(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), no person shall give, offer, promise, or attempt to give any money or other thing of value to any particular student athlete or member of the immediate family of the student athlete for either of the following purposes:

(1) To induce, encourage, or reward the student athlete’s application, enrollment, or attendance, at a public or private institution of postsecondary education in order to have the athlete participate in intercollegiate sporting events, contests, exhibitions, or programs at that institution.

(2) To induce, encourage, or reward the student athlete’s participation in an intercollegiate sporting event, contest, exhibition, or program.

No person shall aid and abet any act described in this subdivision.

(b) This section does not apply to any public or private institution of postsecondary education or to any officer or employee of that institution when the institution, officer, or employee is acting in accordance with an official written policy of that institution which is in compliance with the bylaws of the National Collegiate Athletic Association; or to any intercollegiate athletic awards approved or administered by the student athlete’s institution; or to any other student of that institution; or to any member of the immediate family of the student athlete.

(c) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Immediate family” means the student athlete’s spouse, child, parent, stepparent, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, parent-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, nephew, niece, aunt, uncle, or first cousin, or the spouse of any of those persons, or guardian of any of those persons.

(2) “Student athlete” means a student at a public or private institution of postsecondary education who engages in, is eligible to engage, or may be eligible to engage, in, any intercollegiate sporting event, contest, exhibition, or program, or an individual who has applied, is eligible to apply, or may be eligible to apply in the future to a public or private institution of postsecondary education.

(d) Except as provided in subdivision (b), any person who engages in conduct knowing or having reason to know that such conduct is in violation of subdivision (a) shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or three times the amount given, offered, or promised to the student athlete or immediate family member of the athlete, whichever is greater. The district attorney of any county in which a violation occurs shall enforce this chapter.

(Added by Stats. 1986, Ch. 902, Sec. 1.)