BYLAWS

Article I Dues

Section A -- The annual dues of the member institutions shall be determined by a vote of member institutions at the winter meeting.

Section B -- A July 1 billing will be sent to each member institution payable no later than October 15.

Section C -- The Executive Committee may levy emergency assessments.

Article II Committees

Section A -- The President shall appoint any committee deemed necessary.

Section B -- Standing Committees

1. Executive Committee

a. This committee shall be responsible for conducting conference business in the interim of regular meetings, levy emergency assessments, hear appeals of the Commissioner's rulings, advise the Commissioner, and serve as a search committee when necessary.

b. Membership of the Executive Committee shall include the officers of the conference and three official representatives (one Senior Woman Administrator, one Faculty Athletics Representative and one Athletics Director. Appointment of non-represented conference members is considered.(10-22-03)

2-4. Committees of Official Representatives which meet in conjunction with each conference meeting

2. Presidents Committee

3. Faculty Athletics Representatives Committee

4. Athletics Directors Committee
            a. The Athletics Directors Committee shall be responsible for:
                 1) Sports regulations
                 2) The conduct of the annual Conference tournaments
                 3) Policies regarding game officials and the supervisor of officials
                 4) Policies on team and individual awards

b. Membership of the Competition Committee shall consist of the Athletics Directors, one of whom will be elected chair, one vice-Chair to become the next chair. The term of office is one year.

c. The committee shall meet as needed but at least three times annually.
Fall meeting - Spring sports reports and recommendations
Winter meeting - Fall sports reports and recommendations
Spring meeting - Winter sports reports and recommendations

5. Senior Woman Administrator Committee (10-22-03)
6. Committee on Assessment and Planning

a. This committee shall be responsible for ongoing review of conference bylaws, policies and current practices. Further, it shall forward recommendations to the conference.
b. Membership of this seven-person committee shall include two Presidents, three Athletics Directors, one Faculty Athletics Representatives and one Senior Woman Athletics Administrator. Committee members will be representatives of seven different institutions.

Section C -- Sports Committee

1. Each Conference sport shall have a sports committee consisting of the head coaches of all member institutions in that sport, which will meet at least annually. Each sports committee will have an Athletics Director liaison.

2. The sports committees shall consider questions and problems in their sport relevant to the Conference and submit recommendations to the Athletics Directors Committee as follows:
Fall meeting - Spring sports reports and recommendations
Winter meeting - Fall sports reports and recommendations
Spring meeting - Winter sports reports and recommendations

3. The chair for each sports committee shall be elected annually by the member coaches of each committee.

4. Rules and regulations for championship play will be distributed annually through the handbook and directory. Changes of these rules and regulations must be approved by the Athletics Directors Committee. Distribution will be to head coaches and Athletics Directors.

5. Sports committees shall suggest the method of determining the recipients of approved awards.

Article III Records

Section A -- The Commissioner shall distribute in September to each member institution a schedule of dates for the submission of required eligibility, athletic aid and declaration of intent forms necessary for the proper and orderly conduct of Conference business.

Section B -- The Athletics Director at each member institution shall be responsible for submitting required Conference forms. (The prescribed forms and time of submission are found in the Appendix).

Article IV Conference Competition and Recognition

Section A -- Conference Competition

1. During each sports season each member institution shall compete for the Conference championship in each sport provided the institution fields a team in that sort.

2. If one member institution does not plan to field a team in a given sport, the Commissioner and each member institution shall be notified during the preceding school year in order that difficulties may be avoided in developing schedules

3. If a member institution fields a team in a Conference sport but does not compete during a season as required in the sport's rules, then that institution shall be ineligible to compete for the Conference championship for an additional three (3) years in that sport. The Executive Committee of the Conference assembled shall consider and rule on appeals to this regulation

Section B -- Conference Sport Additions

1. When one half or more member institutions compete in a sport, a request may be submitted to the Conference to form an official conference sport. A sports committee shall be formed to develop procedures for competition and for the determination of a Conference championship.
2. When four or more member institutions sponsor an NCAA sanctioned sport and all sponsoring members submit a request, the sport may be designated a CVAC emerging sport. An emerging sport will strictly follow guidelines formulated by the competition committee and will have a post season single contest to determine the CVAC champion.

