Article VI, Section C & Section D
Penalties
Intro
Types of Penalties
Warning - carries an institutional notification acknowledging a violation has occurred. Future violations may result in higher penalties.
Reprimand - same as a Warning, but requires a written response of corrective measures taken by the institution.
Probation - in addition to the required written response of corrective measures, institutions and/ or coaches placed on probation for a specific amount of time will be listed on the NAIA Violation Reports webpage.
Withhold the student in question from competing in one or more contests during the current or next sport season and/or charge the student with one or more additional seasons of competition and/or ban the student from further intercollegiate competition.
Suspension - Place any or all of the institution’s athletics program or staff on suspension for a specified time. Suspension shall deny the institution’s participants and/or staff member(s) in the affected sport(s) the opportunity to participate in any postseason competition. Suspensions are also listed on the NAIA Violation Reports webpage.
Level of Penalties & Due Diligence
The severity of penalties imposed may depend on whether the NAIA institution conducted proper Due Diligence in certifying student-athletes to compete.
Due Diligence entails
“The level of care, attention, and investigation a reasonable person would exercise under the circumstances.”
In other words, the process of certifying eligibility isn’t about doing what’s typical — it’s about doing what is reasonable given the situation at hand. Sometimes that means going above and beyond your standard checklist.
