Compliance Officers’ Guide to Navigating NCAA Student-Athlete Reinstatement Cases Involving Amateurism Violations

This research examined all 430 amateurism student-athlete reinstatement (SAR) cases between 2004 and 2006. This paper reports on the trends in the SAR staff decision making process, including the benchmark results of cases on the basis of the bylaw violated by the athlete and the mitigating factors considered by the SAR staff. Results indicated athletes violating professional teams and agent legislation face the most significant penalties, and the SAR staff permits mitigating factors such as unique personal circumstances and the actions of the athlete to influence the penalty issued. These findings lead to practical recommendations and prudent practices for compliance officers, coaches, athletes, and other stakeholders in intercollegiate athletics. Further, this research may serve academicians who wish to be of service and provide meaningful contributions to contemporary intercollegiate athletics policy. The implemented research method that examines the written case analysis of the SAR staff may serve as a useful paradigm for future research addressing the policy concerns of academics and practitioners in the field