Approved Ruling: Tryouts of prospective students, in accordance with NAIA Bylaws, shall not constitute practice per Article I, Section H, Item 6, although institutional team members may be involved. Such activity if conducted outside of the team’s 24-week season will not trigger the 24-week season.
The National Eligibility Committee has ruled that the “prospective student” referred to in the ruling must meet the definition of a prospective student as defined in NAIA bylaws. Meaning, a prospective student who has never identified or whose previous collegiate identification was with another collegiate institution. The individual remains a prospective student until the student identifies with an institution.
If an NAIA institution holds a tryout with students identified with the institution, it will count as a practice and will trigger the 24-Week Season. If an institution wishes to hold tryout opportunities for students identified at the NAIA institution outside of the 24-Week season, then prospective students must be included in the tryout.
Tryouts may occur at any point throughout the calendar year. A tryout conducted on one day will count as one of the total two days a potential student-athlete may utilize per NAIA institution. Tryouts must be institutional policy and must apply to all students with special talents. The policy cannot apply solely to athletes.
