In response to photojournalist William Cannon's question
regarding how Prop 2005-99 might effect editorial photographers.
- The rights for members of the media to shoot photos at
intercollegiate sporting events are covered elsewhere in the
NCAA rulebook. 2005-99 would not have any effect on them.
- Though an official interpretation would have to come from
the NCAA, neither my SWA or compliance officer foresaw any official
NCAA issue with photographers displaying their work for
critique and improvement of techniques.
- However, it is the responsibility of each school to exercise
institutional control over the images that represent their
university. So, for example, if your site became a source for
photos of student-athletes that had subsequently been misused
by a third party, then the school might feel the need to send
out a cease and desist order.
As a refresher, 2005-99 is designed to formally and officially
permit institutions to do something that many have been doing
for years, that is hire photographers to shoot their events
and permit those photographers to sell those photos. It does
not mandate that schools designate photographers – each school
would have the ability to choose if they wanted to do so, and
it does not eliminate or change any instances of institutional
control. It does formally place language in the NCAA rulebook
that will allow the practice to continue and removes the
possibility that a subsequent NCAA interpretation could rule
it to be illegal.
The danger facing media relations and sports information
offices if 2005-99 does not pass is that it leaves the
decision regarding how schools may take and distribute photos
to an individual making an official rules interpretation in
the NCAA offices, rather than to the schools themselves.
As a final reminder, the NCAA comment period closes on March
11. Please take the time to speak to your school's AD, SWA
and FAR to ensure they are educated about this important proposal.
Ross French
UC Riverside
Ross.french@ucr.edu
Ross French
Director of Athletic Media Relations
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
(951) 827-5438
(951) 827-5889 (fax)
http://athletics.ucr.edu