September 4th: Prospect-Aged Siblings

Scoop N. Score is a football prospective student-athlete that will be taking an official visit to Ocean State University in a couple of weeks.  Scoop will be bringing his mom and brother with him.  Scoop’s brother is a sophomore in high school.

Since Scoop’s brother is also prospect-aged, is it permissible for OSU to provide him with meals, lodging, entertainment and transportation expenses?

Yes with conditions.  NCAA Staff Interpretation- 8/31/18- Prospective Student-Athlete’s Prospect-Aged Sibling Receiving Transportation, Meals, Lodging, and/or Entertainment While Accompanying the Prospective Student-Athlete on an Official Visit (I)- states that it is permissible for an institution to provide meals, lodging and/or entertainment during an official visit to a sibling of a prospective student-athlete who is also prospect-aged and/or being recruited by the institution without the visit constituting an official visit for the prospective student-athlete’s sibling, provided no recruitment of the sibling occurs during the visit and he or she is one of the four family members who receives meals, lodging, and/or entertainment.

Further, in bowl subdivision football, it is permissible for an institution to provide transportation expenses to a sibling of a prospective student-athlete who is also prospect-aged and/or being recruited by the institution without the visit constituting an official visit for the prospective student-athlete’s sibling, provided no recruitment of the sibling occurs during the visit and he or she is one of the two family members who receives transportation expenses.

[References: Bylaws 13.5.2.6.2 (exception – transportation expenses for a prospective student-athlete’s family members – bowl subdivision football), 13.6.6.1 (lodging for additional persons), 13.6.7 (entertainment/tickets on official visit), 13.6.7.1 (general restrictions), 13.6.7.7 (meals on official visit), staff interpretation (1/5/17, Item Ref. a), which has been archived and official interpretation (4/27/17, Item Ref. a), which has been archived]