Compliance
This section reflects standard policies and procedures. These policies and procedures reflect NCAA, Ivy League, and Yale regulations at the time of publishing.  Please confirm these policies if necessary. 
 
Every student-athlete is subject to NCAA, Ivy League, and Yale University rules and requirements that can affect their collegiate eligibility. Coaches, the Compliance Office, Yale’s NCAA Faculty Athletic Representative, and the Director of Athletics work together to ensure adherence to all NCAA, Ivy League, and Yale rules and regulations regarding eligibility. These policies, some of which are outlined in this section, may change on a yearly basis. The Athletic Department’s Compliance Office typically meets with student-athletes in the fall to discuss NCAA rules and regulations. It is the student-athlete’s responsibility to be knowledgeable of the rules and regulations, and to maintain compliance with them.
 
The easiest way to avoid an NCAA rules violation is to ask the Compliance Office, a coach, or staff member before accepting any sort of potential benefit or entering any situation that potentially violates a rule. Involvement in a rule’s violation can have serious effects on eligibility to practice and compete. Talk to coaches, sport administrators, or the Compliance Office staff members whenever a question arises.


NCAA Orientation Meeting
Before the first day of practice or the first day of classes each year, an NCAA orientation meeting will typically be held for all teams. This meeting is mandatory to attend. At this time, rules and procedures are explained and any questions concerning eligibility are answered. Student-athletes will also be asked to complete and sign NCAA, Ivy, and Yale forms.
 
Yale Athletics uses the ARMS Roster Management Software to distribute eligibility forms. All Yale student-athletes must read, complete, and submit all NCAA, Ivy League, and Yale eligibility forms on ARMS prior to participation in practice or competition. 

 
Full Time Enrollment
NCAA rules require student-athletes to be a full-time degree seeking student in order to represent Yale in athletics practice and competition. This means student-athletes must be enrolled in a minimum of 3 credits of coursework at Yale. Student-athletes are NOT eligible to practice or compete, if at any time:
  • They withdraw from Yale;
  • Their registration or admission is canceled; or
  • Their registration at Yale falls below 3 credits.
Additionally, during the first week of a term, student-athletes may be enrolled in less than a full-time program of study and continue to practice but not compete.  Thereafter, student-athletes must be enrolled in 3 credits in order to practice and compete, including during the remaining days of shopping period.

 
Yale College Academic and Distributional Requirements
A Yale student normally takes four or five credits per term, during a total of eight terms. Yale students normally graduate within eight terms of enrollment. 
 
Satisfactory Progress Requirements for Yale
  • To be promoted to sophomore standing after two terms of enrollment, a student must earn at least eight credits or the equivalent and have fulfilled the distributional requirements for the first year.
  • To be promoted to junior standing after four terms, a student is expected to earn at least sixteen course credits or the equivalent and have fulfilled the distributional requirements for the sophomore year.
  • To be promoted to senior standing after six terms of enrollment, a student must earn at least 26 course credits or the equivalent and have fulfilled the distributional requirements for the junior year.
  • Eighth term -- 36 course credits, graduating senior.
 
NCAA Progress Towards Degree Regulations
In addition to the requirements at Yale, the NCAA also requires student-athletes to make satisfactory progress towards their degree to maintain eligibility for competition.  Student-athletes must: 
  • Pass 6 NCAA credits per term (equivalent to 1.5 Yale credits);
  • Pass 18 NCAA credits per academic year of enrollment (equivalent to 4.5 Yale credits);
  • First-years must pass 24 NCAA credits prior to the start of their sophomore year (equivalent to 6 Yale credits);
  • Declare their degree prior to the start of their Junior year
  • Earn 40% of their degree prior to the start of their Junior year; and
  • Earn 60% of their degree prior to the start of their senior year. 
Eligibility Clock
Division I student-athletes have five calendar years in which to complete four seasons of competition in a sport.  The five-year clock begins when the student-athlete first enrolls as a full-time student at any collegiate institution and is continuous until the clock expires.  There are few exceptions to this rule – the clock could pause with time spent in the armed services, an official church mission, study abroad program, cooperative educational work experience for credit, or pregnancy. 
 
