Fan and Booster Information
Are you a Booster?
- You are a booster if you have participated in or are a member of an agency or organization that promotes an institution's intercollegiate athletics program.
- You are a booster if you have made financial contributions to the athletics department or to an athletics booster organization of that institution.
- You are a booster if you have assisted or have been requested (by the athletics department staff) to assist in the recruitment of prospects in accordance with NCAA regulations.
- You are a booster if you are assisting or have assisted in providing benefits (e.g., summer jobs) to enrolled student-athletes or their families.
- You are a booster if you have been involved in otherwise promoting an institution's athletics program.
(If you have been identified as a
booster, you retain that identity indefinitely.)
Recruiting
Generally, a booster may not be involved in the recruiting process. Only coaches and athletics department staff members are permitted to be involved in the recruiting process. If a booster recognizes a talented athlete, please contact an athletics staff member or coach. It is also important to know that a prospect remains a prospect even after he or she signs a National Letter of Intent (NLI) or financial aid agreement to attend the University of Pittsburgh. The prospect does not lose his/her prospect status until the start of classes at the University of Pittsburgh or the beginning of official team practice prior to the start of classes.
A booster MAY NOT:
- A booster MAY NOT have face-to-face contact with prospects or their parents, legal guardian(s), or relatives to encourage them to enroll at an institution.
- A booster MAY NOT telephone or write to prospects or their parents, legal guardian(s), or relatives to encourage them to enroll at an institution.
- A booster MAY NOT pick up films or transcripts relating to a prospect at the prospect's high school or junior college.
- A booster MAY NOT contact a prospect's counselor, principal, or coach in an attempt to evaluate the prospect.
A booster MAY do:
- A booster MAY have contact with a prospect (if, prior to the 9th grade, the booster is an established friend or neighbor) of a prospect as long as you don't try to recruit the prospect on behalf of an institution and such contacts are not made at the direction of an institution's coaching staff.
- A booster MAY have incidental contact (not prearranged by the athletics department) with a prospect as long as no recruitment and only normal civility occurs. Any contact made at the prospect's high school or junior college or at the site of the prospect's practice or game is not considered incidental and is prohibited.
- A booster MAY speak to a prospect via telephone only if the prospect initiates the conversation and the call is not for recruiting purposes. A prospect's questions about athletics must be referred to the athletics department.
- A booster MAY attend a prospect's athletics contest on his or her own initiative, but the booster still may not have contact with the prospect.
Extra Benefits
A booster MAY NOT provide extra benefits to prospects or enrolled student-athletes, or their relatives and friends. If a student-athlete accepts any extra-benefits, he or she will lose all eligibility for intercollegiate athletics participation. Extra benefits include, but are not limited to:
- Providing free or reduced cost services, purchases or housing
- Providing clothes, tickets, gifts or other items with tangible value
- Purchasing meals or services at a commercial establishment
- Providing transportation
- Providing the use of an automobile or the use of personal property (e.g, boats, summer homes, cars)
- Providing cash or loans, regardless of the amount
- Signing or co-signing a loan for a prospect or student-athlete
- Providing or promising the provision or financial aid for postgraduate education
Employment
A booster MAY employ a student-athlete or assist a student-athlete in gaining employment. However, compensation must be paid only for work actually performed and at the same rate that any non-student-athlete would be paid. A booster MAY NOT provide compensation based on the athletic reputation or fame of the student-athlete.
