< PreviousIn the interest of athletics compliance, the Uni versity of Kentucky and every NCAA institution are responsible for monitoring the activities of the department of athlet- ics. The NCAA rules were developed to en- sure that members of the institu tion’s staff, student-athletes and other individuals or groups representing the institution’s athlet- ics interests comply with the NCAA rules and main tain the highest standard of ethical conduct. PRINCIPLES OF INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITY The institution’s responsibility for the conduct of its intercollegiate athletics pro- gram includes responsibility for the actions of its staff members and for the actions of any other individual or organization en- gaged in activities promoting the athletics interests of the institution. The NCAA defines an individual as a rep- resentative of athletics interests or a “boost- er” if he or she: • Has participated in or is a member of an agency or organization promoting UK’s intercollegiate athletics program; • Makes or has made a donation to any of the UK men’s or women’s athletics pro- grams; • Is assisting or has been requested by the UK Athletics Department Staff to assist in the recruitment of prospects (which he or she is NOT permitted to do); • Is assisting or has been requested to pro vide benefits to enrolled student-athletes or their families (which he or she is NOT per mitted to do); • Is the parent or legal guardian of an enrolled student-athlete; or • Has been involved otherwise in pro- moting the UK athletics program. A person is considered a representative of athletics interests of the University of Ken- tucky just by being an alumnus, friend or fan of the University, regardless of whether he or she has made a financial contribution to the University and/or the intercollegiate ath- letics program. Remember, a representative of athletics Interests is responsible for making the Uni- versity of Kentucky’s Compliance Office aware of an), potential violations of NCAA rules he or she knows have occurred. Ac- cording to the CAA, once an individual has been identified as an athletics representative, he or she retains this identity forever, even if that person no longer contributes to the ath- letics program. PRINCIPLES OF RULES COMPLIANCE The Athletics Compliance Office works to identify and reduce areas of risk within the athletics program that could negative- ly impact the University of Kentucky. If a problem arises, 1t is the responsibility of the Athletics Compliance Office to determine how the problem occurred, how it could have been prevented and how to reduce the chances of it occurring in the future. The two main functions of the Athletics Com- pliance Office are to educate and monitor. The Compliance Staff meets regularly with coaches and student-athletes to provide in- formation and materials on the applications of the complexities of the NCAA bylaws and at the same time provide as much informa- tion as possible to the University of Ken- tucky community. The staff also monitors the functions of the athletics department that are governed by NCAA legislation. A misconception about the role of the Athletics Compliance Office is that because UK has an ath letics compliance office, no problems will occur. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Many people are involved in the operation of an athletics pro gram who make decisions daily that affect the pro- gram positively or negatively. Just as having a fire station does not prevent fires from oc- curring, a compliance office cannot stop vi- olations from occurring within an athletics program. All compo nents within an athlet- ics program must work to gether and each function properly, effectively and efficiently to insure compliance. It must be a shared responsibility. Each person interested in UK athletics assists the athletics program by knowing and complying with NCAA rules. Follow compliance updates on Face- boOk (University of Kentucky Compliance) and Twitter (@ukcompliance). What is Athletics Compliance? n Compliance Corner @UKSportsNetwork 79Next >