CONSTITUTION.

ARTICLE I.—Name.

The name of this organization shall be The Athletic Association of North Carolina School and Colleges.

ARTICLE II.—Object.

Its object shall be the development of amateur athletics in the schools and colleges of the State.

ARTICLE III.—Officers.

Section 1. The officers shall be a President, a Vice-President, and a Secretary and Treasurer.

Section 2. There shall also be an Executive Committee, consisting of one representative of each school or College in the Association, to be selected by the institution represented. The business of the Executive Committee may be transacted in meeting, a majority being present, or by written correspondence.

ARTICLE IV.—Duties of Officers.

Section 1. The President shall preside at the Annual Convention of the Association and at all meetings of the Executive Committee. He shall issue a call for a meeting of the Executive Committee whenever necessary, and also when requested by three members of the Association.

Section 2. The Vice-President shall perform the duties of the President in the latter’s absence.

Section 3. The Secretary and Treasurer shall keep records of the meetings of the Annual Convention and of the Executive Committee. He shall have charge of all funds of the Association and shall submit a detailed statement of all receipts and expenditures to the Annual Convention.

ARTICLE V.—Membership.

Formal application for membership must be made to the Secretary. He shall then notify all members of the Association of such application. Two weeks will be allowed for filing protests. At the end of that time the Executive Committee shall take final action upon the application.

ARTICLE VI.—Annual Convention.

Section 1. There shall be an annual convention of this Association, the place and time of meeting to be decided upon by the previous convention.

Section 2. In this convention each school or college represented by a delegate in person shall be entitled to one vote.

Section 3. All officers are to be elected by the Annual Convention.

Section 4. Any vacancy in office occurring between the meeting of the Convention is to be filled by letter ballot.

ARTICLE VII.—Officials in Contests.

No person shall be an official in any contest between any of the schools or colleges of this Association who is an alumnus of or has ever been connected with either of the contestants.

The contesting parties may select their own officials. If they fail to agree, the President and Secretary of this Association shall offer a list of eligible officials, from which selection shall be made.

ARTICLE VIII.—Time Limit.

No person hall play more than four years in this Association on a school team and four years on a college team.

ARTICLE IX.—Qualifications of Contestants.

Section 1. No professional athlete shall take part in any contest as a member of any team in this Association. A professional athlete is a man who has at any time received money or other compensation, to play on a team, or for his athletic services as coach, trainer, athletic or gymnasium instructor, or who has competed for a money prize or portion of gate money in any contest, or who has competed for any prize against a professional, or who has played on a team any of whose members received for their services pecuniary compensated to play on a summer team of the city or town where he resides, receiving for his services no compensation excepting actual travelling expenses and board while away from home playing on the said local team.

Section 2. No player or contestant of any school or college shall be paid or receive, directly or indirectly, any money or other remuneration as part or present compensation or inducement to play in or enter any athletic contest, whether the said remuneration be received from or paid by or at the instance of any organization, committee or faculty of such university or college, or any individual whatsoever.

Section 3. In case of training table expenses, no organization or individual shall be permitted to pay for the board of a player at said table more than the excess over the above the regular board of such player.

Section 4. Furthermore, no person shall be eligible to take part, as a contestant, in any event of this Association who is not a bona fide student of the school or college on whose team he plays—matriculated for the current term within thirty days after the beginning of said term (not counting the opening day) in which such contests take place, regularly pursuing a course in said school or college of as many lectures and recitations or their equivalent as is required of regular students in such school or candidates for degrees in said college, and intending to remain a full year at the institution. In the case of schools proposing to play the first term of the academic year written declaration of such purpose to remain a full year shall be made.

Section 5. The manager or acting manager of any team may require any opposing team to furnish him two weeks before a contest a list of the players from which its team is to be selected. Each person whose name is on the list must be eligible according to this Constitution. This list shall be accompanied by a statement signed by the president of the college or principal of the school that the persons named thereon are bona fide students at said school or college, and giving the date of matriculation of each of the proposed players. Upon challenge, any one of the named players may be required to submit an affidavit that he in no way violates the Constitution of this Association. If this be unsatisfactory, the matter shall be laid before the Executive Committee.

Section 6. No school or college official of higher grade than instructor or assistant shall play on the teams of this Association, and no instructor nor assistant who receives any compensation for his services as instructor or assistant.

Section 7. No student who is a regular or special post-graduate of more than on year’s standing as such at any college, shall play on any team of this Association.

Section 8. No team in this Association shall play with any team having a professional on it.

Section 9. No student shall play on any team of this Association under an assumed name.

Section 10. No team of this Association shall play any other college team whatsoever, unless each member of the latter team shall be eligible, according to this Constitution, to play; and a certificate to that effect; signed by the president or secretary of the college represented by such team, shall be presented to the manager of the team within this Association, which certificate shall be forwarded to the President of this Association immediately after the contest.

Section 11. No student who has been connected with an institution where he has participated in an inter-collegiate contest and who has entered (another) [text obfuscated; word assumed] institution, shall be allowed to represent the latter in a similar contest unless he has been a student there for a collegiate year.

Section 12. No college student shall be allowed to enter any contest held under the auspices of this Association who is not a duly admitted candidate for one of the college degrees, namely, A. B., Ph. B. [sic], S. B., taking a full year’s work, or who is not a special or professional student of whom there has been required an amount of preparation for admission and work after admission equivalent to what is required of a candidate for one of the above named degrees.

Section 13. The last section of Article IX shall take effect on January 1, 1901, the other sections June 1, 1900.

ARTICLE X.—Suspensions.

Section 1. If in any contest a player be disqualified, the captain of the opposing team must send at once to the President of the Association notification of such disqualification, certified by the officials of the game. In case of a second disqualification of a player during the season, the Executive Committee shall investigate the offenses charged against said player. If the charges are sustained, said offender shall be suspended for not less than one year in the sport in which the offences occurred.

Section 2. Any institution playing a suspended or debarred player shall be suspended from this Association for not less than on nor more than three years.

Section 3. Assessments levied by this Association shall be paid within thirty days after notices of the assessments have been sent to members. If after the expiration of the thirty days’ limit any member be in arrears, the Secretary shall notify the President, who shall at once suspend said member until the assessment be paid. The Secretary shall also notify the other members of the Association of this suspension.

Section 4. No institution in this Association shall engage in any athletic contest whatsoever with an institution that has once been a member of the Association and has either withdrawn (without the consent of two-thirds of the members), or has been suspended or expelled from the same until such institution shall have been reinstated as a member.

Section 5. The captain of any team of this Association, who leads or orders his team to perform a violation of any laws of this Constitution, shall be suspended from playing in future contests of this Association.

Section 6. The captain of a team who refuses to allow his team to play when ordered to do so by the proper official, shall be suspended from playing in any future contests of this Association.

ARTICLE XI.—Expenses.

Section 1. Any expenses incurred during the year in carrying on the executive work of the Association shall be divided equally among the members of the Association.

Section 2. The resignation of a member of this Association shall not be accepted until all dues are paid and the said member is in good standing in every respect.

ARTICLE XII.—Miscellaneous.

Section 1. The officials in a contest of this Association shall be governed by such published rules of the game as may from time to time be authorized by the Executive Committee of this Association except where they conflict with the constitution or playing rules of this Association, in which case the latter shall hold and be enforced.

Section 2. It shall be the duty of the managers of the teams of each school or college in this Association to send to the Secretary of the Association within thirty days after the final game of each team a record, certified to by the president of each institution, of time of matriculation or resignation for that session and course of study of each member of all the teams, together with a statement as to whether or not any player is, or has been, an instructor, and with what salary, or a holder of scholarship or fellowship. At the end of each session the Secretary of the Association shall furnish the president of each school or college in the Association with a list of all the students of his institution who have been engaged in inter-collegiate athletics during the past session and shall request him to state the date of withdrawals of those that have withdrawn before the close of the session.

Section 3. Any questions not covered by this Constitution shall be referred to the Executive Committee, with power to act.

ARTICLE XII.—Amendment.

This Constitution may be amended only at the Annual Convention, and by a majority of the votes. Any proposed amendment must be forwarded in writing to the Secretary of the Association at least two weeks before the convention meets. The Secretary shall then forward a copy of the proposed amendment to each member of the Association.

Source: The News and Observer, May 13th, 1900, p. 2