S. Jay Newton:
They call him “Dr. No”
 Newton |
In October, S. Jay Newton, assistant director of Athletics, was sworn in as an attorney in Indianapolis. Newton passed the bar examination – two days of six hour exams – in July.
Newton, who joined USI in 2002, is responsible for directing game management activities for the University’s 15 Division II athletic programs. He also monitors and ensures compliance with all NCAA, Great Lakes Valley Conference, and University rules and regulations.
There is a lawyerly trend in college athletics: Indiana University and University of Notre Dame both hired attorneys to run their Athletics Departments this year. Given the NCAA’s complex rules and regulations governing all aspects of intercollegiate sports, a law background “comes in handy,” Newton said.
“NCAA rules read like the law, so it’s helpful for me to have that background,” he said. “The rules explain what you can do in recruiting a student athlete, how many telephone calls a coach can make, how many practices you can have, how much aid you can offer a student athlete, and what sort of awards or benefits you can offer for recruiting and retaining student athletes.”
The rules were established in an effort to protect students from undue pressure from recruiters and ensure a level playing field for all student-athletes and schools. “No school can offer an athlete a car or reward good grades with cash,” Newton said. “You can’t take them to a five-star restaurant. You can’t fly them around in private jets.”
The requests Newton receives from USI coaches are much more modest, such as, “Can I take the whole team bowling?” But still, Newton said, “Nine out of 10 times when they come to my office with a request, the answer is no.”
That’s earned him the nickname “Dr. No,” though he tries to accommodate requests. “Every now and then I get to say ‘Yes,’ or, ‘You can’t do this and you can’t do that, but let’s see what you can do.’ I enjoy stepping out of the box, looking at the problem from a different angle, and seeing what other options are available.”
Newton serves on the 11-member NCAA Division II Legislation Committee, which meets three times a year to review regulations. “Some of the rules are outdated – for example, they don’t address emails and text messages. How many text messages can you send, and when can you send them? As technology advances the rules change.”
His father Steve Newton was the first full-time Athletics director at USI. He retired in 2001 and was replaced by Jon Mark Hall, who was assistant director of Athletics. “When my dad retired, Jon Mark moved up, and I applied for his position,” the younger Newton said.
His wife LaShay, a practicing attorney, made him promise to take the bar. “I did need to take it, having gone through the bloodbath of law school,” he said. “I didn’t anticipate passing it and was ecstatic, needless to say.”
He added, “Jon Mark was very encouraging and helpful. I wouldn’t have been able to study and take the time and effort to do it without the support of the University.”
A native of Murray, Kentucky, Newton came to USI from the Southern Conference in Asheville, North Carolina, where he was the championships and compliance assistant. He holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of South Carolina and a master's degree in public administration from Murray State University. He earned his law degree from the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis.
He and LaShay have a three-year-old daughter, Ramsey.
Wendy Knipe Bredhold
News & Information Services
812/461-5259 or wkbredhold@usi.edu
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