Section C -- Conference-Wide Regulations

1. Each member institution shall contract for game officials in accordance with Conference policy.

2. Each member institution shall maintain complete control of all intercollegiate athletic programs. The Athletics Director shall be a member of the staff or faculty of the institution.

3. Member institutions shall not schedule regular season contests with two-year institutions in any conference sports, except that individual student-athletes or teams from member institutions shall be allowed to accept invitations to participate in invitational tournaments or meets in the sports of cross country, golf, and tennis in which student-athletes and/or teams from two-year institutions may have been invited to participate.

Section D -- Awards
Awards approved by the Conference, shall be provided as follows:

1. Institutional Awards

a. The Messick Trophy, which honors former East Carolina President John D. Messick, shall be awarded annually to the member institution that displays the best overall sportsmanship during the year, based on a vote of all member institutions.

b. The Joby Hawn Trophy, which honors former Conference Commissioner H.C. "Joby" Hawn, shall be awarded annually to the member institution with the best overall intercollegiate athletics program, based on a point-system of championship events. (See Appendix F)

c. The Allan Sharp Award, which honors former Conference Faculty Athletics Representative Allan Sharp shall be presented annually to the CVAC member institution having the highest graduation rate of athletes as determined by the Faculty Athletics Representatives.

2. Team and Individual Awards

a. Team Awards shall be awarded annually to the champion and runner-up in each Conference sport.

b. Individual Awards shall be recommended to the Conference by the Athletics Directors Committee annually.

c. The Murphy Osborne award, which honors former Conference Commissioner Murphy Osborne, Jr. shall be awarded annually to the outstanding conference senior student athlete. Nominees must have a grade-point average of 3.25 or higher at the nominating institution. Faculty Athletics Representatives select the recipient.

d. All-Conference Academic Awards shall be awarded annually to junior or senior student-athletes with cumulative grade point averages of 3.25 or higher at the member institution.
e. The Presidential Honor Roll, compiled annually, recognizes student-athletes who have earned a 3.00 grade-point average on a 4.00 scale for the year.

Article V Eligibility

Eligibility rules of the Conference shall pertain to each member institution in all intercollegiate contests involving a Conference sanctioned team.
Student-athletes shall conform to all eligibility rules and regulations of the National Collegiate Athletic Association with the following specific additions.

A. A student-athlete who becomes identified with a CVAC institution shall be ineligible to participate in any sport in which that student-athlete previously participated at another CVAC institution.

*Exception: If at the end of one calendar year following identification with the second CVAC institution, the former CVAC institution gives its approval, the student-athlete could become eligible to participate in any sport, provided all other rules of eligibility are met. However, during that one calendar year, the student-athlete shall not receive any athletic grant-in-aid.

B. When a member institution drops a sport, a student-athlete may transfer to another member institution in the Conference and be eligible in that sport immediately, provided all other eligibility requirements are met.

C. A student-athlete who originally attends one CVAC institution, and then enters a two year institution, must meet NCAA eligibility requirements for "4-2-4" "2-4" College Transfers (By-law 14.5.6). However, in addition to meeting NCAA eligibility requirements, the student-athlete must also have a written release from the previous CVAC institution in order to participate at the certifying CVAC institution.

D. When a student-athlete is found to be ineligible to participate in a particular sport or sports, all contests in which the student-athlete has participated after the date of the act or conditions that rendered the student-athlete ineligible shall beconsidered a loss in conference standings, a win in conference standings for the respective opposing team or teams, and any individual championship forfeited. It shall be the duty of the Commissioner to notify the member institutions of such loses and forfeitures (10/22/03).

