Definition of Playing Season
The playing season, i.e., both practice and competition, for a particular sport is the period of time between the date of an institution's first officially recognized practice session and the date of the institution's last date of competition. With the exception ofweight-training and conditioning activities, the playing season is the only time within which institutions are permitted to conduct countable athletically-related activities.

Declaration of Playing Season
NCAA rules state that the first date of practice shall not be conducted prior to:

Volleyball
Date that permits 29 practice opportunities prior to first contest

Cross Country
Date that permits 21 practice opportunities prior to first contest

Soccer
Date that permits 21 practice opportunities prior to first contest

Basketball
7:00 p.m. on the Friday closest to October 15

Field Hockey
Date that permits 21 practice opportunities prior to first contest

All other sports
September 7 or the first day of classes

NCAA rules also specify the length of a sport's playing season as follows:

Each sport, other than basketball, may have two segments of allowable days during the playing season segment.

Time Limits for Countable Athletically Related Activities
(1) Within the Declared Playing Season:

(a) A written record of countable athletically related activities for each student-athlete is required.

(b) There is a maximum of four (4) hours per day and 20 hours per week of countable athletic related activities (except during preseason practice and an official vacation period).

(c) One day off is required per week (except during NCAA Championships and preseason practice).

(d) All competition and any activities associated with the competition count as three (3) hours, regardless of the actual duration of the activities.

(e) Practice may never be conducted following competition.

(f) No class time is ever to be missed for practice activities, unless due to out of town competition.

(g) Daily and weekly hour limitations do not apply during pre-season practice prior to the first day of classes or during an institution's official vacation period. If such vacation periods occur during any part of a week in which classes are in session, then the daily and weekly hour limitations must be observed during the portion of the week and a day off must be provided.

(2) Outside the Declared Playing Season (during the academic year):

(a) A written record of out-of-season activities for each student-athlete is required.

(b) Coaches may require up to eight (8) hours per week of the following countable activities only:

1. Weight-training and conditioning, and
2. For all sports except basketball, up to two (2) hours of skill-related instruction, provided no more than four (4) student-athletes from the same team are involved in any one activity at the same time. For men's basketball, up to two (2) hours of skill instruction is allowed, with no limit to the number of student-athletes involved. For women's basketball, up to four (4) hours of skill instruction is allowed, with no limit to the number of student-athletes involved.
3. Two days off are required per week.

Note: No other countable activities may be engaged outside of the declared playing/practice season.

(c) During weight-training and conditioning activities, it is not permissible for a student-athlete to be involved in conditioning activities, other than weight training and running, in the student-athlete's sport held at the direction of or supervised by a coaching staff member, e.g., swimmers may not condition in the pool, with the exception of indoor/outdoor track and cross country. In track and cross country, conditioning activities, other than weight training, are limited to normal running activities and may not include any equipment related to the sport, e.g., starting blocks, batons, hurdles, etc.

Noncountable Athletically Related Activities
The following activities are considered noncountable athletically related activities and are not counted in the weekly or daily time limitations:

(1) Training table or competition related meals.

(2) Physical rehabilitation, medical exams or treatment.

(3) Dressing, showering or taping

(4) Study table, tutoring session or meetings with academic advisors.

(5) Meetings with coaches on non-athletic matters.

(6) Travel to and from practice and competition or visiting the practice site in sports other than cross country and golf.

(7) Public relations activities, e.g., media days.

(8) Serving as a student host or other recruiting activities.

(9) Voluntary individual workouts that are not required by coaching staff members. They may be monitored by the strength and conditioning staff. A coach may design a voluntary general workout program for a student-athlete (as opposed to a specific workout program for specific days).

(10) Individual consultation with a coach initiated voluntarily by the student athlete, provided the coach and the student-athlete do not engage in athletically related activities.

(11) Use of an institution's facilities provided the activities are not supervised or held at the direction of a coach. Facilities may be reserved for un-supervised athletic activity period during the regular academic year.

(12) Supervision of weight training and assisting in conditioning by the strength and conditioning staff. This staff must perform these duties on a department-wide basis.

(13) A coach may provide a videotape to a student-athlete that includes a personalized message and athletically related information, e.g., discussion of plays, general workout programs, lecture on strategy relating to the sport, without such activity constituting athletically related activity, providing the viewing of the videotape is voluntary.