The NCAA’s Legislative Council recently announced that Division I student-athletes can now receive unlimited meals and snacks in conjunction with their athletics participation. This rule will apply to both scholarship student-athletes and walk-ons. Prior to this change, student-athletes only received three meals a day or a food stipend.

Members of the legislative council also voted on a number of other things last Tuesday:

• Require strength and condition coaches to be certified from a nationally accredited certification body;
• Require a school staff member certified in CPR, first aid, and arterial external defibrillation to be present at all physical, countable athletic activities;
• Reduce the penalty for a first positive test for street drugs during championships; and
• Require football players to rest for at least three hours between practices during the preseason. Film review and team meetings will be allowed during this period.

All of the adopted proposals are effective August 1, 2014, with the exception of the strength and conditioning coach certification requirement. The council members voted to delay until August 1, 2015 to allow coaches time to achieve their certification without jeopardizing their employment. No action is considered final until the Division I Board of Directors meets April 24, 2014.

For any questions, feel free to contact Christian Dennie at   cdennie@bgsfirm.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .