NCAA on high school kid and prize money

mum and dad aren't runners but know about letsrun

wow, these are world famous message boards

It’s called google thats how we know about it

Klamm should be able to help you, but you must contact him immediately. He is a hard man to access, but he will offer a solution should you be granted an audience!

I am a D1 runner and I know several prominent D1 runners who compete in road races over the summer in order to win the prize money. The NCAA rules are that you cannot win money from an NCAA sport, and the NCAA does not sponsor road races, so you can win as much money as you want from a road race. It's kinda a loophole, but its technically totally fine according to the NCAA. If the money comes from a race on the track, it is a different story.

That’s good news! It is pretty scary to think that a mistake as a sophomore in high school can destroy your ability to run in college. Thanks for the info it puts mind at ease.

per NCAA Rules you can accept prize money up to the expenses of the race as an amateur; including food, travel, gear, entry fee. If the prize is only a couple hundred dollars you could easily justify all that and not be in any trouble. Also, even if you did break rules, any D1 school is going to have a compliance department that can make everything ok as long as you're willing to make it ok and help you do so.

Don't worry at all

every other answer is stupid wrote:

per NCAA Rules you can accept prize money up to the expenses of the race as an amateur; including food, travel, gear, entry fee. If the prize is only a couple hundred dollars you could easily justify all that and not be in any trouble. Also, even if you did break rules, any D1 school is going to have a compliance department that can make everything ok as long as you're willing to make it ok and help you do so.

Don't worry at all

+1

If it’s acceptable to do, you should have no problem providing their names.

college athlete wrote:

I am a D1 runner and I know several prominent D1 runners who compete in road races over the summer in order to win the prize money. The NCAA rules are that you cannot win money from an NCAA sport, and the NCAA does not sponsor road races, so you can win as much money as you want from a road race. It's kinda a loophole, but its technically totally fine according to the NCAA. If the money comes from a race on the track, it is a different story.

NCAA does care about road racing, it is NOT a loophole. Running is running no matter where you do it. Make no difference if a basketball player is playing for money in the streets or on the court, etc; same premise.

Now there is one loophole, You cannot accept prizes above value of expenses ONLY if the prize is a direct cash equivalent. (Cash, Giftcards, etc). Non Cash equivalent prizes have no limits, you could win a car, or a vacation to the Bahamas for all the NCAA cares.

I think the bigger concern is your 15 year old kid running a marathon. That'll scare colleges away more than a few bucks.

We didn’t even really think twice about that race until he was filling in his NCAA profile. We are willing to do whatever necessary to make it right so if it is an issue I’m glad the schools compliance officer will be able to help should the need arise

Should have just lied. Trust me they're not going to check

Concerned east coast dad wrote:

We didn’t even really think twice about that race until he was filling in his NCAA profile. We are willing to do whatever necessary to make it right so if it is an issue I’m glad the schools compliance officer will be able to help should the need arise

No ones gonna say anything or know unless you tell people...

Where is college athlete with list of names?

Trust me, the majority of college coaches don't even know the rule. From the statements on this thread, most others don't know them as well. NCAA does not differentiate between track, cross and road. The rule was changed several years ago to allow for prize money up to and including the cost of competition. That has been interpreted as the cost of the entire year! Shoes, travel, gear, entry fees, coaching, etc. Most runners, unless you're a high level professional, can write it off. The rule was changed by the NCAA to allow for Tennis professionals to still play in school. There is even a collegiate professional running association which offers prize money in its events ONLY for collegiate runners! Some schools and conferences have their own rules. I believe the Ivy League does not allow any prize money, but that may have changed. Now, rules covering prize money before college are vague. Best to go with NCAA rule and don't even report it to the clearing house.

This is not meant to bash.

What ruined his college career is running a marathon in college.

runn wrote:

This is not meant to bash.

What ruined his college career is running a marathon in college.

Correct that!!!

I meant running a marathon in high school.

Bad move.

Undo it by resting and cutting back mileage.

We are currently going through this with a compliance officer. You can not include gear or coaching. Just expenses. I believe you may just have to return money that exceeds expenses. I don't think you need to worry.

If your kid is being recruited or is going to walk on, then talk with the coach about it. The coach will likely call in the compliance officer who will know the ramifications and how to rectify if necessary.

The worst thing that probably happens is that you have to donate the amount of the prize money to a charity.