Touch Line is a soccer student-athlete at Ocean State University (OSU).  Touch tore her ACL during the 4th game of the season and was told by the doctors that she will not be cleared to compete until after the season is over.

Can OSU file a hardship waiver to get this season of competition back for Touch?

Yes.  The totality of the circumstances will determine if Touch will be granted the waiver.

Division I NCAA Bylaw 12.8.4 states that a student-athlete may be granted an additional year of competition by the conference or the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement for reasons of “hardship.” Hardship is defined as an incapacity resulting from an injury or illness that has occurred under all of the following conditions: (Revised: 1/10/92 effective 8/1/92, 1/14/97, 8/1/97, 4/26/01 effective 8/1/01, 11/1/01, 4/3/02, 8/8/02, 3/10/04, 5/11/05, 9/18/07, 11/1/07 effective 8/1/08, 4/24/08, 7/31/14)

(a) The incapacitating injury or illness occurs in one of the four seasons of intercollegiate competition at any two-year or four-year collegiate institutions or occurs after the first day of classes in the student-athlete’s senior year in high school;
(b) The injury or illness occurs prior to the first competition of the second half of the playing season that concludes with the NCAA championship in that sport (see Bylaw 12.8.4.3.4) and results in incapacity to compete for the remainder of that playing season;

(c) In team sports, the injury or illness occurs when the student-athlete has not participated in more than three contests or dates of competition (whichever is applicable to that sport) or 30 percent (whichever number is greater) of the institution’s scheduled or completed contests or dates of competition in his or her sport. Only scheduled or completed competition against outside participants during the playing season that concludes with the NCAA championship, or, if so designated, during the official NCAA championship playing season in that sport (e.g., spring baseball, fall soccer), shall be countable under this limitation in calculating both the number of contests or dates of competition in which the student-athlete has participated and the number of scheduled or completed contests or dates of competition during that season in the sport. Dates of competition that are exempted (e.g., alumni contests, foreign team in the United States) from the maximum permissible number of contests or dates of competition shall count toward the number of contests or dates in which the student-athlete has participated and the number of scheduled or completed contests or dates of competition in the season, except for scrimmages and exhibition contests that are specifically identified as such in the sport’s Bylaw 17 playing and practice season regulations. Scrimmages and exhibition contests that are not exempted from the maximum permissible number of contests or dates of competition may be excluded from the calculation only if they are identified as such in the sport’s Bylaw 17 playing and practice season regulations; and

(d) In individual sports, the injury or illness occurs when the student-athlete has not participated in more than three dates of competition or 30 percent (whichever number is greater) of the maximum permissible number of dates of competition as set forth in Bylaw 17 plus one date for a conference championship (e.g., gymnastics: 13+1=14, wrestling: 16+1=17), regardless of whether the team participates in the conference championship, provided the institution is a member of a conference and the conference holds a championship event in the applicable sport. Dates of competition that are exempted per Bylaw 17 (e.g., alumni contests, foreign team in the United States) from the maximum permissible number of dates of competition do not count toward the number of dates in which the student-athlete has participated.

Division II NCAA Bylaw 14.2.5 states that a student-athlete may be granted an additional year of competition by the conference or the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement for reasons of “hardship.” Hardship is defined as an incapacity resulting from an injury or illness that has occurred under all of the following conditions: (Revised: 1/14/02 effective 8/1/02)

(a) The incapacitating injury or illness occurs in one of the four seasons of intercollegiate competition at any two-year or four-year collegiate institution; (Revised: 1/10/92 effective 8/1/92)

(b) The injury or illness occurs prior to the first competition of the second half of the playing season that concludes with the NCAA championship in that sport (see Bylaw 14.2.5.2.3) and results in an incapacity to compete for the remainder of that playing season; and (Revised: 1/14/97 effective 8/1/97, 1/14/02 effective 8/1/02, 1/13/03 effective 8/1/03 for any injury or illness occurring on or after 8/1/03, 1/21/17 effective 8/1/17 for any incapacitating injury or illness, or other extenuating circumstance occurring on or after 8/1/17)

(c) The injury or illness occurs when the student-athlete has not participated in more than three contests or dates of competition (whichever is applicable to that sport), or 30 percent of the maximum permissible number of contests or dates of competition set forth in Bylaw 17 in his or her sport (see Bylaw 14.2.5.2.5.1.1 for information regarding percent calculation in track and field). Competition (excluding scrimmages and exhibition contests per Bylaw 17 in the applicable sport) against outside participants during the playing season that concludes with the NCAA championship, or, if so designated, during the official NCAA championship playing season in that sport (e.g., spring baseball, fall soccer), shall be countable under this limitation. (Revised: 1/10/92, 1/14/97 effective 8/1/97, 1/14/02 effective 8/1/02, 4/29/04, 1/10/05 for any competition occurring on or after 8/1/04, 1/17/09 effective 8/1/09, 1/16/13, 1/21/17 effective 8/1/17 for any incapacitating injury or illness, or other extenuating circumstance occurring on or after 8/1/17)

Division III NCAA Bylaw 14.2.5 states that a student-athlete may be granted an additional year of participation (per Bylaw 14.2.4) by the conference or the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement for reasons of “hardship.” Hardship is defined as an incapacity resulting from a season-ending injury or illness that has occurred under all of the following conditions: (Revised: 1/12/04 effective 8/1/04 for any athletics participation occurring on or after 8/1/04, 8/23/07)

(a) The season-ending injury or illness occurs before the completion of the first half of the traditional playing season in that sport for the season being waived and results in incapacity to compete for the remainder of the traditional playing season. The first half of the traditional playing season is measured by the maximum contest or date of competition (whichever is applicable to that sport) limitation in each sport as set forth in Bylaw 17 plus one contest or date of competition. For cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field, see Bylaw 14.2.5.2.5.1; and (Revised: 1/10/05 for any competition occurring on or after 8/1/04, 1/9/06, 8/23/07, 1/16/10 effective for injuries or illnesses that occur before 8/1/10, 4/13/10)

(b) The season-ending injury or illness occurs when the student-athlete has not competed in more contests or dates of competition than a number equivalent to one-third of the standard denominator, where the standard denominator is determined by the maximum number of contests or dates of competition plus one contest or date of competition (see Bylaw 14.2.5.2.5.1). For cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field, see Bylaw 14.2.5.2.5.1. Only competition (excluding preseason scrimmages and exhibition contests but including scrimmages and exhibitions after the first regularly scheduled contest) against outside participants during the traditional playing season, or, if so designated, during the official NCAA championship playing season in that sport (e.g., spring baseball, fall soccer), shall be countable under this limitation in calculating the number of contests or dates of competition in which the student-athlete has competed. [See Figure 14-1] (Revised: 1/10/92, 1/14/97 effective 8/1/97, 1/10/05 for any competition occurring on or after 8/1/04, 4/7/05, 1/9/06, 8/23/07, 1/16/10 effective for injuries or illnesses that occur before 8/1/10, 4/13/10, 10/18/16 effective 10/18/16)

Categories: Compliance

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