The Ivy League further restricts a student-athlete’s clock to the four years immediately following their initial full-time enrollment at a collegiate institution.  If a student-athlete does not utilize a season of competition during their initial four years of enrollment, they can elect to pursue that additional year of competition at a non-Ivy League institution.  In some circumstances, a student-athlete may be granted a fifth year of eligibility at an Ivy League institution when they were unable to compete during a season for reasons outside of their control. Most commonly this occurs due to a medical condition that prevented a student-athlete from competing.  Student-athletes who wish to pursue a fifth year of competition should contact the Compliance Office for guidance on filing an Ivy League fifth year waiver and/or a NCAA Hardship waiver for the year of eligibility.
  1. Hardship Waivers
    A student-athlete may be granted a waiver to gain back one of four seasons of eligibility for reasons of medical hardship. Hardship is defined as an incapacity resulting from an injury or illness that has occurred under the following conditions:

    - The incapacitating injury or illness occurs in one of the four seasons of intercollegiate competition; The injury/illness occurs prior to the completion of the first half of the regular season; and
    - The student-athlete has not participated in more than three contests or dates of competition or 30 percent (whichever is greater) of the total number of contests that Yale actually played that season.  
     
  2. Leaves of Absence

    The Presidents of the Ivy League, as well as the Yale community, have emphasized the importance of broadening students’ academic experience should they elect to take a leave from Yale or plan to participate in athletics beyond the normal four-year calendar. If a student-athlete elects to take time off and intends to re-engage in the sport later, it is expected that the student-athlete will use that time to enrich their academic and other life experiences.

    There are many examples of ways student-athletes can enrich this experience while taking time off:  work related to future employment interests; work, along with academic study (learning a new language, for example); travel abroad; or paid work combined with volunteer work, in this country, or abroad, are only a few of the many excellent possibilities. Leaves of absence may affect eligibility status.  Student-athletes must contact the Compliance Office if thinking about taking time off from Yale.

    If a student-athlete takes a leave of absence from Yale, they may NOT engage in any countable athletic-related activity with a Yale team, including strength and conditioning workouts, team meetings, practices, or competition.  The student-athlete also may not use Yale’s athletic facilities without paying the regular published fees for use of the facility.

 
Transfer
If a student-athlete plans to transfer to another institution or wishes to speak to another institution’s coach regarding a possible transfer, they must notify Yale of their intent to transfer in writing. This notice can be provided to the Compliance Office. The head coach will be informed of any student-athlete that has provided notification of intent to transfer. Once a student-athlete has provided a notification of intent to transfer, their name will be entered into the NCAA transfer database within two business days. Their name will not be removed from the database unless requested by the student-athlete. 
 
The athletic department will assume upon Receipt of a Notification of Intent to Transfer that the student-athlete entering as an undergraduate student has ceased opportunity to remain on their team. Student-athletes should expect to no longer have access to athletic facilities once a notification of intent to transfer has been received. This includes, but is not limited to, access to locker rooms, practice/competition facilities, varsity awards, student-athlete programming, and the sports performance facilities.  Access to the Athletic Training Room will also be discontinued with the following exception.  Should a student-athlete require treatment for an injury sustained while participating in their sport, the student-athlete may have access to the Athletic Training Center through resolution of the injury or the end of their full-time enrollment, whichever occurs first. 
 
Student-athletes may utilize the one-time transfer exception to be immediately eligible at their next institution provided the student-athlete notifies Yale of their intent to transfer during their team’s applicable transfer windows. Intent to transfer as a graduate student is exempt from NCAA transfer windows, and therefore can enter the NCAA transfer portal at any time after October 1st during the academic year prior to transfer.  

Financial Aid
Ivy League rules do not permit the award of athletics-based merit scholarships. All scholarships are administered by the Yale Office of Undergraduate Financial Aid.  The Yale Department of Athletics encourages all student-athletes to annually complete necessary financial aid documents (e.g., FAFSA) and apply for institutional financial aid.

 
Student-Athlete Assistance Fund
The NCAA provides funding to Division I institutions to assist with certain student-athlete expenses. To qualify for this grant, students must receive a Pell Grant or receive 75% of the cost of attendance from need based financial aid. Expenses will be distributed according to the below chart:
 
Health Insurance
 
If a student-athlete receives funding for an expense as part of their financial aid package (e.g., health insurance, flight home), the SAF will only consider funding those expenses if the student-athlete can show their funding from financial aid for those expenses has been exhausted. 
Expenses that may be covered by this grant include, but are not limited to:
  • health insurance
  • emergency medical expenses
  • purchase of expendable academic course supplies
  • clothing
  • travel home
  • other essential expenses
Receipts must be submitted with the application. For more information, contact the Compliance Office.

