Athlete Address/Residency Exception Request Form

When an athlete's circumstances prevent them from meeting the NCAA residency requirements to participate with a team in compliance, the athlete's parent/coach may request an exception. Exceptions to the athlete address requirements are EXTREMELY rare. Historically, the NCAA membership has indicated that relief from the strict application of the requirement should be granted only in situations in which no permissible team exists that will allow a prospect the opportunity to participate in any NCAA-certified event. An athlete address requirement exception is not granted to allow an athlete to play with a preferred team or to allow the athlete to attend specific NCAA-certified events or because the athlete cannot secure a position on the compliant teams that exists.

The applicant must type information directly in the fields provided on the exception request forms and email the editable form via the ECAG Contact Form (email via https://web3.ncaa.org/bbcs/contactForm If multiple athletes are involved, a separate form for each athlete must be submitted, but they can all be submitted in the same ECAG Contact Form. Handwritten, photos, graphic images or scanned copies of the exception request form are NOT acceptable and may NOT be processed without notification to the applicant.

The exception request form must include a detailed description of the reason the request is being made and why the NCAA should consider a deviation from the residency requirements for this prospective student-athlete.

Statements included for consideration must be supported with documentation that validates/authenticates the circumstance(s) described. Request forms submitted WITHOUT documentation will NOT be processed without notification to the applicant. For example, if a request to the three-month requirement is requested because the family was forced to move due to a parent being relocated by their employer, the exceptions request form should be accompanied by a relocation agreement, temporary housing assignment, the employer’s policies regarding temporary housing, moving expense invoices paid by the employere, etc.

The applicant may include additional information and supporting documentation it considers relevant to its request. Statements made that are not supported with documentation will not be considered. In that regard, if the application says that the athlete was forced to change schools because the school in which they were enrolled ceased to exist, the applicant will need to submit letters, emails newspaper articles, etc. to support that claim OR this statement will be eliminated from the facts used in the decision-making process.

The applicant should submit as much detail and documentation as is needed to prove arguments made. When in doubt, the applicant should err on the side of caution and provide MORE information, not less.

Be sure to start the exception request process as early as possible to allow for processing prior to scheduled participation and to allow the prospect to find alternative teams and/or the teams to find replacement athletes if an exception is not granted.

All athlete address requirement exception requests must be submitted within 14 calendar days prior to the evaluation period in which the team/athlete intends to participate and it is suggested that requests be made at least a month in advance because of the intricate details and documentation necessary to satisfy the standard for approval. Any request made less than 14 days before the evaluation period is at risk of NOT being processed as other ECAG duties and staff travel will take priority. Late submissions must include an explanation of why the request was not filed within the prescribed time period and it is ECAG's discretion whether a late request will be considered or if an extension should be granted.

Decisions are based on the totality of the circumstances and information available at the time the application was considered. ECAG's decision is final and is not subject to further review by any other authority. There is no appeal of the ECAG decision. After ECAG issues a decision, the applicant may ask the staff to reconsider its decision ONLY if the applicant submits new relevant information. Requests with new relevant information are still subject to the timeline requirements of the initial request.

Any coach/team that provides false and/or misleading information in order to satisfy any of the NCAA's athlete address requirements is subject to penalties outlined in the Adverse Actions section of the Event Guideline and Requirements document posted on www.ncaa.org/basketballcertification and could prevent the coach/team from being eligible to participate in ANY NCAA-certified event for a period of up to five (5) years.

The applicant must type information directly in the fields provided on the exception request form and submit supporting documentation.  If multiple athletes are involved, a separate form for each athlete must be submitted.

• Forms submitted less than 14 calendar days prior to the evaluation period in which the team/athlete intends to participate may NOT be processed.
• DO NOT reuse forms from previous submissions. Expired forms are routed to an email address that is not regularly monitored; so, requests submitted with an expired form may not be discovered and could be left unprocessed.
• Handwritten, photos, graphic images or scanned copies of the exception request form are NOT acceptable and may NOT be processed without notification to the applicant. If ECAG must retype the form because it was completed incorrectly, processing the request may be delayed or denied.