraphs A and B below. Excluded are all activities involving a member of the coaching staff or athletic department and more than one athlete, and any activity involving a member of the coaching staff and a single athlete if sports instruction is taking place. Also excluded are activities in which three or more athletes engage in training for the sport not in the presence of a member of the coaching staff, except strength and conditioning training as in paragraph A. Forbidden also is any regularly scheduled or recurring activity for the sport during these hours regardless of the number of athletes participating simultaneously, except as modified by paragraph A. Activities as described above are to be excluded, whether they are "required" or "optional" and both in and out of season. Paragraph C lists examples of such activities, but is not intended to cover all things excluded; paragraph D provides penalties and procedures in the event of non-compliance; paragraph E places upon the Committee on Athletics a reporting obligation.

A. Travel to and from games is permitted as necessary. Warm-up activities (for example, a noon shoot-around for basketball) on the day of a home contest are permitted, if each student athlete participates at a time not requiring missing a class or any portion of one (unless reasonable warm-up immediately prior to the contest itself requires it), and the total time period for any student is less than one and a half hours. Conditioning and strength training are permitted, as long as no coach is present and the students are in groups of no more than three.

B. Coaches or teams wishing single event exemption (for example, a sneaker sale) from this prohibition may petition the Committee on Athletics, at least one week in advance of the proposed date, and as long as the proposed event will not cause any student athlete to miss class. It is expected that CoA will try to approve up to two such requests in season and one out of season, per team, for activities not involving sports instruction or training. Petitions for practices (broadly defined) shall require a high standard of justification. Requests for more than two exemptions in season and one out of season should require increasingly high standards of "necessity," and in no event should CoA approve, for any single team, more than 6 exemptions during any academic year. CoA shall not approve any exemptions allowing for multiple or continuing violations of this policy without so reporting to the faculty as a whole at the first regularly scheduled faculty meeting following the approval. Such approval should be rare, to allow for duration of no more than one academic year, and the report to the faculty should include discussion of how steps will be taken to render such exemptions unnecessary in the future.

C. Examples of excluded activities include: team practice or subgroup practice (whether or not a coach is present), film sessions, and skills training (as defined by NCAA regulations), and any instruction in the sport or skills for the sport whatsoever. Activities by members of one varsity team for another (timing, scoring, or announcing, for example) during class hours are prohibited, whether or not labeled "voluntary." (Further, the times of reporting to and departing from such an activity are the relevant times, not merely the official start and finish of the contest.) This list is not intended to be complete; the binding language is "no varsity team activity."

D. Violations of this policy should be reported to the Committee on Athletics, which shall determine whether a violation has taken place, using procedures it will develop and publish. CoA shall have the right and obligation to protect the anonymity of any individual(s) reporting a violation should that be desired, although it should allow for reasonable (perhaps written) questioning by the coaching staff of those persons reporting violations. Should it be determined that a violation has taken place, penalties shall be imposed upon the relevant team as follows, along with such additional penalties as CoA shall deem proper. Further, any violation shall count, for one calendar year, as two of the exemptions allowed by paragraph B.

First violation (in any academic year): Warning. A letter, signed by all members of the coaching staff of the relevant team and the Athletic Director, shall be sent to CoA within two weeks of the finding, acknowledging that the team has been found guilty of a violation and guaranteeing future compliance with the policy.

Second violation (in any academic year): Loss of the right to practice during allowed hours for one day, in season. No further exemptions as considered in paragraph B to be allowed during the academic year. If violations carry the total number of exemptions (counting violations as two exemptions) in an academic year over 6, the excess shall be carried over and count against the allowable exemptions in the subsequent year(s).

Third and subsequent violations (in any academic year): Loss of the right to practice during allowed hours for double the number of days of the previous violation, in season. If violations carry the total number of exemptions (counting violations as two exemptions) in an academic year over 6, the excess shall be carried over and count against the allowable exemptions in the subsequent year(s). Further, a letter detailing the violations shall be forwarded by CoA to Bucknell's NCAA compliance office. This letter shall remain in the file of the relevant team for a period of five years.

CoA shall have the right to introduce further penalties for a continual pattern of violations for a particular team over the course of several academic years.

E. CoA shall provide a summary report to the faculty yearly on violations of this policy and the penalties incurred, via the usual mechanism for reports of CoA.