 
Amateurism
The NCAA requires student-athletes to be amateurs in their sport.  The following situations may impact amateur status:
  • Acceptance of any prize money or merchandise based on place or finish in an athletic event (e.g., road race, beach volleyball, golf tournament) in excess of actual and necessary expenses for that event. Expenses qualifying as actual and necessary expenses on an outside amateurism team or competition include items such as travel, room and board, and meals. A form must be on file with the Compliance Office documenting all prize money.
  • Agreeing orally or in writing to compete in professional athletics in your sport.
  • Entering into a professional draft outside of NCAA exceptions.
  • Agreeing orally or in writing to be represented by an agent or anyone associated with an agent for present or future representation for the purpose of pursuing a professional athletics career.
 
Name, Image, and Likeness
Student-athletes that wish to monetize their name, image, and likeness (NIL) are responsible to familiarize themselves with the State of Connecticut Law, NCAA and Ivy League rules, and Yale’s institutional policy on NIL activities.
  • Student-athletes must submit all executed NIL contracts to the compliance office through Opendorse.
  • The Compliance Office in conjunction with the Office of General Counsel will review contracts for compliance and Yale policy purposes.
  • Per NCAA regulations, all NIL activities valued at $600 or more, must be submitted through the NIL Go platform for NCAA approval.
  • Per Ivy League regulations, all NIL activities valued at $2000 or more, must be submitted to the Ivy League for approval.
  • Yale coaches, faculty, and staff are not permitted to assist in the arrangement of NIL opportunities.
  • NIL opportunities may not constitute pay for play or be contingent on athletic performance while representing Yale (e.g. no payment for number of goals scored).
  • NIL may not interfere with academic or official team activities.
Per Yale policy, student-athletes cannot use university names, marks or logos or use university facilities or property for NIL activities. Please reference Yale’s NIL policy on the Yale Athletics website.

 
Promotional Activities
It is permissible for student-athletes to participate in institutional, charitable, educational or nonprofit promotion provided that the activity does not involve corporate advertisements or promotions, that the use of the student-athlete’s name and picture is approved by the athletics department and is not used by a commercial entity, that the student-athlete does not miss class, and that all monies derived from the activity go directly to the institution or charity.

 
Player Agents
Yale student-athletes who have the opportunity to continue their athletics career on the professional level must be aware that the Ivy League and NCAA have strict rules with regard to player agents. The rules do not allow representation by an agent for pursuing professional athletics unless the student-athlete has made the decision to forfeit all remaining eligibility.  Student-athletes should contact their coach and/or the Compliance Office if they are ever contacted by an agent, advisor, or an employee of an agent for the purpose of pursuing professional athletics.
 
Yale student-athletes are permitted to have NIL agent representation. Student-athletes must disclose NIL agent representation to the athletics Compliance Office via the Opendorse platform. Professional representation must be for NIL opportunities only and not for future professional athletics contract negotiations.

 
Extra Benefits
The Yale Department of Athletics is responsible for the control and conduct of the intercollegiate athletics program. Once an individual has been identified as an athletic representative or booster, the individual retains that identity forever and is governed by the same NCAA, Ivy, and Yale rules and regulations as Yale athletic staff members. A booster is anyone who has promoted Yale, is a season ticket holder, is a member of an associated booster group, has made financial contributions to Yale, has assisted in the recruitment of prospective student-athletes, is a former student-athlete, or provided benefits to enrolled student-athletes at Yale.
 
If at any time a student-athlete has a question concerning benefits, gifts, or services that have been offered, please check with the Compliance Office immediately. Boosters or institutional staff members are not permitted to provide a student-athlete with an extra benefit. The term “extra benefit” refers to any special arrangement by an institutional employee or booster to provide the student-athlete (or to a relative/friend of the student-athlete) with a benefit not expressly authorized by NCAA legislation.
 