E. A copy of all NCAA squad lists shall be filed withe the Conference office upon dated completion. The report must have a postmark date prior to:

Fall Sports - September 15
Winter Sports - November 15
Spring Sports - January 15
(05/2005)

Article VI Financial Aid Regulations

Section A -- Award Limitations

1. Athletic Grants-in-aid of member institutions shall meet the following standards in each Conference sport.

Sport                           Maximum                   Minimum

Men's Basketball               7.5                               3.75

Women's Basketball          7.5                               3.75

Men's Soccer                     3.5                               1.75

Women's Soccer                3.5                               1.75

Baseball                             3.5                               1.75

Men's Golf                           2                                  1
Women's Golf                      2                                 1
                                                                (10/23/03)

Softball                              2.75                             1.375

Men's Tennis                     2                                  1

Women's Tennis                2                                  1

Volleyball                          2.75                             1.375

Men's Cross Country         2                                  1

Women's Cross Country    2                                  1
Women's Lacrosse             6                                  2
Men's Lacrosse                   8                                  2

2.   Members may award an additional 3.8 athletic grants-in-aid within the following stipulations

a. The awards are permissible but not required
b. A maximum of 1.9 grants-in-aid may be applied to women’s sports and a maximum of 1.9 grants-in aid may be applied to men’s sports
c. A maximum of one (1) additional grant-in-aid may be provided to any conference sport
d. Additional grants-in-aid in the sports of men’s and women’s basketball is not permissible
e. Conference minimum grants-in-aid remain as identified in Section A above
f. The member must offer the CVAC maximums in all conference sports it sponsors to use this provision
g. A CVAC member may, at no time, exceed an amount of that member’s maximum CVAC amount plus the 3.8 grant-in- aids as stipulated in this bylaw (10/20/04)

3. Student-athlete grant-in-aid limitations will be the NCAA regulations with the following additional requirements:

a. Athletic grant-in-aid shall not be given to defray expenses of student-athletes in summer school.

b. Grant-in-aid of any kind may not be given to defray the expenses of a student-athlete's non-general fees, books and supplies except when need is demonstrated through a federally approved system of needs analysis.

c. Veterans benefits shall not be considered as part of a full grand-in-aid.

Section B -- Administrative Requirements

1. The National Letter of Intent form shall insure the privilege of a prospective student to finalize his/her chosen institution of affiliation.

a. All member institutions shall consider the National Letter of Intent binding.

b. Notification to the Commissioner of Declaration information shall occur promptly.

2. A Confidential Report prepared for each season and verified by the Financial Aid officer and Athletics Director shall be submitted to the Conference Commissioner. The use of the NCAA software compliance form is suggested.

a. The report must have a postmark date prior to:
Fall Sports -- September 15
Winter Sports -- November 15
Spring Sports -- January 15 (10/20/04)

b. The report, in a form approved by the Commissioner shall include the names and complete payment sources of each student-athlete and all student-athletes listed on the eligibility form in each conference sport.

Article VII Enforcement, Penalties and Appeals

Section A -- Reporting Violations
The Commissioner shall receive and investigate reports of alleged violations of the Conference Constitution, Bylaws, and Regulations.

Section B -- Enforcement Regulations
The Commissioner shall be the principal enforcement officer of the Conference Rules and Regulations. He shall, upon the request of the Athletics Director showing reasonable ground therefore, or upon his own initiative, make such investigations as may be necessary to determine whether there has been a violation. If such investigation reveals that a violation may exist, he shall inform the Chief Executive Officer, the Faculty Athletics Representative, and the Athletics Director of the member institution involved, and afford them an opportunity to be heard. If after affording a hearing or failure of such institution to appear for a hearing, the Commissioner concludes there is a violation, he is empowered to impose penalties as provided below.

1. The offending institution or staff member may be reprimanded by the Commissioner and warned against repetition of the offense.

2. The guilty staff member may be denied the privilege of contact with any prospective student-athlete for one year, and the same penalty may be imposed upon all staff members of the sport involved.

3. The institution may be denied the right to compete for a conference championship in the sport involved and in additional sports in which it competes for a championship for one or more years, depending on the severity of the violation. This action shall be subject to the approval of the Executive Committee.

