New NEC Interp Fall 2026
Bylaw: Article V, Section B, Item 24 – Varsity Intercollegiate Sport
A sport that has been accorded that status by the institution’s chief executive officer or committee responsible for intercollegiate athletics policy and satisfies all of the following conditions:
a. It is a sport that is administered by the department of intercollegiate athletics;
b. It is a sport for which the eligibility of the student is reviewed and certified by the institution’s faculty athletics representative or designated eligibility representative; and
c. It is a sport in which qualified participants receive the institution’s official varsity awards.
Interpretation:
The National Eligibility Committee, with consideration from the Competitive Experience Committee, determined the following sport equivalencies:
- Sprint football shall be considered the same sport as men’s football for purposes of applying NAIA legislation.
- Women’s tackle football shall be considered the same sport as women’s flag football for purposes of applying NAIA legislation.
Although neither sprint football nor women’s tackle football is specifically designated as a varsity intercollegiate sport within NAIA legislation, the committee found that the playing rules, structure, and competitive characteristics of these activities are sufficiently aligned with football and women’s flag football, respectively, to warrant consistent treatment under NAIA eligibility rules.
Accordingly, participation in these activities shall be evaluated and certified using the same legislative principles applied to the corresponding NAIA-recognized sport.
Application:
Sprint Football
For eligibility purposes, sprint football participation shall be treated as participation in men’s football.
As a result:
- Participation in professional-level sprint football shall result in a season of competition being charged for each applicable 12-month period under NAIA seasons-of-competition legislation.
- A student who becomes a professional in sprint football may be subject to the NAIA amateurism legislation. Further evaluation will be necessary before competing at the NAIA level.
- Sprint football activities that meet the definition of practice or competition shall trigger the football 24-week season.
- Sprint football contests shall count toward a student’s football frequency-of-play limitations.
Women’s Tackle Football
For eligibility purposes, women’s tackle football participation shall be treated as participation in women’s flag football.
As a result:
- Participation in professional-level women’s tackle football shall result in a season of competition being charged for each applicable 12-month period under NAIA seasons-of-competition legislation.
- A student who becomes a professional in women’s tackle football may be subject to the NAIA amateurism legislation. Further evaluation will be necessary before competing at the NAIA level.
- Women’s tackle football activities that meet the definition of practice or competition shall trigger the women’s flag football 24-week season.
- Women’s tackle football contests shall count toward a student’s women’s flag football frequency-of-play limitations.
Related Bylaws:
Article V, Section B, Item 20
Article VII, Section A, Item 2
Article I, Section H, Item 5
Related Interpretations:
