The California Community College Athletic Association sets the bylaws for the community college student-athlete.

The bylaws are a 19-page document that can be found in the CCCAA website which details all the academic requirements a community college athlete has to meet in order to continue playing his or her sport.

With the current eligibility bylaws, student-athletes are required to complete 24 units with a 2.0 grade point average or better in between seasons. With at least 18 of those units being from academic classes.

With the new bylaws, a student-athlete is also required to pass at least six units from one semester to the next in order to maintain eligibility to play a sport.

This new bylaw specially applies to athletes who play on more than one sports team. Athletic Director Dan Clause says, “If a cross-country student-athlete competes in the fall and then wants to compete in track and field in the spring in order for them to do that they have to at least pass six units with a 2.0 or better grade point average. With the old bylaws, that athlete who competed in the fall and failed all of their classes would have still been eligible to compete in the spring.”

Clause said, “The purpose of adding the six units is to ensure that the students are completing grades. We want the athletes to receive their AA degrees and be able to transfer.”

With the new bylaw, it will be Eligibility Specialist Lucy Romero who makes sure that students are eligible to play in a different sport. She handles the eligibility status of the 533 student athletes for the 2014 to 2015 school year.

She said, “My job is not difficult it’s being able to deal with different scenarios and give every case individual attention. When you think you’ve seen it all something new shows up like a student that has eight transcripts and you have to make sure there are no repeated courses and that every course counts toward their major.”

For student-athlete basketball guard Jonathan Brown, a business administration major, the change to the bylaws has no impact on him. He said, “I am aware of the eligibility requirements and I like that I need to fulfill them in order to play basketball. It makes me more focused in my studies and it’s extra motivation to do well in school.”

Brown also said, “For some athletes it’s hard to focus on more than one thing at once, but it’s something you have to do so they can transfer.”