New NCAA Legislation Presentations at Queens County High Schools

Attorney Romano and Denise Kamyuka in front of NCAA logo on screen
April 24, 2019

Legal issues in sports is one of the major focal areas of the IISR. The Institute has previously tackled topics in sport betting, doping and recently, NCAA legislation. This spring the IISR conducted a series of presentations on the new legislation introduced by the NCAA in 2018. Attorney Romano and IISR project manager Denise Kamyuka created these presentations to assist Queens County student-athletes and their parents, in their preparations towards playing collegiate sports. The presentations were held at various high schools throughout Queens, educating hundreds of student-athletes and parents, about the NCAA rules and regulations.

Some key amendments to the legislation included new rules about campus visits, the rights to an agent and the scope of the agent. Parents were advised on what conduct is deemed legal when interacting with perspective schools and coaches, and what behavior to be wary of when being solicited by schools. Attorney Romano engaged the audiences in the procedure of filing for amateurism and NCAA eligibility whilst Miss Kamyuka provided academic counseling on obtaining and maintain academic eligibility.

The NCAA manuals are a bulky, convoluted documents that often confuse many, with their legal jargon and copious exceptions to the rules. Attorney Romano, painstakingly broke down all the major rules and regulations into layman’s term, so as to help students and parents make sense of the manuals. Their efforts were received by many schools as a welcomed addition to their parent engagement calendars. Parents and counsellors alike consulted with Attorney Romano and Miss Kamyuka, in post presentation discussions. Time was set aside after presentation for this very purpose, and in these discussions parents presented their unique concerns or experiences in exchange for expert advice or referral from the presenters.

The IISR is grateful to every school that invited us to present and gave us access to their facilities, staff, students and parents. We would especially like to thank Holy Cross High School for their generous donation to the IISR. We look forward to conducting a new series of NCAA Presentations next fall.