Student Life, Student Eligibility, and Recognition

Petition for Use of Athletics Eligibility While Enrolled in a Fifth Year of Undergraduate Coursework or as a Graduate Student[1]

The Department of Athletics seeks to support Notre Dame’s mission to educate and develop the young men and women enrolled as students at the University. The establishment and maintenance of athletics programs that both serve as models of excellence and support the high academic aspirations of the University stand central to its educational objectives.

In pursuit of these goals, the University expects student-athletes to complete their undergraduate academic programs within the usual time (normally four years), including summer classes when appropriate. The NCAA permits a student-athlete four years of athletics eligibility within the five-year period beginning on the date of enrollment. The Faculty Board on Athletics exercises the responsibility for determining whether any student-athlete who initially matriculated at Notre Dame or who transferred into Notre Dame may participate in athletics at Notre Dame while enrolled in a fifth year of undergraduate coursework or as a graduate student any time after completion of his or her undergraduate degree.

In order for the Faculty Board on Athletics to consider a student-athlete’s petition for use of athletics eligibility while enrolled in a fifth year of undergraduate coursework, or as a graduate student any time after completion of his or her undergraduate degree, the following must occur:

1. The student-athlete must complete the form prescribed for a petition to participate in athletics during a fifth year of undergraduate coursework or as a graduate student.

a. Absent extraordinary circumstances, a Notre Dame student-athlete who will pursue a fifth year of undergraduate coursework or enroll as a graduate student must complete this form as follows: for summer session or fall semester enrollment, no later than March 31 (for fall and winter sports) or May 1 (for spring sports) of the prior term; and for spring semester enrollment, no later than the third Wednesday in December of the prior term. Coaches making such petitions must ordinarily expect to provide fifth-year scholarship funding for that student-athlete at least at the level during the missed year of competition.

b. Absent extraordinary circumstances, a graduate of another college or university who seeks to exhaust his or her athletics eligibility at Notre Dame must complete this form at least one week prior to receipt of room and board expenses at Notre Dame, and in any event no later than June 1 prior to the student-athlete’s summer session enrollment at Notre Dame, no later than July 15 prior to the student-athlete’s fall term enrollment at Notre Dame, or no later than the third Wednesday in December prior to the student-athlete’s spring term enrollment at Notre Dame.

2. The student-athlete’s head coach and the director of athletics support the petition; and

3. The compliance office confirms that the student-athlete has eligibility remaining.

Should the above provisions be met, the petition follows one of two tracks depending on whether the student-athlete is petitioning to use his or her remaining eligibility (i) while enrolled in a fifth year of undergraduate coursework or as a degree-seeking graduate student (see “Declaration of Use of Athletics Eligibility”), or (ii) as an unclassified graduate student (see “Application for Use of Athletics Eligibility”).

Declaration of Use of Athletics Eligibility While Enrolled in a Fifth Year of Undergraduate Coursework or as a Degree-Seeking Graduate Student

Once a petition for use of athletics eligibility while enrolled in a fifth year of undergraduate coursework or as a degree-seeking graduate student has met the provisions above, the student-athlete must engage in appropriate consultation with the director of academic services for student-athletes or his or her designee, and the appropriate advisor within the degree program, to develop a suitable program of study for the subsequent semester or year. After such consultation, the student-athlete may declare his or her intent to use his or her remaining eligibility while enrolled in a fifth year of undergraduate coursework or as a degree-seeking graduate student.

The director of academic services for student-athletes provides an annual report of these declarations to the Faculty Board on Athletics.

Application for Use of Athletics Eligibility While Enrolled as an Unclassified Graduate Student

Once a petition for use of athletics eligibility while enrolled as an unclassified graduate student has met the provisions above, the student-athlete must file an application for use of athletics eligibility as an unclassified graduate, as follows:

1. The student-athlete must meet with the appropriate faculty member or academic advisor to establish a suitable program of study for the subsequent semester or year. The student’s plan should provide the rationale for the set of courses selected. The plan could spell out, for example, how the courses fit a student’s career interests, prepare the student for future graduate-level study, complement the student’s undergraduate major, or otherwise satisfy some particular educational objective. Unclassified graduate students must enroll in at least nine credit hours graded on an A to F scale per semester, and the student’s schedule must be in conformity with the Graduate School’s Academic Code. Absent extraordinary circumstances, a student-athlete may use no more than three credits of directed-readings, special-studies, or independent-study courses to meet the minima set out in this section, and any such courses must be fully described in the academic plan and approved by the relevant department chair or director of undergraduate studies; and

2. The student-athlete must submit the academic plan to the director of academic services for student-athletes for approval. As used here, “approved” means a determination that the student is eligible for and qualified to take the courses indicated in the plan.

