NCAA Division II Violations

The use of violations ensures that member institutions remain in compliance with NCAA regulations. At the Division II level, there are two types of violations, secondary and major.

http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/division-ii-begins-rollout-make-it-yours-logo

A secondary violation is a violation that is isolated or inadvertent in nature and provides, or is intended to provide, only a minimal recruiting, competitive or other advantage.1 Additionally, secondary violations do not include any significant impermissible benefits.1 Impermissible benefits include, but are not limited to, an extra benefit, recruiting inducement, preferential treatment, or financial aid.1 Multiple secondary violations by a member institution may be considered a major violation.1 Major violations include all other violations, excluding secondary violations, and especially those that provide a significant recruiting or competitive advantage.1

Most major violations pertain to extra benefits, responsibilities of the head coach, fulfillment of credit hour requirements, two-year college transfers, and an institution's responsibility to certify academic eligibility.2 Among secondary violations, the most common violations involve permissible expenses provided by the institution for practice and competition, comments prior to signing, tryouts, requirements for official visits, and full-time enrollment requirements for practice or competition.2

All violations, secondary and major, must be reported to the NCAA. Secondary violations can be self-reported online where the member institution proposes its own corrective actions or penalties for committing the violation.3 However, if the NCAA feels that the penalty is not sufficient enough, they will be in contact with the institution to make them aware of the more significant repercussions of the violation. The institution’s respective conference office may also enforce corrective actions or penalties as a result of the violation.3 If the eligibility of a prospective student-athlete or enrolled student-athlete was impacted by the violation, the institution’s compliance staff can request that the student-athlete be reinstated by the NCAA student-athlete reinstatement staff.3

The use of violations by the NCAA ensures that member institutions remain in compliance with legislation. Both secondary and major violations result in penalties, although major violations will present more severe repercussions. A student-athlete’s eligibility can also be impacted by violations and, therefore, the student-athlete may need to be reinstated by the NCAA staff.

References

1National Collegiate Athletic Association. (2016). 2016-17 NCAA Division II Manual. Indianapolis, IN: National Collegiate Athletic Association.

2National Collegiate Athletic Association. (2015, October 29). Most Frequently Violated Rules: Division II Infractions Process. Retrieved from http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/enforcementhandouts_DIIViolatedRules_20151029.pdf

3NCAA Enforcement Staff. (2015, September). NCAA Member Resource Guide: Investigating and Reporting Bylaw Infractions to the NCAA Enforcement Staff. Retrieved from http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/MemberResourceGuide_Enforcement.pdf