AggieJohn
08-03-2006, 04:38 PM
ATON ROUGE, La. -- The NCAA is not bending when it comes to the LSU football team doing yoglates.
The Tigers canceled the trendy conditioning program two weeks ago because it conflicted with the rules governing athletic consultants not affiliated with the university.
Non-LSU personnel are allowed to instruct athletes during the fall and spring semesters, but not during the summer, according to NCAA rules. Training consultant Don Yesso said he has conducted the class with every other LSU athletic team the past three years.
"It wasn't willful, it was just an oversight," said Chris Howard, LSU associate athletic director for NCAA compliance. "We could have done this in the spring and it would have been fine. If the class had been offered through the rec department, we could have enrolled the team in the class this summer with no problem."
The team got through about half of the planned 12-week program of yoglates, which promotes flexibility. Howard said LSU self-reported the level II secondary violation, which does not carry a penalty for the institution.
The spirit of the rule preventing outside instruction is to keep schools from hiring pro sports experts to work with athletes in the summer, which creates a competitive advantage for colleges with large athletic budgets.
Yesso said he will work with the school to make adjustments to ensure the course is executed by the rules.
Yoglates is a combination of yoga and pilates, which are exercises designed by Joseph Pilates, originally to help the recovery of dancers with injured backs, Yesso said.
The Tigers canceled the trendy conditioning program two weeks ago because it conflicted with the rules governing athletic consultants not affiliated with the university.
Non-LSU personnel are allowed to instruct athletes during the fall and spring semesters, but not during the summer, according to NCAA rules. Training consultant Don Yesso said he has conducted the class with every other LSU athletic team the past three years.
"It wasn't willful, it was just an oversight," said Chris Howard, LSU associate athletic director for NCAA compliance. "We could have done this in the spring and it would have been fine. If the class had been offered through the rec department, we could have enrolled the team in the class this summer with no problem."
The team got through about half of the planned 12-week program of yoglates, which promotes flexibility. Howard said LSU self-reported the level II secondary violation, which does not carry a penalty for the institution.
The spirit of the rule preventing outside instruction is to keep schools from hiring pro sports experts to work with athletes in the summer, which creates a competitive advantage for colleges with large athletic budgets.
Yesso said he will work with the school to make adjustments to ensure the course is executed by the rules.
Yoglates is a combination of yoga and pilates, which are exercises designed by Joseph Pilates, originally to help the recovery of dancers with injured backs, Yesso said.