Examples of “Extra Benefits” NOT PERMITTED by the NCAA:
  • Receiving any special discount, payment, arrangement, or credit on a purchase (e.g., airline ticket) or a service (e.g., car maintenance) that is not available to the general public;
  • A professional service without charge or at a reduced cost;
  • The use of an automobile, cell phone, or credit card without charge or at a reduced rate;
  • Services from commercial establishments (e.g., restaurant) without charge or at a reduced rate;
  • Free or reduced-cost admission to professional athletic contests from professional sports organizations;
  • Free or reduced-cost rental or housing agreements;
  • A loan of money or guarantee of a bond that is not available to the general public;
  • Preferential treatment, benefits, or services based upon athletics reputation, skill, or potential to later re-pay for the benefit;
  • The selling/bartering of designated complimentary admissions in exchange for products or services; and
  • The selling/bartering of any issued Yale athletic apparel or equipment in exchange for products or services.
 
Outside Competition
In Division I, a student-athlete who participates in outside competition, while their team is in-season, as a member of any non-collegiate amateur team becomes ineligible for competition in that sport for the remainder of the year and for the next academic year unless restored by the NCAA.

It is permissible for student-athletes in sports other than basketball to participate in outside competition during an official vacation period and while their sport is not in-season.

Student-athletes in basketball may participate only in NCAA sanctioned leagues and must receive prior written approval from the Compliance Office to participate in these leagues. 

There are exceptions to the outside competition regulation for national team competition and tryouts. All students who utilize such exceptions must complete paperwork with the Compliance Office prior to the competition. The Outside Competition form is available on ARMS.

 
Employment
All student-athletes who hold employment during their time as a student-athlete, both during the academic year and the summer, must complete the Student-Athlete Employment form and provide it to the Compliance Office through ARMS.  General NCAA regulations regarding student-athlete employment include the following:
  • A student-athlete may only be compensated for work actually performed;
  • A student-athlete may only be compensated at a rate similar to the “going rate of pay” in the locality for similar services; 
It is permissible for a representative of Yale’s athletics interests to help student-athletes find employment provided all of the above outlined conditions are met and the appropriate form is on file with the Compliance Office. 

 
Fee for Lesson Employment
  • A student-athlete may receive compensation for teaching or coaching sport skills or techniques in their sport on a fee-for-lesson basis, provided:
  • Institutional facilities are not used;
  • Playing lessons shall not be permitted;
  • The institution obtains and keeps on file documentation of the recipient of the lesson(s) and the fee for the lesson(s) provided during any time of the year;
  • The compensation is paid by the lesson recipient (or the recipient’s family) and not another individual or entity;
  • Instruction to each individual is comparable to the instruction that would be provided during a private lesson when the instruction involves more than one individual at a time.
  • If interested in teaching lessons on a fee basis, please contact the Compliance Office to discuss these regulations and complete the necessary paperwork.

Sports Camps and Clinics
A student-athlete may be employed by their institution, by another institution, or by a private organization to work as a camp counselor.  The general rules surrounding such employment are as follows:
  • The student-athlete must perform duties that are of a general supervisory nature.
  • Compensation shall be commensurate with the going rate for camp or clinic counselors.
  • A student-athlete’s name or picture shall not appear on a website, brochure, or other document advertising the camp, unless it is in the camp/clinic counselor section of the document.
  • A student-athlete who only lectures at a camp or clinic shall not receive compensation for his/her appearance.
  • Student-athletes who intend to work a camp outside of or at Yale should file an employment form with the compliance office.

Tobacco
The use of tobacco products is prohibited by all game personnel (e.g. student-athletes, coaches, athletic trainers, managers and officials for all sports) during practice and competition.
 

Sports Gambling
The NCAA and the Yale Department of Athletics oppose all forms of legal and illegal sports wagering. Sports wagering has the potential to undermine the integrity of sports contests, and jeopardizes the welfare of student-athletes and the intercollegiate athletics community. NCAA Bylaws prohibit student-athletes and athletics department staff members from engaging in gambling activities on any NCAA sponsored sport regardless of level of participation, including intercollegiate athletics and professional athletics. Student-athletes and staff members shall not knowingly:
  • Provide information to individuals involved in organized gambling activities concerning intercollegiate athletics competition;
  • Speak about injuries (a student-athlete’s own or a teammates) on social media sites; or
  • Solicit or accept a wager, defined as anything in which something of value is used as collateral towards the opportunity to win something of value.  Wagers include bets made through a bookmaker, parlay card, fantasy sports, and NCAA tournament bracket games.
     
