Behind the scenes: NSU’s compliance office

By Bella Giaquinto •

Behind every championship victory and every student-athlete’s success at NSU lies a critical, often unseen force: the compliance office. Yashiva Edwards, assistant athletic director for compliance and NCAA rules education, the athletic program operates with integrity and adheres to the complex rules and regulations governing collegiate sports.

“The compliance office helps us align with the NCAA and make sure that our rules and how we operate stays equitable against every other NCAA institution, so it is a huge part of our athletic department,” said John Sung, interim director of athletics.

Edwards joined NSU’s Athletics in 2019, and her responsibilities expanded in 2020 when she was also appointed as the Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Designee (ADID). Within her roles, she now provides daily support to 15 head coaches, multiple assistant coaches, and more than 300 student-athletes.

“I believe as a compliance office, I should provide service to our coaches, students and our administration so that they can be successful,” Edwards said.

Edwards’ role within the compliance office touches on a wide range of areas, including informing student-athletes about upcoming legislative changes, ensuring academic eligibility, and overseeing marketing, promotions, and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) initiatives.

“There’s quite a bit that goes on in compliance since it touches on everything. If you look at an athletic department, and if you really break it down, in most cases it’s like running a business,” Edwards said.

Supporting Edwards within the compliance office are two graduate assistants from Shepard Broad College of Law. The assistantships, introduced in 2023, provide crucial support in managing the high volume of paperwork, tracking deadlines, and ensuring student-athlete eligibility. Edwards sought out law students interested in gaining practical experience within Athletics, whether in areas like intellectual property, NIL, administration, or sports management.

“It has been very helpful working with the law school and having graduate assistants because when interpreting the legislation, you have to know policies, procedures, and intent of laws, so it has been a help with handling that,” Edwards said.

A significant focus for the compliance office, and indeed the entire athletic department, is navigating the complexities of the NCAA’s one-time transfer exception. Sung touches on the effect this exception has on the compliance office.

“With being such an elite Division II school, we have kids who play at Division I or other Division II schools, and they want an opportunity to win a championship, so they come to NSU,” Sung said. “Our department then has to track all of their grades down and all of their credits and make sure that they’re still eligible, so from what we do every day, it puts more work on our staff.”

Beyond affecting administrative workload, the one-time transfer exception also presents additional challenges and opportunities for student-athletes and coaches. To eliminate such challenges, Edwards ensures each athlete receives the necessary resources to understand the process and implications of transferring.

“When a student requests to speak about entering the portal, they always will have to come through compliance so that communication and information is provided to them prior to going into the portal,” Edwards said. “We do a very good job at providing students with the education they need and I do have an open door policy, as well as most coaches.”

Head baseball coach Adrian Morales attests to the changes occurring within the NCAA, highlighting the importance of Edwards’ role.

“So many rules are evolving and changing now with the NCAA, from when I was an athlete to being a coach at Miami-Dade and now here,” Morales said. “Yashiva does a good job at holding us accountable as coaches, we’re lucky to have her.”

Sung also acknowledges the valuable support Edwards provides the entire athletic department, encompassing all aspects of its operations.

“We’re really lucky because Yashiva is fantastic,” Sung said. “Our goal is to give her assistance, and she also has the knowledge of being a former Division I student-athlete which makes her able to understand what student-athletes go through so that really helps them.”

When student-athletes interact with the compliance office, Sung says that they shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions.

“The compliance office isn’t the principal’s office, it is supposed to be a resource for the student-athletes where we’re always trying to find a way to help you and NSU be as successful as possible.”