UCF asks kicker to stop making money off YouTube videos

— -- UCF kicker Donald De La Haye has a popular channel on YouTube, but in his most recent video, he says UCF asked him to stop making money off his videos to preserve his amateur status.

In the video "Quit College Sports or Quit YouTube," De La Haye said, "I feel like they're making me pick between my passion in what I love to do, make videos and entertain, be creative, and my other passion, which is playing football."

A source said UCF never gave De La Haye an ultimatum. Rather, he met with the compliance staff, and they offered to work toward a solution. The NCAA has not been involved in the matter, and all correspondence has been handled by UCF.

In a statement, UCF said, "UCF Athletics is committed to rules compliance. Our compliance staff strives to make sure our student-athletes are informed about all pertinent NCAA bylaws. Student-athletes attend regular educational meetings regarding NCAA eligibility. One of our goals is to help our student-athletes learn about the bylaws that govern intercollegiate athletics, in an effort to help them maintain their eligibility."

De La Haye has made 41 videos that show his daily life, including what it is like to be a student-athlete. Because he hit 10,000 lifetime views, he was able to make money off ads placed on his videos. At issue is NCAA bylaw 12.4.4, which states an athlete "may establish his or her own business, provided the student-athlete's name, photograph, appearance or athletics reputation are not used to promote the business."

Since De La Haye mentions his career as a UCF football player, he could be in violation of this specific bylaw. If De La Haye continued to make the videos, he most likely would be unable to collect any money from the ads.

De La Haye serves as UCF's kickoff specialist. He appeared in all 13 games last season.