Time Limits for Athletically Related Activities
The NCAA and Ivy League have established rules and regulations regarding time limits for practice and competition activities.

Time Spent on Athletically Related Activities (Countable Hours)
During the academic year, coaches are limited in the number of hours they can require a student-athlete to participate in mandatory countable activities. The limits for the academic year are:
 
Championship Season (maximum 4 hours/day, maximum 20 hours/week)
During the playing and practice season, a student-athlete’s participation in countable athletically-related activities shall be limited to a maximum of 20 hours per week and 4 hours per day. Coaches are mandated to provide one day a week off from any required athletically-related activities.  A travel day may be considered a day off. 
Note: Daily and weekly hour limitations may apply differently to countable athletically related activities occurring during institutional vacation periods (e.g., summer, winter, and spring breaks) that overlap with the Championship season.
 
Countable athletically-related activities include but are not limited to the following
  • Practice;
  • Competition (always counted as 3 hours regardless of total time spent at competition);
  • Required conditioning and/or weight training;
  • Skill-related instructional activities;
  • Required individual workouts;
  • Athletically-related meetings initiated by a member of the coaching staff; and
  • Required film sessions.
Non-countable athletically-related activities include the following:
  • Voluntary, non-required individual or team workouts (not supervised by a coaching staff member unless your sport has a safety exception);
  • Physical rehabilitation;
  • Medical exams or treatments;
  • Compliance meetings;
  • Dressing, showering, taping;
  • Organized team promotional activities;
  • Study hall or required tutoring sessions.
  • Recruiting activities, including student-host duties;
  • Meetings with coaches for non-athletics matters;
  • Public relations activities (e.g., media interviews);
  • Community service events;
  • Team-building activities;
  • Fundraising events; and
  • Travel to and from away-from-home competition.
Non-Championship Season (maximum of 12 hours/week)
During the Non-Championship playing season, a student-athlete’s participation in countable athletically-related activities shall not exceed 8 hours of skill instruction per week and 32 hours of skill instruction during the entire non-championship segment. An additional four hours of strength and conditioning activities are permitted per week.  Coaches are mandated to also give every student-athlete on the team two days off from required athletically related activities during this period.
 
Out of Season (maximum of 6 hours/week)
Outside the playing season and during the academic year, a student-athlete’s participation in countable athletically-related activities shall not exceed six hours per week. No more than four hours may be spent on skill instruction.  In addition, coaches are mandated to also give every student-athlete on the team two days off from required athletically-related activities during this period.
 
Voluntary Athletically-Related Activities
Any athletically-related activity that a student-athlete participates in that occurs outside of the in-season practice period, or the out-of-season practice segment, can only be done in a voluntary capacity. A coach may not be present unless the below “Safety Exception” is applicable. In addition, student-athletes cannot “report back” to coaching staff their involvement in voluntary activities.
 
Safety Exception
In the sports of fencing, gymnastics, rowing, swimming and diving, sailing, and field events for track, a coach may be present during voluntary workouts, and the coach may spot or provide safety or skill instruction but cannot conduct the individual’s workout.
 
Team Rest Periods
The Ivy League mandates 49 rest days for each varsity team during the academic year. These days shall have no required athletic activity, no voluntary activity under the supervision of a team coach, no team athletics activities (e.g., captain’s practices), and no team or team member athletically-related activities resulting from encouragement by the coaching staff to engage in such activity.  The use of the safety exception is not permitted in applicable sports on Ivy rest days.  Under no circumstances will any athletically-related activity involving team members be supervised by a team coach, nor will facilities be reserved for team activities. The one required day off per week during the championship season may not count as a rest day. Other required off days may overlap with the 49 rest days.
 

NCAA Banned Substances and Drug Testing
The list of banned substances is available on the NCAA website. It is the student-athlete’s responsibility to check this list against any substance, including prescriptions that they take and to talk to their sport’s athletic trainer if they have any questions.
 
The NCAA has instituted a year-round drug testing program administered through the National Center for Drug Free Sport organization. If selected to drug test, including during the summer months, it is the responsibility of the student-athlete to complete the drug test. Not showing up to a drug test jeopardizes student-athlete eligibility.