Binghamton University’s athletic department has a variety of rules and regulations to ensure proper behavior for student-athletes.

According to an athletic department document outlining disciplinary rules, students can be potentially suspended from their teams if they violate one of three areas — team policies, department policies or the law.

The department policies include the Student Code of Conduct, which identifies acts such as stealing, fighting, cheating, lying, physical and/or verbal abuse and other acts punishable by law as a basis to discipline a player.

Departmental regulations also include the alcohol, tobacco, and other drug policy, where students are expected to stay sober and in good health conditions before sporting events.

“If you’re 21 or older, you can drink from the department’s perspective, but you can’t 48 hours prior to a match, on a trip or an athletic-related activity,” Norris said.

At the beginning of the season, the head coach of each team can set his or her own policies, which athletes must follow.

Paul Marco, coach of the men’s soccer team, said he doesn’t allow his players to wear clothing from other schools during team meetings.

“All of our coaches are not similar philosophically,” said James Norris, interim athletic director. “But there are team policies that are established by our coaches, and I support those fully.”

For department and team violations, players must attend a Review Board meeting, where penalties can be assigned.

At the meeting, the player’s coach, the senior associate athletic director and other administrative officials decide if the circumstances warrant a penalty.

According to Norris, some penalties that can be imposed include having the player sit out of their program for a semester, miss a certain number of games or perform community service.

If an athlete is arrested on or off campus for a law violation or potential hazing incident, they are immediately suspended from their athletic program and the athlete’s coach is notified.

The suspended athlete cannot practice or use the department’s facilities or training areas, but can still attend mental health counseling programs.

“If kids are having those sorts of issues we don’t pull that service from them,” Norris said.

After legal matters are resolved, suspended players can request reinstatement to their teams by writing to their head coach. The coach can then call for a meeting between the player, themselves and Norris.

At this meeting, faculty can decide whether or not to let a player back into their program.

Coaches also possess the power to cut or dismiss a player from their team at any time without explanation, according to Norris.

Players removed in this manner cannot lose their scholarships, unless they become academically ineligible or break the law after being removed.

“We don’t have a lot of these cases,” Norris said. “For the most part, our student-athletes are pretty responsible and committed to their sports and academics.”

To inform athletes of these policies, they are given a planner with a Web link to the student-athlete handbook, which is available online.

Coaches are also given a manual with an A-to-Z list of departmental procedures.

These policies can be revised by the department, but according to Norris, they do not expect to make any changes after last week’s events involving the men’s basketball team.

“We’re pretty committed with the department policy as it stands,” he said.

Bernie Herceg, head coach of the golf team, and Marco both believe the rules are outlined clearly for students.

“[They are] what it means to be a Bearcat … it’s a privilege that can be taken away from you,” Marco said.