The commissioners' Corner answers questions about the California Community College Commission on Athletics Constitution. The questions are those that are frequently asked of Conference Commissioners. The answers assume there are no other circumstances. The answers are to be used as guides to make the Constitution clearer. They do not replace the Constitution

Updated 8/22/05

INTERPRETATIONS AND RULINGS FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Bylaw 3.19.3 The State office issued a ruling "that any initials or like emblem or color that connects the team with the college would be a violation of bylaw 3.19.3"

Bylaw 12.1.

CORRECTIONS TO 2005 CONSTITUTION.
Identified and agreed to by Conference Commissioners on 8/12/05

Article 7.5.8.1 Seventh line the word "open" should be "testimonial."

CONSTITUTION

QUESTION
What are Consent Items?

The Executive Director is responsible for reviewing the proposed legislation to screen those items, which do not change intent. These items will be consent and informational in nature and will not go through the legislative process.

QUESTION
How do the responsibilities of the COA Board and the Management Council differ.

Articles 2.2.2 and 4.2.2
The COA Board shall be responsible for COA policy issues, and the Management Council is responsible for operational decisions that determine the procedures that support COA policies.

QUESTION
Who has the authority to employ and determine the role of the Executive Director?

Articles 2.2.3 and 2.2.4
The COA Board

QUESTION
Are all of the rules found in the Articles and Bylaws?

Article 7.1.1
No. The Sports Guides are part of the Constitution, and can contain sport specific rules that might not be found in the articles and Bylaws.

QUESTION
What authority does the Disabilities Board have?

Article 7.5.15.4
The Disabilities Board has the power to create eligibility for any student, for one semester, by allowing modification or the eligibility rules in a way that do not adversely effect the necessary operation of the COA.

QUESTION
What happens if a college does not follow the due process procedure, and instead immediately utilizes the legal system?

Article 7.5.3
Colleges that do not abide by the due process procedures as enumerated in Article 7 or that support a student, coach, or other entity for failing to abide by due process procedures are responsible for all legal expenses incurred by the conference and the COA.

BYLAWS

QUESTION
A soccer team is short of players, so the paid assistant coach enrolls in twelve units so that he can be eligible to play on the team. Is this legal?

Bylaw 1.3.1
No. In 1998 the Southern Appeals Board addressed the issue of a coach being paid to coach, while actually playing on the same team. The Board ruled that this was inappropriate.

QUESTION
A volleyball player is enrolled in 12 units before the first contest. Her math teacher informs her that she is not prepared for the math class and tells her that she must drop it. She tries to add a class to get back up to 12 units. The only class that is open and fits into her schedule does not start until the eighth week of the semester. She adds the class. Is she now eligible?

Bylaw 1.3.1
She isn't eligible until she is enrolled and ATTENDING 12 units. In the above case it would not be until the eighth week.

QUESTION
Are student/athletes eligible once they are enrolled in a minimum of 12 units?

Bylaw 1.3.1
Not necessarily. To be eligible to compete in a scheduled contest a student must be enrolled and ATTENDING class in a minimum of 12 units.

QUESTION
A soccer player wishes to transfer to the University of California and major in physics. She enrolls in 12 units of classes that transfer to the University of California. On the last day of the add and drop period a 4 unit class is cancelled because of low enrollment. The only class that is still open and will fit into her class and work schedule is a non-transferable cake decorating class that also does not meet the colleges AA degree requirements. Can she add the class and still be eligible?

Bylaw 1.3.3
Yes. This article states that of the 12 units, at least 9 shall be attempted in courses that are consistent with the student's education plan.

QUESTION
A student from another state has enrolled in 14 units by mail. She can't move until the fifth week of classes. Her coach has contacted all of her instructors, and they have agreed to keep her on the class roster until she can move. Is she eligible that semester?

Bylaw 1.3.8
No. A student must be registered and actively enrolled and attending class no later than 4 weeks after the first day of class instruction to be eligible.

QUESTION
A first year baseball player practices with the team for two weeks in the spring, and plays in a scrimmage. He then quits the team and drops out of school. The next spring. He enrolls in a second community college and wants to play baseball. Is he eligible?

