This subject has been discussed here before, but I have yet to see the definitive answer.
Can non-students train with a NCAA D-1 team?
You hear about Torres training at CU, or Cragg at Arkansas, but at my school, we were told one of our alums (who had exhausted his XC eligibility) couldn't run with us.
So what is the deal? can they or not?
Yeah they can.
In general no, alums cannot, but there are certain circumstances where they can.
1. The alum signs up as a volunteer assistant coach. Unfortunately, the NCAA limits the number of assistant coaches a team can have.
2. Qualify as an "Elite Athlete". There is a NCAA bylaw that allows alumni who are fast enough to continue training with the college team. I had a teammate that used his Power Bar sponsorship and his USATF qualifying time to qualify under this way. Essentially Torres, Cragg etc. would all qualify.
Those are the two ways that I know of that are officially legal. There is probably at least one more way.
3. Your schools compliance officer is not a total bitch, who hates your team. Because really, if your coach is ok with it, is it really hurting anyone to if there is one more person going on a distance run (which is probably off school property), or running around the track?
I've seen it happen a lot of times. Seems to me that if a coach wants to train someone it's their time, so it's their choice. I guess you get into the problems of using the facilities if an administrator has a problem with it but I never knew there were actual rules about it.
along the same lines of ridiculous rules that no one follows. student-athletes are supposed to turn in their training shoes once they are done with them. they can keep NO GEAR.
I know the Reebock Enclave trained at Georgetown under Gagliano but not with the Georgetown team. Holman and Kenah were not doing any official workouts with their ex-teammates. I think this is a rule that no one really cares about and I have never seen a penalty for it. I do not know any official rule, though or what the consequences may be for having collegiates train with non-collegiates.
Would the college be fined or would the college athletes lose eligibility? The NCAA is a strange beast so who knows?
Mister De Beaumarchais...what a french-quaint name!
toro wrote:
I know the Reebock Enclave trained at Georgetown under Gagliano but not with the Georgetown team. Holman and Kenah were not doing any official workouts with their ex-teammates.
occasionally some of the enclave guys would "jump" in intervals with the georgetown team. "unofficially" of course. holman and kenah included.
Don't you have to graduate to be an alum? Torres? Just a technicallity...
You are an alum of the school as long as you have taken and received a grade for one course. Being an alum has nothing to do with graduating.
What about grad students or undergrads who have finished their elegability but not graduated yet?
grad wrote:
What about grad students or undergrads who have finished their elegability but not graduated yet?
I would guess the NCAA would treat this the same. The NCAA cares nothing about "students" but instead only "student-athletes". This is why you go through clearinghouse to gain eligibility in the first place. Once you lose your eligibility (through expiration or penalty) you are no longer a "student-athlete" and I assume would automatically count as an alum (one having received college credit for taking a course).
on the elite athlete thing- how does how good they are have any bearing whether its legal/illegal to run with the team. that seems like a irrelevant distinction.
hannsen wrote:
on the elite athlete thing- how does how good they are have any bearing whether its legal/illegal to run with the team. that seems like a irrelevant distinction.
it just makes it that much more high profile.
Oh so is this why Suzy was a "coaching assistant" at UW?
You would think it would all be the same because that would make perfect sence, but this just happened this year. My roomate who is a 5th year senior and graduating after the fall semester didn't quite make the xc team. Our coach offered him the student-coach coaching position so that he could still legally train with the team but he would only be allowed to run in road races. Our compliance director said no, becuase he still had elgibility remaining in xc, indor and outdoor track. Our simple solution was that he could run a road race, take the prize and then come and show her that he is now a proffesional athlete, and he no longer has elgibility and can be the student-coach. But she said no, becasue accepting the prize would just make him ineligeble, not end his elgibility and thus he could not be the student coach. The solution was that she gave us an extra official red-shirt spot so that he could actually be on the team, and switched into races when people got sick/hurt.
As far as what the cut off is for an eleite athlete is, I am not really sure, but it is as mentioned an entirley arbitary standard if there actually is a written standard.
Sheesh!
No, an alumus or alumna is one who has actually received a degree from a school (high school or college).
Now, if you went to Texas A&M or the University of Texas they do not feel emncumbered by morons who can't graduate, so they have the Association of Former Students, and Texas Ex Students Association (Texas Exes) (respectively) which confer no such granting of degree...just a semester and a class taken, and you're in...
well actually NOT wrote:
No, an alumus or alumna is one who has actually received a degree from a school (high school or college).
Actually no that would be a graduate! Technically an alumnus is a former pupil or student, graduation isn't required.
Phil. wrote:
well actually NOT wrote:No, an alumus or alumna is one who has actually received a degree from a school (high school or college).
Actually no that would be a graduate! Technically an alumnus is a former pupil or student, graduation isn't required.
Maybe technically. But, really, who is going to go around calling themself an alum of a place where they only took a couple classes? That would just be stupid.