WVU has a rather detailed system in place to police its student-athletes and make sure no one is breaking NCAA rules. Now it can still happen, but not for a lack of effort on the part of the compliance office, which does little things like encourage members of support staffs to more or less eavesdrop and big things like having football and basketball players register automobiles with the school.

“A lot of it goes back to rules education and hoping (student-athletes) understand the rules and the ramifications, but we’re also relying a lot on coaches and their staffs,” Cox said. “If someone drives up in an Escalade who was driving a Volkswagen, some questions should be raised — and this is a small town, so you’ll see that stuff. If it’s something we feel like we have to bring them in to ask them about, we’ll do it.”

WVU is big — actually “big, big, big,” according to Cox — on rules education and they make sure to inform the student-athletes and the community. Student-athletes get a list of 12 things that qualify as an extra benefit. Local merchants get an annual letter reminding them it’s OK to be nice, but not too nice.

 

Explanation of
extra benefits

Letter to local
merchants