The Division I Awards, Benefits, Expenses and Financial Aid Cabinet will sponsor proposals to deregulate rules affecting student-athletes' ability to accept different types of need- and merit-based aid due to the effect those awards have on team limits.

Under current legislation, many types of aid (including some not administered by the institution) count toward a team's maximum financial aid limit, just as an athletics financial aid would count. The cabinet's proposals will address these and other situations that members feel adversely affect both student-athletes and institutions.

The cabinet-sponsored proposals would:

• Exempt all federal need-based financial aid (for example, Supplemental Educational Opportunities Grants) from counting toward a team's maximum financial aid limits
• Exempt state-funded, need-based financial aid from counting toward team limits, provided the aid is administered in accordance with the federal methodology for determining financial need and is not related to athletics ability.
• Exempt state, merit-based aid administered by an institution from counting toward team limits if the criteria satisfy the legislated requirements for an academic honor award or institutional academic scholarship (for example, cumulative grade-point average) and are not related to athletics ability.
• Establish 3.0 as the minimum cumulative GPA necessary to apply existing exemptions for institutional academic scholarships and academic honor awards for transfer students. The 3.0 minimum GPA would also apply to the exception available for recruited football and basketball student-athletes whose only source of institutional financial aid is academic aid based solely on their academic record at the institution, awarded independently of athletics interests and in amounts consistent with the pattern of all such awards made by the institution.
• Exempt all established and continuing outside scholarships from counting toward team limits if the choice of institution is not restricted by the donor and there is no direct connection to an institution. If the total value of all such awards for an individual student-athlete exceeds 10 percent of the value of a full grant-in-aid at the institution, then documentation of how the institution determined the aid was eligible to be exempted must be filed with the institution's conference office.
• Allow student-athletes to replace a signed athletics financial aid agreement with an institutional, non-athletics aid package that is at least equal to the value of the signed financial aid agreement. The replacement must be initiated by the student-athlete and must occur before the student-athlete becomes a counter for the academic year.

The concepts that led to these proposals were presented to the membership multiple times over the last year, and feedback indicated broad support for those that will appear in legislative form this summer. Some of the concepts were supported by more than 90 percent of the responses received. Cabinet chair Grace Calhoun, associate athletics director at Indiana, said she was proud of the work that will be presented to the membership.

"The cabinet put forward legislative proposals that stayed true to the two priorities we established at our first meeting: trying to benefit student-athletes and easing administration," she said. "These are proposals that can assist student-athletes and reduce the burden associated with monitoring compliance with the legislation."

Calhoun acknowledged that allowing student-athletes to replace a signed athletics aid agreement with an institutional non-athletics aid package could, in certain circumstances, have implications for the National Letter of Intent program.

Because the NLI requires an institution to provide a written offer of athletics financial aid, including the terms, conditions, amount and duration of the aid, for the entire academic year (in most cases) at the time the student signs the NLI, altering the athletics aid agreement in any way, even to allow student-athlete to accept a more beneficial institutional aid package, could be problematic. Calhoun said the cabinet will seek guidance from the Collegiate Commissioners Association, which administers the NLI program, on the pros and cons of the proposed change.

The cabinet hopes the proposals will help more student-athletes fund their education.

"The cost of higher education is rising, and everyone is resource-constrained right now," Calhoun said. "We felt that students have to look at more creative ways and be more active in identifying ways to fund their higher education. These proposals, which may allow them to accept funds that they otherwise qualify for without affecting the team's financial aid limit, are a big step in the right direction."

Other proposals

The cabinet will also sponsor several other proposals this cycle. After discussions with the Recruiting and Athletics Personnel Issues Cabinet about changing the definition of a recruited student-athlete, the cabinet voted to sponsor legislation to define a walk-on student-athlete for financial aid purposes. The proposal would define a walk-on as any individual who has not:

• Been provided with an official visit to the institution's campus;
• Had an arranged, in-person, off-campus meeting with a member of the institution's coaching staff (including with the prospect's parents, relatives or legal guardians); or
• Been issued a National Letter of Intent or a written offer of athletically related financial aid from the institution. An individual who is offered athletically related financial aid to attend a summer session before full-time enrollment is not affected.

Under current legislation, counter status is affected by recruited status. Further, one way a prospective student-athlete becomes "recruited" is if the institution initiates or arranges more than one telephone call with the prospective student-athlete (or his or her relatives or legal guardians) for the purpose of recruitment.

Calhoun said that the cabinet decided against recommending a change to the definition of a recruited student-athlete to limit confusion within the membership. Once that decision was made, the cabinet decided proposing a definition of a walk-on for financial aid purposes was the best alternative.

"We set the threshold at a more appropriate level, and we feel that it might enable more students to accept aid without triggering counter status," she said.

Calhoun, whose term on the cabinet expires this summer, said the group set new priorities for the coming year, including, in Bylaw 15, a review of team financial aid limits and head count versus equivalency designations. In Bylaw 16, the cabinet prioritized a review of the departure and return expense restrictions and the maximum values for awards. The cabinet also agreed to prioritize a review of the financial aid module of the NCAA Compliance Assistant software and to continue to prioritize outreach to the financial aid community.