4. The institution may be denied the right to schedule games with other Conference members in the sport in which the violation occurred. The Commissioner has the power to forbid scheduling of games in other sports, depending on the severity of the violation. This action shall be subject to the approval of the Executive committee.

5. A violation of any of the following will render the student-athlete forever ineligible to participate in intercollegiate athletics at any of the member institutions and will result in the conference standings noted lose of all games in which the student-athlete participated after the violation (10/22/03).
A student-athlete may not:

a. Accept any financial aid or assistance in money or in kind except that which comes from members of a student-athlete's immediate family or from those whom the student-athlete is legally dependent or from the student-athlete's member institution.

b. Receive a grant-in-aid from a member institution during the freshman year of the student-athlete should the student-athlete enter one member institution while the student-athlete's "National Letter of Intent" is in effect at another member institution.

6. The Commissioner shall report promptly by mail to each Chief Executive Officer, the Faculty Athletics Representative, and the Athletics Director of the member institutions all impositions and/or reprimands and penalties.

7. Public announcement of reprimands or penalties imposed by the Commissioner or Executive committee may be made only after the institution involved has been notified.

Section C -- Appeals

1. The decision of the Commissioner in any proceedings may be appealed to the Executive Committee. Such appeal must be made by the institution involved in the case an opportunity to be heard. The decision of the committee must be rendered within one week after the filing of the appeal.

2. The decision of the Executive committee shall be rendered only after affording any institution, employee, or student-athlete involved in the case an opportunity to be heard. The decision of the Committee must be rendered within one week after filing of the appeal.

3. In the event any member of the Executive Committee may be affiliated with the institution being investigated, the member shall be replaced by a representative of another member institution in a comparable position. The replacement shall be appointed by the President of the Conference.

4. To appeal a decision of the Executive Committee, the institution wishing to appeal must present a petition signed by three other member institutions. This petition must be presented to the President of the conference, and this will place the appeal before the conference at the next scheduled meeting of the Conference.

5. Any decision made by the Commissioner or the Executive committee will be in effect until the decision is overruled.

Article VIII Amendments

The Bylaws may be amended by a simple majority of the voting member institutions.

1. Amendments to the Bylaws may be proposed by voting member institutions of the Conference and must be submitted in writing to the Commissioner at least three weeks prior to the meeting at which the amendment will be introduced.

2. The Commissioner must distribute the proposed amendment to all voting member institutions at least two weeks prior to the meeting at which the amendment will be acted upon. (05/2005)


