Amateurism in the NCAA

In this blog post, I'll be discussing the concept of amateurism in the NCAA throughout all three main divisions. The rules of amateurism, priorities, and focuses in the NCAA differs greatly amongst all three divisions. For example, Division 1 College sports focus heavily on the athlete, yet still try to maintain a balance between being a student and being the athlete the team needs them to be. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Division 3 sports put a rigorous academic focus first as opposed to athletics; If a player has an important test or project due in a few days, they have the right to skip or miss practice in order to complete said project. Division 1 sports would not allow such liberties. In conclusion, Division 1 sports take a lot of the college experience away from the athlete in order to build a strong athletics program to support the college as well. Division 3 colleges put the student first, then the athlete second.

Amateurism:

The definition of amateurism is someone who engages in a pursuit, especially of a sport, on an unpaid basis. The NCAA is extremely strict about amateurism and athletes who participate in doing activities that break the boundaries of the definition of amateurism.

In general, amateurism requirements do not allow:

1. Contracts with professional teams
2. Salary for participating in athletics
3. Prize money above actual and necessary expenses
4. Play with professionals
5. Tryouts, practice or competition with a professional team
6. Benefits from an agent or prospective agent
7. Agreement to be represented by an agent
8. Delayed initial full-time collegiate enrollment to participate in organized sports competition

Any of these points break the boundaries of Amateurism and will result in a suspension of a player at minimum as a penalty towards the college team

Read more about Amateurism in the NCAA here: Amateurism in the NCAA