NCAA ACADEMIC

REQUIREMENTS

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COLLEGIATE ASSOCIATIONS AND DIVISIONSNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)

TONIGHT’S TOPICSNCAA – National Collegiate Athletic

Association

Division I Eligibility

Division II Eligibility

Division III

NAIA Schools – National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

NCAA DIVISION I Larger Schools (such as UCLA, USC,

Stanford, Arizona, Oregon)

Full Scholarship awards

Competition primarily against Division I schools

Largest media coverage, revenue, exposure

NCAA DIVISION IISchools such as Humboldt State, Cal Poly

Pomona, UCSD, CSU Dominguez Hills, CSU Monterey Bay

Fewer sports

Few full scholarship awards

Most award is met with various institutional aid

NCAA DIVISION IIISchools such as Cal Lutheran, Menlo

College, Chapman University, UC Santa Cruz)

For the student who desires to play sports

No athletic scholarships

Eligibility Center not a factor (must be admitted to the college to be eligible)

NCAA ATHLETE PARTICIPATION

To participate in athletics at an NCAA school, a student must:

Graduate from high school andBe a qualifier based on the Eligibility

centerOr Earn an AA Degree from a community

collegeOr be accepted through the admission

process (for division III only)

DIVISION I ELIGIBILITYThere are NEW requirements for college-bound

student-athletes enrolling full time at an NCAA Div I college or university on or after August 1, 2016

Summary of Changes

• Minimum of core-course GPA of 2.3 required for competition

• 10 core courses required before beginning of senior year for competition

• Slight changes in GPA/Test score index (Sliding Scale)

DIVISION I ELIGIBILITYStudents enrolling full time on or after August

1, 2016 – three possible academic outcomes:

1.FULL QUALIFIER = competition, athletics aid (scholarship), and practice first year

2.ACADEMIC REDSHIRT = athletics aid the first year, practice in first regular academic term (semester or quarter)

3.NONQUALIFIER = no athletics aid, practice or competition the first year

DIVISION I – FULL QUALIFIERStudents will need to meet the following

requirements to receive athletics aid, practice and compete their first year:

• 16 core courses in the following areas:• 4 years English• 3 years math at Algebra 1 level or higher• 2 years natural or physical science (one lab)• 1 year additional English, math or natural/physical science• 2 years social science• 4 years additional from areas above or foreign language, philosophy or

comparative religionMinimum GPA of 2.3 required for competition in those 16 core coursesMust be a graduate from high school

ACADEMIC REDSHIRT• Requirements for Scholarship and

Practice

• 16 core courses

• Minimum required GPA of 2.000 – 2.299 in 16 core courses

• Sliding Scale – minimum ACT sum or SAT score (critical reading/math only) that matches the 16 core-course GPA

ACADEMIC REDSHIRTStudent-athletes who fail to meet the required 10

core courses prior to the start of the seventh semester ( 7 of which must be in English, math or natural/physical science) , will be allowed to retake core courses in the 7th or 8th semester, which will be used in their academic certification for the purpose of meeting the academic redshirt requirements

NON-QUALIFIER• If a college-bound student-athlete does

not meet either set of requirements, he/she is a non-qualifier

• Cannot receive athletics aid during the first year at an NCAA Division I college or university

• Cannot practice or compete during first year at a Division I college or university

CORE-COURSE PROGRESSION

• Must complete 10 core courses before seventh semester of high school (senior year)

• Of the 10 core courses completed, SEVEN must be in the area of English, math, or science

• These 10 core courses become “locked in” for the purpose of core-course GPA calculation

• A repeat of one of the “locked in” courses will NOT be used if taken after the seventh semester begins

TEST SCORES• Division II requires minimum SAT score of 820 or an

ACT sum score of 68

• The SAT score used for NCAA purposes includes ONLY the critical reading and math sections. The writing section of the SAT is not used

• The ACT score used for NCAA purposes is a sum of the following four sections: English, math, reading and science

• When you register for the SAT or ACT, use the NCAA Eligibility Center code of 9999 to ensure all SAT and ACT scores are reported directly to the NCAA Eligibility Center from the testing agency

• Test scores that appear on transcripts will not be used

GRADE-POINT AVERAGE• Look at your high school’s list of NCAA Courses on

the NCAA Eligibility Center’s website – use this list as a guide

• Only courses that appear on your school’s list of NCAA courses will be used in the calculation of the core GPA - use the list as a guide

• Div. I core GPA requirements are listed on the Sliding Scale

• Div. II core GPA requirement is a minimum of 2.0

• Remember…the NCAA GPA is calculated using NCAA core courses only

DIVISION II - ELIGIBILITY16 Core Courses

• 3 years of English

• 2 years of math – Algebra 1 or higher

• 2 years of natural/physical science ( 1 year of lab if offered by high school)

• 3 years of additional English, math, 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 III - ELIGIBILITY• NO athletic scholarships

• Eligibility Center not a factor

• Student must be admitted to the college to be eligible to compete

NCAA ELIGIBILITY CENTER• Prospective student-athletes must register with the NCAA

Eligibility Center

• Students can set up an account at www.eligibilitycenter.org

• Students should register during their Junior year and should send their transcripts at the end of Junior year ( final transcript will also need to be sent at end of Senior year)

• Fee is $65

• Students who are eligible for and have used an SAT fee waiver can have this fee waived

• Prospective student-athletes must be certified as an amateur

• Students must complete the NCAA Amateurism Certification questionnaire

NAIA SCHOOLS• 300 schools ( mainly smaller colleges)

• Azusa Pacific, Vanguard, Biola, Point Loma

• Scholarships available

• NAIA Eligibility Center at www.playnaia.org

NAIA ELIGIBILITY• Must be a high school graduate or be accepted

as a regular student in good standing as defined by the enrolling institution AND meet two of the three following requirements:

1. Achieve a minimum of 18 on the ACT or 860 on the SAT

2. Achieve a minimum overall high school GPA of 2.0

3. Graduate in the top half of your high school class

RESOURCES• Resources tab on the NCAA Eligibility

Center Website ( www.eligibilitycenter.org )

• Initial-Eligibility Resource Index

• Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete

• Quick reference Guide

• Initial Eligibility Brochure

FORMER NCAA STUDENT-ATHLETES

Ms. Adams – UCLA (Softball)

Mr. Christensen – University of Tennessee (Baseball)

Mr. Brown – Cal State Northridge (Football)

Mr. Pope – Chapman University (Football)

Mr. Tripp – Cal State Dominguez Hills (Baseball)

Mr. Faraci – Cal State Long Beach (Baseball)

Mrs. Vasquez – University San Louis Obispo (soccer)

Mr. Franco – Sonoma State (Football)

Mr. Weiman – Cal State Long Beach (Cross Country)