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This committee shall be responsible for conducting conference business in the interim of regular meetings, levy emergency assessments, hear appeals of the Commissioner's rulings, advise the Commissioner, and serve as a search committee when necessary. b. Membership of the Executive Committee shall include the officers of the conference and three official representatives (one Senior Woman Administrator, one Faculty Athletics Representative and one Athletics Director. Appointment of non-represented conference members is considered.(10-22-03) 2-4. Committees of Official Representatives which meet in conjunction with each conference meeting 2. Presidents Committee 3. Faculty Athletics Representatives Committee 4. Athletics Directors Committee a. The Athletics Directors Committee shall be responsible for: 1) Sports regulations 2) The conduct of the annual Conference tournaments 3) Policies regarding game officials and the supervisor of officials 4) Policies on team and individual awards b. Membership of the Competition Committee shall consist of the Athletics Directors, one of whom will be elected chair, one vice-Chair to become the next chair. The term of office is one year. c. The committee shall meet as needed but at least three times annually. Fall meeting - Spring sports reports and recommendations Winter meeting - Fall sports reports and recommendations Spring meeting - Winter sports reports and recommendations 5. Senior Woman Administrator Committee (10-22-03) 6. Committee on Assessment and Planning a. This committee shall be responsible for ongoing review of conference bylaws, policies and current practices. Further, it shall forward recommendations to the conference. b. Membership of this seven-person committee shall include two Presidents, three Athletics Directors, one Faculty Athletics Representatives and one Senior Woman Athletics Administrator. Committee members will be representatives of seven different institutions. Section C -- Sports Committee 1. Each Conference sport shall have a sports committee consisting of the head coaches of all member institutions in that sport, which will meet at least annually. Each sports committee will have an Athletics Director liaison. 2. The sports committees shall consider questions and problems in their sport relevant to the Conference and submit recommendations to the Athletics Directors Committee as follows: Fall meeting - Spring sports reports and recommendations Winter meeting - Fall sports reports and recommendations Spring meeting - Winter sports reports and recommendations 3. The chair for each sports committee shall be elected annually by the member coaches of each committee. 4. Rules and regulations for championship play will be distributed annually through the handbook and directory. Changes of these rules and regulations must be approved by the Athletics Directors Committee. Distribution will be to head coaches and Athletics Directors. 5. Sports committees shall suggest the method of determining the recipients of approved awards. Article III Records Section A -- The Commissioner shall distribute in September to each member institution a schedule of dates for the submission of required eligibility, athletic aid and declaration of intent forms necessary for the proper and orderly conduct of Conference business. Section B -- The Athletics Director at each member institution shall be responsible for submitting required Conference forms. (The prescribed forms and time of submission are found in the Appendix). Article IV Conference Competition and Recognition Section A -- Conference Competition 1. During each sports season each member institution shall compete for the Conference championship in each sport provided the institution fields a team in that sort. 2. If one member institution does not plan to field a team in a given sport, the Commissioner and each member institution shall be notified during the preceding school year in order that difficulties may be avoided in developing schedules 3. If a member institution fields a team in a Conference sport but does not compete during a season as required in the sport's rules, then that institution shall be ineligible to compete for the Conference championship for an additional three (3) years in that sport. The Executive Committee of the Conference assembled shall consider and rule on appeals to this regulation Section B -- Conference Sport Additions 1. When one half or more member institutions compete in a sport, a request may be submitted to the Conference to form an official conference sport. A sports committee shall be formed to develop procedures for competition and for the determination of a Conference championship. 2. When four or more member institutions sponsor an NCAA sanctioned sport and all sponsoring members submit a request, the sport may be designated a CVAC emerging sport. An emerging sport will strictly follow guidelines formulated by the competition committee and will have a post season single contest to determine the CVAC champion. Section C -- Conference-Wide Regulations 1. Each member institution shall contract for game officials in accordance with Conference policy. 2. Each member institution shall maintain complete control of all intercollegiate athletic programs. The Athletics Director shall be a member of the staff or faculty of the institution. 