Bylaw 1.5.1
A season of competition is only recorded if the athlete plays in a scheduled game, meet, or match (excluding scrimmages). Because he did not use a season of competition, the 24/unit/2.0 and transfer rules do not apply.

QUESTION
A basketball player is dropped from a class in the last week of the semester, and is only enrolled in 10 units. He has already completed the registration process of the spring semester, and is enrolled in 17 units. Is he eligible to compete during the semester break?

Bylaw 1.5.3
No. In sports that span two semesters or quarters, if an athlete is not enrolled in at least 12 units at the end of the first semester or quarter, the athlete can not become eligible until they are enrolled and ATTENDING classes in at least 12 units.

QUESTION
A fall semester sport student athlete has completed 21 units by the end of the spring semester. He has to work most of the summer, but finds a 3 unit class at a neighboring college that does not start until August. The class is over one week into the students fall semester, but before competition starts. Is he eligible for his second season?

Bylaw 1.6.1.A
No. The 24-semester/36 quarter units must be completed prior to the beginning of the semester/quarter of the second season of the sport.

QUESTION
A basketball player is enrolled in 14 units at the end of the fall semester. He fails 8 of the 14 units. Can he continue playing during the semester break?

Bylaw 1.6.3
Yes. The only way athletes can become ineligible during a season of sport is to drop below 12 units.

QUESTION
A baseball player plays one full season at a four-year college, and returns to a California Community College and plays his second season. Is he eligible to play one more year at the community college?

Bylaw 1.7
No. An athlete shall not be allowed more than two (2) seasons of collegiate competition in any one sport.

QUESTION
A tennis player is injured in the second match of the season. She transfers to a California community college in another conference and wishes to apply for an injury waiver. Which conference decides on the appeal?

Bylaw 1.8
On August 16, 2002 the Executive Director ruled that the appeal will be considered in the conference where the athlete is attempting to establish eligibility.

QUESTION
A baseball coach is preparing an injury/illness appeal. The team played 38 regular season games, and 4 post season games. Which figure does he use to determine the 50% of the completed contests, and the 20% maximum number of contests that the student can compete in.

Bylaw 1.8
The coach must use the regular season total (38). Post season competition is not used in injury/illness calculations.

QUESTION
A volleyball player has a season ending injury, and is granted an injury/illness appeal. It is her first season of competition. What must she do academically to be eligible the following season?

Bylaw 1.8
Nothing. Continuing eligibility requirements do not apply unless the athlete has used a year of competition. When an injury/illness appeal is granted it is as if the limited competition did not exist.

QUESTION
If the above volleyball player was in her second season when the injury occurred, the appeal only removes the second year of competition. Therefore if she returns to play the following season, the 24 unit and 2.0 gpa rules would still apply. The calculations would begin the fall of her first season.

QUESTION
A softball player suffers a season ending injury in the third game of the season. The letter describing the nature of the injury, the date it occurred, and the fact that it is season ending is from a chiropractor. Can the appeal be granted.

Bylaw 1.8.B
No. A physician is a person licensed under the California Medical Practice act who has a "physician's and surgeon's certificate." Chiropractors are not licensed under the Medical Practice Act, nor do they receive "physician's and surgeon's certificates.

QUESTION
A football player plays in one of a college's first five games. He suffers a season ending injury on the Wednesday before the sixth game of the 10 game schedule. Can he be granted an injury/illness appeal?

Bylaw 1.8.C
Yes. The injury occurred before the CONTEST that that begins the second half of the playing season.

QUESTION
A volleyball team is in a pool play tournament the first week of the season. There are six teams in a pool. In the last game of pool play a player suffers a season ending injury. For injury/illness purposes how many games has she appeared in.

Bylaw 1.8.H.3
For injury waiver purposes we count contest for contest. For this purpose she has played in five contests. The day of pool play will also count as five completed contests in determining the total number of contests for the waiver.

QUESTION
A cross country runner successfully completes the season. He is on the track team the following spring, and is injured in the first meet. He has surgery and is out for the season. His injury/illness appeal is approved.
He wants to transfer to another community college to run cross country the next year. He argues that because his injury appeal was granted, his track competition did not count therefore he is not a transfer.

Bylaw 1.8 and Bylaw 1.10.1
He is correct that the appeal erases his track competition, but transfer is determined by where the student last competed, not where they last attended. The fall cross country competition makes him a transfer student.