Once the director of academic services for student-athletes approves the application, the application is submitted to the Faculty Board on Athletics for its review. The Subcommittee on Academic Integrity is authorized by the Faculty Board on Athletics to approve routine applications with the proviso that all board members will be notified of subcommittee meetings so that they are able to give their input on the applications. In reviewing applications for use of athletics eligibility while enrolled as an unclassified graduate student, the Faculty Board on Athletics may consider:

1. the extent to which approval of the application would serve the best interests of the student-athlete and the institution;

2. the student-athlete’s disciplinary history, including the Faculty Board on Athletics’ consultation with the Office of Student Affairs or the Graduate School; and

3. any other information the Faculty Board on Athletics deems relevant.

Additional Condition Attached to any Application for Use of Athletics Eligibility while Enrolled as an Unclassified Graduate Student

A student-athlete enrolled as an unclassified graduate student must finish the semester with a 2.0 semester grade-point-average or pass nine credits to be eligible for participation in post-season competition that occurs between terms.

Notre Dame Athletics Transfer-Related Policies

A student-athlete who provides written notification of transfer while a member of an intercollegiate athletic team generally will continue to have access to the following services: Academic Services for Student-Athletes; Sports Medicine, which includes the sports psychologists embedded within Athletics; and Student Welfare and Development programming. The expectation of retaining access to sports medicine services is intended to allow care for an injury/medical condition sustained while participating as a member of a Notre Dame varsity athletics program. The foregoing services can be denied by the sport administrator, in consultation with the head coach and the Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) or his or her designee, in extraordinary circumstances such as the presence of a “no contact” order, previous dismissal or suspension from the team, or abuse of the privilege to utilize such services. Access to additional services, such as nutrition, training table and strength and conditioning, will be determined by the sport administrator, in consultation with the head coach and the FAR or his or her designee.

Continued access to the services listed above may be evaluated by the sport administrator, in consultation with the head coach and the FAR or his or her designee, at any point while the student-athlete remains in the NCAA Transfer Database. If a student-athlete is denied access to any of the services listed above or if a student-athlete is eligible for a one-time transfer exception and the student-athlete’s request for a one-time transfer exception is denied by the Director of Athletics, the student-athlete is informed, in writing, that he or she, upon written request to the FAR, has an opportunity for a hearing. Information about the appeals process is described in part III.

Team Captains

Throughout the year, slates of candidates for team captaincies come before the board for approval. Team captains must demonstrate high standards of conduct and strong leadership. Candidates for team captaincies must be in good academic standing. The board has authorized its chair to approve on its behalf any nomination falling clearly within board guidelines. In the event the board disapproves a candidate, it then determines if the position should remain vacant, be occupied temporarily by the coach’s choice(s), or be filled through another election.

The Byron V. Kanaley Award

Byron V. Kanaley, a 1904 graduate of the University, epitomized the type of student this award, which he founded, seeks to honor. As a student at Notre Dame, he played varsity baseball, served on the debating team and became president of his class. He went on to great success in Chicago, excelling in both real estate and finance. He never lost his affection for Notre Dame, however, which he served as a member, and later as president, of its lay board of trustees, and as president of its alumni association.

Each spring, remembering this outstanding alumnus, the Faculty Board on Athletics bestows the Byron V. Kanaley Award on senior monogram winners[2] deemed most exemplary as student-athletes and as leaders. In making its selections, the board invites each head coach to submit a letter of recommendation for that member of the team who best qualifies for the award. Multiple awards may be made in one year, and the board generally works toward consensus on all winners. Typically, the board considers the quality of the nominees’ academic and athletic achievements, as well as their demonstrated leadership. NCAA regulations restrict the nature and value of award mementos.

The Academic Honors Program for Student-Athletes

This program identifies student-athletes of exceptional academic achievement and promise, pairs them with faculty mentors in the student-athletes’ current or intended disciplines, and offers assistance in preparing these student-athletes to apply for a wide range of awards, grants, and postgraduate scholarships. A number of board members serve as faculty mentors to these gifted student-athletes.

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