Frequently Asked Questions - College Student-Athletes

1. Does the Mountain West Conference have a transfer rule for students that transfer from one conference institution to another?

• Yes. The Mountain West Conference rule is the Intra-Conference Transfer Rule. The rule applies to student-athletes who have received an athletic scholarship at the previous Mountain West Conference institution, or, in the case of an Air Force student-athlete, was a varsity athletics award winner. The student-athlete in the situations listed above would have to meet the following conditions before being eligible for competition at the next Mountain West Conference institution:

• The student-athlete must complete an academic year of full time enrollment at the new Mountain West Conference institution;
• The student-athlete must lose one of his or her remaining seasons of eligibility;
• The student-athlete will not be permitted to receive an athletic scholarship his or her first year at the new Mountain West Conference institution.

     This rule would not apply if the first Mountain West Conference institution discontinues the student-athlete's sport.

2. What NCAA academic requirements must student-athletes meet in order to be eligible for competition?

• Each academic year a student-athlete must earn at least 24 credit hours if the institution is on the semester system or 36 credit hours if the institution is on the quarter system. After the student-athlete's second year the hours earned must be a part of the student-athlete's designated degree program.
• Student-athletes must declare a degree prior to entering the third year of enrollment or at the latest upon entering the third year of enrollment.
• Beginning with the third year of enrollment, a student-athlete must have completed at least 40% of his or her degree program. Beginning with the fourth year of enrollment, a student-athlete must have completed at least 60% of his or her degree program and beginning with the fifth year of enrollment, a student-athlete must have completed at least 80% of his or her degree program.
• Regarding grade-point averages, a student-athlete entering his or her third year of enrollment must have a grade-point average that equals 90% of the institution's overall grade point average. Entering the fourth and subsequent years of enrollment, the student-athlete must have a grade-point average that equals at least 95% of the institution's overall grade-point average.

3. Can student-athletes participate in voluntary workouts with coaches outside of the playing season?

• Yes. Student-athletes may participate in voluntary workouts with coaches provided the workouts are for no more than two hours per week and no more than four student-athletes at a time are involved in the workout.

4. What is considered a voluntary workout?

     In order for a workout to be considered "voluntary" all of the following conditions must be met:

• The student-athlete must not be required to report back to a coach or other athletics department staff member (e.g., strength coach, trainer, manager) any information related to the activity. In addition, no athletics department staff member who observes the activity (e.g., strength coach, trainer, manager) may report back to the student-athlete's coach any information related to the activity.
• The activity must be initiated and requested solely by the student-athlete. Neither the institution nor any athletics department staff member may require the student-athlete to participate in the activity at any time. However, it is permissible for an athletics department staff member to provide information to student-athletes related to available opportunities for participating in voluntary activities (e.g., times when the strength and conditioning coach will be on duty in the weight room or on the track). In addition, for student-athletes who have initiated a request to engage in voluntary activities, the institution or an athletics department staff member may assign specific times for student-athletes to use institutional facilities for such purposes and inform the student-athletes of the times in advance.
• The student-athlete's attendance and participation in the activity (or lack thereof) may not be recorded for the purpose of reporting such information to coaching staff members or other student-athletes.
• The student-athlete may not be subject to penalty if he or she elects not to participate in the activity. In addition, neither the institution nor any athletics department staff member may provide recognition or incentives (e.g., awards) to a student-athlete based on his or her attendance or performance in the activity."

[Note: Coaching staff members may be present during permissible skill-related instruction requested by the student-athlete.]