QUESTION
A student attends a California community college and competes in swimming for one season. She transfers to a four year college and takes a full load of classes for two years. She then goes back to a second California community college and wants to play water polo. Is she eligible?

Bylaw 1.10.1
No. Transfer is determined by where the athlete last competed, not necessarily where the athlete last attended. For athletic eligibility purposes she is transferring from one California community college to a second one, without satisfying the transfer rule.

QUESTION
A basketball player decides to attend community college "A". She is enrolled in a basketball class that is recommended for varsity basketball players. After the first week she decides she does not like the college. She drops all her classes and enrolls in community college "B". Can she play basketball at "B"?

Bylaw 1.15.3
No. Once a student athlete attends ANY intercollegiate athletic class at a community college that student is considered as attending that college for eligibility purposes and is not eligible at any other community college during the season of the sport.

QUESTION
Community college A sends a tracer to community college B. College B indicated that the athlete practiced one day with them and if he had stayed probably would not have played much, but that they will "forget about it" so that the student can play at college A. Is this allowable.

Bylaw 1.15.4
A student athlete may only practice with one California community college in any season of sport. Also, coaches or colleges do not have the authority to set aside an article of the Constitution. Should they do so, they are subject to conference sanctions.

QUESTION
A college drops a sport. Must those athletes meet all the requirements of the Constitution to compete at another community college?

Bylaw 1.17
Not necessarily. Bylaw 1.17 outlines the criteria that must be met for an exception to be met. The conference commissioner has the authority to grant the waiver.

QUESTION
What are the guidelines for an athletic web page for a California community college?

Bylaw 2.12
Athletic web pages are allowable as long as they can only be accessed through the college's home page. Athletic web pages can not stand alone. The college's athletic camps or clinics can be advertised on the athletic web site if the above criteria are followed.
Advertising an institution's web address out of the recruitment area is acceptable, unless it specifically lists an athletic web address.
Using any reference to athletics with the institution's web address outside the recruitment area is prohibited. For example, having a billboard with an athlete on it with the institution's web address.

QUESTION
What is an agent?

Bylaw 2.2.2
An agent can be ANYONE whose actions are designed to benefit a specific community college's athletic program. An agent can be a college staff member, players, ex-players, parents/relatives/friends of players, alumni, high school coaches/teachers, etc.

Bylaw 2.2.3
Agents can be encouraged by an athletic department's program or they can exist without the knowledge of the program. In the latter case as soon as the community college becomes aware of an agent, they must take steps to stop the activity

QUESTION
Can any staff member at a community college actively recruit athletes in the community college's contiguous district?

Bylaw 2.8.2
Yes. But only if they have attended a certification and information meeting regarding Constitution rules and regulations at least once a year, as required in bylaw 2.8.2.

QUESTION
After 10 successful years coaching at a San Diego area high school, the head football coach takes a job at a Northern California community college. He is invited back to be the keynote speaker at the high school's football awards banquet. Can he accept the invitation?

Bylaw 2.10
Only is he can be introduced without mentioning his association with a California community college. By appearing as the keynote speaker he runs the risk of representing his college and it's programs.

QUESTION
A community college alumnus wants to donate money to the college foundation, and create funds for an athletic scholarship that is based on athletic talent and academic achievement as two of the criteria. Can this be done?

Bylaw 2.11.3
A December 1998 memo from the COA Executive Committee, states that student athletes who have COMPLETED their athletic eligibility at the community college may receive a grant to continue their education. These awards are to be granted at the completion of the athlete's eligibility term and shall NOT BE USED AS AN INDUCEMENT to attend the college.

QUESTION
If a college has been found to be in violation the recruitment rules for the second time during the period of probation or in the three -year period following probation, are the penalties completely up to the conference hearing board?

Bylaw 2.13.3
No. Bylaw 2.13.3.A requires that there be a loss of participation in post season competition for one, some or all of the intercollegiate programs at the college. The conference then has the option to impose other penalties.

QUESTION
Does the season of sport start on a certain date, with the start of practice, or when games are first played?

Bylaw 3.1
The season of sport is defined as starting with the first day of the COA allowable practice date and ends with the completion of conference competition, except for those who have qualified for post-season competition.