3. Member institutions shall not schedule regular season contests with two-year institutions in any conference sports, except that individual student-athletes or teams from member institutions shall be allowed to accept invitations to participate in invitational tournaments or meets in the sports of cross country, golf, and tennis in which student-athletes and/or teams from two-year institutions may have been invited to participate. Section D -- Awards Awards approved by the Conference, shall be provided as follows: 1. Institutional Awards a. The Messick Trophy, which honors former East Carolina President John D. Messick, shall be awarded annually to the member institution that displays the best overall sportsmanship during the year, based on a vote of all member institutions. b. The Joby Hawn Trophy, which honors former Conference Commissioner H.C. "Joby" Hawn, shall be awarded annually to the member institution with the best overall intercollegiate athletics program, based on a point-system of championship events. (See Appendix F) c. The Allan Sharp Award, which honors former Conference Faculty Athletics Representative Allan Sharp shall be presented annually to the CVAC member institution having the highest graduation rate of athletes as determined by the Faculty Athletics Representatives. 2. Team and Individual Awards a. Team Awards shall be awarded annually to the champion and runner-up in each Conference sport. b. Individual Awards shall be recommended to the Conference by the Athletics Directors Committee annually. c. The Murphy Osborne award, which honors former Conference Commissioner Murphy Osborne, Jr. shall be awarded annually to the outstanding conference senior student athlete. Nominees must have a grade-point average of 3.25 or higher at the nominating institution. Faculty Athletics Representatives select the recipient. d. All-Conference Academic Awards shall be awarded annually to junior or senior student-athletes with cumulative grade point averages of 3.25 or higher at the member institution. e. The Presidential Honor Roll, compiled annually, recognizes student-athletes who have earned a 3.00 grade-point average on a 4.00 scale for the year. Article V Eligibility Eligibility rules of the Conference shall pertain to each member institution in all intercollegiate contests involving a Conference sanctioned team. Student-athletes shall conform to all eligibility rules and regulations of the National Collegiate Athletic Association with the following specific additions. A. A student-athlete who becomes identified with a CVAC institution shall be ineligible to participate in any sport in which that student-athlete previously participated at another CVAC institution. Exception: If at the end of one calendar year following identification with the second CVAC institution, the former CVAC institution gives its approval, the student-athlete could become eligible to participate in any sport, provided all other rules of eligibility are met. However, during that one calendar year, the student-athlete shall not receive any athletic grant-in-aid. B. When a member institution drops a sport, a student-athlete may transfer to another member institution in the Conference and be eligible in that sport immediately, provided all other eligibility requirements are met. C. A student-athlete who originally attends one CVAC institution, and then enters a two year institution, must meet NCAA eligibility requirements for "4-2-4" "2-4" College Transfers (By-law 14.5.6). However, in addition to meeting NCAA eligibility requirements, the student-athlete must also have a written release from the previous CVAC institution in order to participate at the certifying CVAC institution. D. When a student-athlete is found to be ineligible to participate in a particular sport or sports, all contests in which the student-athlete has participated after the date of the act or conditions that rendered the student-athlete ineligible shall beconsidered a loss in conference standings, a win in conference standings for the respective opposing team or teams, and any individual championship forfeited. It shall be the duty of the Commissioner to notify the member institutions of such loses and forfeitures (10/22/03). E. A copy of all NCAA squad lists shall be filed withe the Conference office upon dated completion. The report must have a postmark date prior to: Fall Sports - September 15 Winter Sports - November 15 Spring Sports - January 15 (05/2005) Article VI Financial Aid Regulations Section A -- Award Limitations 1. Athletic Grants-in-aid of member institutions shall meet the following standards in each Conference sport. Sport Maximum Minimum Men's Basketball 7.5 3.75 Women's Basketball 7.5 3.75 Men's Soccer 3.5 1.75 Women's Soccer 3.5 1.75 Baseball 3.5 1.75 Men's Golf 2 1 Women's Golf 2 1 (10/23/03) Softball 2.75 1.375 Men's Tennis 2 1 Women's Tennis 2 1 Volleyball 2.75 1.375 Men's Cross Country 2 1 Women's Cross Country 2 1 Women's Lacrosse 6 2 Men's Lacrosse 8 2 2. Members may award an additional 3.8 athletic grants-in-aid within the following stipulations a. The awards are permissible but not required b. A maximum of 1.9 grants-in-aid may be applied to women’s sports and a maximum of 1.9 grants-in aid may be applied to men’s sports c. A maximum of one (1) additional grant-in-aid may be provided to any conference sport d. Additional grants-in-aid in the sports of men’s and women’s basketball is not permissible e. Conference minimum grants-in-aid remain as identified in Section A above f. The member must offer the CVAC maximums in all conference sports it sponsors to use this provision g. A CVAC member may, at no time, exceed an amount of that member’s maximum CVAC amount plus the 3.8 grant-in- aids as stipulated in this bylaw (10/20/04)* 3. Student-athlete grant-in-aid limitations will be the NCAA regulations with the following additional requirements: a. Athletic grant-in-aid shall not be given to defray expenses of student-athletes in summer school. b. Grant-in-aid of any kind may not be given to defray the expenses of a student-athlete's non-general fees, books and supplies except when need is demonstrated through a federally approved system of needs analysis. c. Veterans benefits shall not be considered as part of a full grand-in-aid. Section B -- Administrative Requirements 1. The National Letter of Intent form shall insure the privilege of a prospective student to finalize his/her chosen institution of affiliation. a. All member institutions shall consider the National Letter of Intent binding. b. Notification to the Commissioner of Declaration information shall occur promptly. 