Reporting Acts of Positive Sportsmanship or Unsportsmanlike Conduct
Positive Sportsmanship
The Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct believes it is important to "catch people doing it right" and share those good acts with the membership. If you have information about a student-athlete, team, coach, administrator or individual connected with competition, who displayed the ideals of good sportsmanship, please send the committee staff liaisons details surrounding the situation. When positive behavior is reported to the national office, a letter acknowledging the positive actions will be sent to the involved individual, institution, etc.
Unsportsmanlike Conduct
The Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct believes it is also important to hold individuals who display unsportsmanlike conduct accountable. In most cases, member conferences and institutions act swiftly to hold accountable those individuals who act with bad sportsmanship.
Please note that there is an important distinction between unsportsmanlike conduct and breaking playing rules during competition. Specific playing rules have been developed for every NCAA sport to address misconduct during competition and are enforced by the game officials. In the event an act of misconduct is not detected by the game officials during a regular season game, action may be taken by the administration at the student-athlete's institution and/or the conference of which the institution is a member.
The NCAA has authority over misconduct during championship tournaments. If misconduct occurs during an NCAA championship, the appropriate NCAA governing sports committee would address the situation.
If you have information about a student-athlete, team, coach, administrator or individual connected with competition, who displayed unsportsmanlike conduct, please contact the athletics administrators from the involved institutions and conferences.