Processing of Eligibility Cases
Link to NAIA Bylaws
What an Eligibility Case Is
- Any situation where a rule may have been broken (actual violation) or where it looks like a violation might have happened (possible violation).
Philosophy of Self-Reporting: An Institutional Responsibility
- The NAIA upholds its members to adhere to our bylaws and mandates self-reporting in the event of a violation.
- If any chief executive officer, faculty athletics representative, athletics director, and/or coach becomes aware of a potential institutional violation involving an athlete or representative of any member institution, it is their duty to promptly inform their athletics director and faculty athletics representative of the violation.
- Failure to comply with any aspect of this regulation will be considered unethical conduct and will prompt an investigation by the National Conduct and Ethics Committee. This may result in appropriate action being taken against the institution for withholding information.
How Cases Get Started
- Reporting a Violation (Self-report form)
- Process:
Should any chief executive officer, faculty athletics representative, athletics director and/or coach become aware of an apparent institutional violation involving an athlete or institutional representative, it is the responsibility of the FAR or AD to report the violation to the conference eligibility chair, with copies sent to the National Office. The conference eligibility committee will review the information, make a recommendation, then forward all documentation to the national office for a final decision by the appropriate committee.Required Items:- NAIA Self-Report Violation Form (for self-reported violations only)Cover letter from the FAR and AD providing an overview of the violation.All transcripts for any students involved (unofficial transcripts are acceptable).
- Personal narratives by individuals involved (e.g., student-athlete, coach, athletics director, parents, academic advisor, etc.)
- Documentation that verifies central details (e.g., receipts, email correspondence, academic documents, etc.)
Who Gets Informed & Information Collected
- The conference commissioner (or CAC commissioner if independent schools are involved).
- The national eligibility staff liaison.
- The NAIA National Eligibility Committee (NEC) eventually receives the case.
The eligibility chair gathers and shares with the NEC, institution, and NAIA staff:
- Details of the violation (what, when, where).
- Updated transcripts for the student(s).
- A signed statement from the AD and FAR with corrective actions.
- A student statement (if possible).
- Conference input (support, concerns, impact).
Handling Ineligible Participation
- If a student competed while ineligible, the forfeit rule in Article VI, Section B, Item 2 applies.
- Forfeits are required in cases where the National Eligibility Committee or the affected institution has determined that a competing student was academically ineligible, an eligibility certificate was submitted over 5 days late, or other NAIA Bylaws regulations have been violated, other than administrative error(s).
Types of Penalties Issued
- Warning – carries an institutional notification acknowledging a violation has occurred. Future violations may result in higher penalties.
- Reprimand – same as a Warning, but requires a written response of corrective measures taken by the institution.
- Probation – in addition to the required written response of corrective measures, institutions and/ or coaches placed on probation for a specific amount of time will be listed on the NAIA Violation Reports webpage.
- Withhold the student in question from competing in one or more contests during the current or next sport season and/or charge the student with one or more additional seasons of competition and/or ban the student from further intercollegiate competition.
- Suspension – Place any or all of the institution’s athletics program or staff on suspension for a specified time. Suspension shall deny the institution’s participants and/or staff member(s) in the affected sport(s) the opportunity to participate in any postseason competition. Suspensions are also listed on the NAIA Violation Reports webpage.ility cases.
- Clarification of a rule may be given by phone, but certifying a student’s eligibility is always the FAR’s responsibility.
Level of penalties may depend on institution’s Due Diligence
- The severity of penalties imposed may depend on whether the NAIA institution conducted proper Due Diligence in certifying student-athletes to compete.
- Due Diligence entails “The level of care, attention, and investigation a reasonable person would exercise under the circumstances.”
- In other words, the process of certifying eligibility isn’t about doing what’s typical — it’s about doing what is reasonable given the situation at hand. Sometimes that means going above and beyond your standard checklist.