2. A Confidential Report prepared for each season and verified by the Financial Aid officer and Athletics Director shall be submitted to the Conference Commissioner. The use of the NCAA software compliance form is suggested. a. The report must have a postmark date prior to: Fall Sports -- September 15 Winter Sports -- November 15 Spring Sports -- January 15 (10/20/04) b. The report, in a form approved by the Commissioner shall include the names and complete payment sources of each student-athlete and all student-athletes listed on the eligibility form in each conference sport. Article VII Enforcement, Penalties and Appeals Section A -- Reporting Violations The Commissioner shall receive and investigate reports of alleged violations of the Conference Constitution, Bylaws, and Regulations. Section B -- Enforcement Regulations The Commissioner shall be the principal enforcement officer of the Conference Rules and Regulations. He shall, upon the request of the Athletics Director showing reasonable ground therefore, or upon his own initiative, make such investigations as may be necessary to determine whether there has been a violation. If such investigation reveals that a violation may exist, he shall inform the Chief Executive Officer, the Faculty Athletics Representative, and the Athletics Director of the member institution involved, and afford them an opportunity to be heard. If after affording a hearing or failure of such institution to appear for a hearing, the Commissioner concludes there is a violation, he is empowered to impose penalties as provided below. 1. The offending institution or staff member may be reprimanded by the Commissioner and warned against repetition of the offense. 2. The guilty staff member may be denied the privilege of contact with any prospective student-athlete for one year, and the same penalty may be imposed upon all staff members of the sport involved. 3. The institution may be denied the right to compete for a conference championship in the sport involved and in additional sports in which it competes for a championship for one or more years, depending on the severity of the violation. This action shall be subject to the approval of the Executive Committee. 4. The institution may be denied the right to schedule games with other Conference members in the sport in which the violation occurred. The Commissioner has the power to forbid scheduling of games in other sports, depending on the severity of the violation. This action shall be subject to the approval of the Executive committee. 5. A violation of any of the following will render the student-athlete forever ineligible to participate in intercollegiate athletics at any of the member institutions and will result in the conference standings noted lose of all games in which the student-athlete participated after the violation (10/22/03). A student-athlete may not: a. Accept any financial aid or assistance in money or in kind except that which comes from members of a student-athlete's immediate family or from those whom the student-athlete is legally dependent or from the student-athlete's member institution. b. Receive a grant-in-aid from a member institution during the freshman year of the student-athlete should the student-athlete enter one member institution while the student-athlete's "National Letter of Intent" is in effect at another member institution. 6. The Commissioner shall report promptly by mail to each Chief Executive Officer, the Faculty Athletics Representative, and the Athletics Director of the member institutions all impositions and/or reprimands and penalties. 7. Public announcement of reprimands or penalties imposed by the Commissioner or Executive committee may be made only after the institution involved has been notified. Section C -- Appeals 1. The decision of the Commissioner in any proceedings may be appealed to the Executive Committee. Such appeal must be made by the institution involved in the case an opportunity to be heard. The decision of the committee must be rendered within one week after the filing of the appeal. 2. The decision of the Executive committee shall be rendered only after affording any institution, employee, or student-athlete involved in the case an opportunity to be heard. The decision of the Committee must be rendered within one week after filing of the appeal. 3. In the event any member of the Executive Committee may be affiliated with the institution being investigated, the member shall be replaced by a representative of another member institution in a comparable position. The replacement shall be appointed by the President of the Conference. 4. To appeal a decision of the Executive Committee, the institution wishing to appeal must present a petition signed by three other member institutions. This petition must be presented to the President of the conference, and this will place the appeal before the conference at the next scheduled meeting of the Conference. 5. Any decision made by the Commissioner or the Executive committee will be in effect until the decision is overruled. Article VIII Amendments The Bylaws may be amended by a simple majority of the voting member institutions. 1. Amendments to the Bylaws may be proposed by voting member institutions of the Conference and must be submitted in writing to the Commissioner at least three weeks prior to the meeting at which the amendment will be introduced. 2. The Commissioner must distribute the proposed amendment to all voting member institutions at least two weeks prior to the meeting at which the amendment will be acted upon. (05/2005)