College Information for student athletes
College Information for Student Athletes
A student who wishes to enroll in college as a freshman and participate in Division I or II athletics must be certified by the NCAA Eligibility Center or the NAIA Eligibility Center, depending on which Association the institution is a member. See information below about the NCAA Eligibility Center and NAIA Eligibility Center.
The NCAA Division I Board of Directors requires a college-bound student-athlete to complete 10 of the core courses prior to his or her seventh semester (the start of the senior year) of high school. To read more about the rules, check out the Resources link on the High School Portal at www.eligibility.org.
Students who want to participate in NCAA Division I or II sports need to have official reports of their ACT or SAT scores sent to the NCAA Eligibility Center as early as possible. If students test more than once, all scores should be sent to the NCAA Eligibility Center. Students should mark code 9999 as one of their college and scholarship codes on their registration folder when applying for the ACT or SAT. The NCAA eligibility center recommends student-athletes register during sophomore year in order to increase awareness of eligibility requirements. A final transcript will be sent to the NCAA eligibility center after graduation.
Note: The NCAA and NAIA are separate and distinct associations and have different initial-eligibility requirements and serve different colleges and universities. Each has their own Eligibility Center. Depending on who is recruiting a student-athlete or what their goals are, some will need to register with both associations just to be safe.
NCAA Eligibility Center
The NCAA Eligibility Center is responsible for determining the eligibility of every prospective student-athlete in Division I and II. These requirements (based on the number of core courses completed and a combination of core course GPA and ACT/SAT scores) are the same for every sport and every college within its Division.
Division I - 16 Core Courses
4 years of English
3 years of mathematics (Algebra I or higher)
2 years of natural/physical science (1 year of lab if offered by high school)
1 year of additional English, mathematics or natural/physical science
2 years of social science
4 years of additional courses (from any area above, foreign language or comparative religion/philosophy)
Division II - 16 Core Courses
3 years of English
2 years of mathematics (Algebra 1 or higher)
2 years of natural/physical science (1 year of lab if offered by high school)
3 years of additional English, mathematics or natural/physical science
2 years of social science
4 years of additional courses (from any area above, foreign language or comparative religion/philosophy)
The NCAA Eligibility Center will no longer accept test scores from the high school transcript. Test scores must come directly from ACT/SAT.
No student athlete may make an official visit or be given a written offer until after he/she registers with the NCAA Eligibility Center and is placed on the institution's request list. Before enrolling in any course inside or outside District 99, check that the course is accepted by the NCAA. It is the student's responsibility to meet deadlines and complete appropriate coursework.
NAIA Eligibility Center
Beginning in September of 2011, the National Association for Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) began registering high school student-athletes for NAIA eligibility. Every student-athlete who is considering attending and playing on a team at an NAIA college or university must register with the NAIA Eligibility Center and receive eligibility determination. When a student registers, academic history, athletic participation, standardized test scores and official transcripts are used to determine initial eligibility. For more information and to register, go to www.playnaia.org.
If a student-athlete has a 3.0 GPA (4.0 scale) after junior year and the minimum test score requirement has been met, the student should register and official transcripts can be sent. An early eligibility decision is available.
If a student-athlete will graduate this spring and enroll in college in the fall, eligibility requirements state that two of the following three requirements must be met:
- Achieve a minimum of 18 on the ACT or an 860 on the SAT (Reading and Math)
- Achieve a minimum overall GPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale
- Graduate in the top half of your high school class