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Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Ed Hayward Responds
Ed Hayward Responds
March 12, 2003
Question from James Johnson: I'm interested in going to graduate school for sports administration. Is compliance a good field to help me get into college athletics? Can you give me pros and cons?
A: If I would give you advice, I would tell you to go into the
business aspects: sales, fundraising or business manager. When funding is
low, these individuals become extremely important to the functions of the
office.
Pros: Every Division I institution needs someone to interpret rules.
They are constantly changing.
Cons: Everyone blames the bad stuff on compliance when most times we
are just the bearer of bad news. It is also a thankless job.
Question from Tiffany Underhill: It seems the coaches are getting good athletes and the compliance office is taking them away. IF FAU wants to be a National contender, shouldn't you be helping get the athletes in?
A: The compliance office does not take away from the team we simply process information given. Often we can advise on alternatives or what needs to happen for the athlete to become eligible. However, if a student-athlete is not eligible, whatever the circumstances, we are compelled to prevent them from playing...which leads to frustrated coaches.
Question from Jonathan Jones: What's up with the recent Boca Raton News article. It said that your office cost the basketball team a player. Aren't you suppose to get them eligible, not take their eligibility away.
A: Yes, we do try to help the coaches to secure the best team possible, however, if the individuals come to our institution ineligible there isn't a whole lot our staff can do.
Question from Shelby Smith: I have heard a lot about the compliance office in the last two years. What exactly do you do?
A: Monitor and educate the staff regarding NCAA rules. We try to be proactive by teaching and educating the coaches on the NCAA rules and/or rule changes. We hope that this helps them evaluate potential FAU athletes prior to offering scholarships and bringing the students to campus as ineligible athletes. It basically involves an extreme amount of documentation to demonstrate or prove compliance with the NCAA Bylaws.
Unfortunately, the times you will hear about our office is when coaches vent their frustration publicly. We (compliance) tend to be easy escape goats, but coaches aren't always right.