QUESTION
A football player decides he does not like college "A" after three days of practice. He then enrolls in college "B" and wants to play soccer the same semester. Is he eligible?

Bylaw 3.5.5
The phrase "season of sport" refers to all COA sanction sports during that time period, not just the same sport

QUESTION
A water polo team pulls out of a tournament the day before it is to begin. The host coach wants to continue with the format, so he divides his team into two teams for the tournament. Can he do this?

Bylaw 3.14.4
Yes. However the tournament now counts as two contests per day for that college.

QUESTION
A California community college's baseball team has a car wash in October. Can they use these funds to help finance the off campus fall program?

Bylaw 3.17.3
No. No college of district funds may be used to support any unofficial team in any practices or competitions that is out of season. The car wash was for the baseball team, so the funds become college funds.

QUESTION
When the sport rule book and the COA decorum policy differ, which set of rules are used?

Bylaw 4.3.2
This bylaw states that when the rule book and the COA decorum policy differ, the most stringent shall be enforced.

QUESTION
During a baseball game a base runner and the short stop get into a fight at second base. Both benches run out to second base as well as all of the players on the field. They mill around in a threatening manner, except for the right fielder who jumps on the back of the base runner. How many decorum violations occurred and what are the penalties?

Bylaw 4.3
This is a situation where we need to utilize both sets of rules. The NCAA baseball rulebook gives an ejection and a three game suspension if you leave your position and become involved in the fight. The two who were actually fighting are ejected and have a next game suspension, and all of those who left the bench or their positions (even though they did not fight) are ejected(COA decorum) and must sit out the nest game. Because everyone was ejected the game is a double forfeit, and both teams will have to forfeit the next game because of lack of players.

QUESTION
A baseball coach is removed from a game for arguing with the umpire. The written report states that the coach was disqualified, but in the written description of the incident it is clear that the coach continually used profanity.

Bylaw 4.3
The COA constitution states that the use of profanity is verbal abuse and is therefore an ejection. The umpire's decision needs to be changed, and the coach is charged with one decorum violation. He sits out the next game.

QUESTION
A soccer player, other than the goal keeper, received a red card for touching the ball with her hand in the goal area. Does she have to sit out the next game?

FIFA rules state that any player who is removed from a contest must sit out the next game.

QUESTION
At the conclusion of a football game there is a fight that involves many players from both teams. The officials have already left the field when it occurred. Are there penalties?

Colleges are responsible for enforcing the Constitution. Even though the officials have left the field, violations have occurred. The involved colleges and the conference commissioner(s) are responsible to identify those in violation and apply the appropriate penalties.

QUESTION
Since game officials are the one who eject participants, shouldn't they determine the penalty?

Bylaw 4.3 and bylaw 4.4.
No. Officials usually are not aware of the specifics of our decorum rules. In many cases sanctions for ejection are different in rule books and the COA Constitution. The Conference Commissioner makes the determination.

QUESTION
Isn't it the responsibility of the officials to report an ejection, because they are the ones who ejected the player?

Bylaw 4.8.1
No it is the coach's responsibility to report the names and circumstances to the athletic director within 24 hours. The Athletic Director shall immediately inform the conference commissioner.

QUESTION
What if the above coach claims he did not know reporting was his responsibility?

Bylaw 4.8.3
If this is the case, then the college is not fulfilling it's responsibility. The college must make sure that EVERY person participating in a California community college athletic event receives a copy of the decorum policy and
provides a written acknowledgment of understanding.

QUESTION
What does a college have to do if they want to add a program to their athletic offerings?

Bylaw 5.6.2
Written notice shall be provided to the conference and the Executive Director in order to be sanctioned for conference competition. This should be done as early as possible.

QUESTION
A college is hosted in a conference that has rules that are in conflict with those of the college's home conference. What rules does the hosted college follow?

Bylaw 5.6.3
The host conference's rules for the specific sport(s) must be followed.

QUESTION
It looks like our basketball team is going to make it into post season for the first time in many years. How can we find the post conference rules?

Bylaw 6.2.1
In the Sport Guide. Each COA sanctioned sport has a guide that outlines the procedures and rules relative to that sports post conference competition.