Booster Information

In this section, you will find answers to some of the most frequently-asked questions about compliance for "representatives of athletics interests", commonly known as "boosters". You are considered a booster if you: 

• Have participated in or are a member of an agency or organization that promotes Wagner's athletics programs;
• Make a financial contribution to Wagner College athletics or its booster organizations (or are a member of these organizations);
• Assist in the recruitment of prospects for Wagner;
• Provide benefits (e.g., jobs, occasional meals) to enrolled student-athletes;
• Have purchased season tickets for any Wagner athletics program; or
• Have otherwise promoted Wagner's athletics programs.

Once you become a booster, you retain that identity forever. As a booster, you are responsible for knowing the NCAA, NEC and Wagner rules that apply to you, and Wagner College is held accountable for your actions. Please use this website as a basic guide to what you need to know, but if you ever have a question about the rules or regulations, please contact the Athletics Compliance Office.

Thank you for your support and Go Seahawks!
 

Common Questions:

As a Wagner Seahawks booster, it seems like there's a lot of things I can't do. What can I do?
If you know of a high school or other prospective student-athlete who might want to attend Wagner, the only permissible activity for a booster is to notify the appropriate coach. Let our coaches take it from there!

Your attendance at Wagner events, donations through our athletic development office, and your support in helping Wagner College follow NCAA rules are all encouraged and appreciated. If you ever have questions about NCAA, Northeast Conference, or institutional rules, what they mean, or what you need to know, never hesitate to contact the Athletics Compliance Office directly.
 
Who is a Prospective Student Athlete ("Prospect")?
A prospective student-athlete ("prospect") is a student who has started classes for the ninth grade. Additionally, a student who has not started classes for the ninth grade becomes a prospective student-athlete if the institution provides such an individual (or the individual's relatives or friends) any financial assistance or other benefits that the institution does not provide to prospective students generally.
 
What can an athletics representative/booster do with "prospects"?
 
An athletics representative may attend a prospective student-athlete's athletics contest (i.e., high school or two-year college) on his or her own initiative. However, it should be understood that the athletics representative may not have contact with the prospect (or his or her family members) on such occasions. If you are ever put in a position where a prospect, or their parents, begin raising questions about Wagner Athletics, please explain that NCAA rules prohibit you from discussing athletics with them. Please direct their inquiries to the Wagner Athletics Department.
 

• You may continue established family relationships with friends and neighbors. Contacts with sons and daughters of those families are permitted as long as they are not made for recruiting purposes and are not prompted by Wagner coaching staff members. You are permitted to engage in your normal activities with prospects and their parents who are family friends.
• Feel free to attend a public event (i.e. awards dinner) at which prospects are in attendance. No attempt should be made to contact or recruit the prospect at these events.

Please note that it would be permissible for you to notify Wagner coaching staff members regarding any prospective student-athletes you know about.
 
May I have contact with prospects?
No.

• Contact with prospective student-athletes for recruiting purposes is prohibited. Contact includes emails, phone calls, letters, face-to-face contact, and social media websites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram).
• You may not have contact with a prospect's coach, principal, or counselor in an attempt to evaluate the prospect.

 What is an "extra benefit"?
An extra benefit is any special arrangement to provide a student-athlete or their relatives or friends with a benefit not expressly authorized by NCAA legislation. Such benefits include, but are not limited to: the provision of any transportation, meals, clothes, entertainment, preferential loan terms, wages not commensurate with duties, or other benefits which are unavailable to the general student population (unrelated to athletics ability).
 
What can I do for current Wagner athletes?

• Feel free to reach out to the Athletics Department or Athletics Compliance office if you are interested in supporting our student-athletes. As a representative of athletics interests, you are allowed to provide a student-athlete or an entire team with an occasional meal. You will need to contact the Athletics Compliance Office, however, before you provide the meal at your home.
• You may pay student-athletes who are employed by you for work actually performed and at a rate commensurate for similar services in the community and your business. Student-athletes are required to complete paperwork before beginning employment.
• You may and are encouraged to notify the head coaches or the athletic department of job possibilities for student-athletes.