NCAA Initial Eligibility Burlington Central High School March 1, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

NCAA Initial Eligibility

Burlington Central High School • March 1, 2017

Overview

• NCAA Divisions, NAIA, and NJCAA
• Steps to Achieving Eligibility
• NCAA Eligibility Center
• Academics – Initial Eligibility
• Core Courses
• GPA and Test Scores
• Recruiting
• Athletic Scholarships
• Amateurism

NCAA Division I

• Division I includes most major universities, with larger

budgets and facilities, and usually more students

• Median undergraduate enrollment is 9,205
• Division I is divided into the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS)

and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)

• Division I schools offer the most athletic scholarships of the

divisions

• 56% of all student-athletes receive some level of athletics aid

NCAA Division II

• Division II is an intermediate division between the more expensive

Division I and Division III, which offers no athletic scholarships

• Division II schools tend to be smaller public universities and private

institutions

• Median undergraduate enrollment is 2,530
• Athletic scholarships are offered in most sports, but with more

limitations than in Division I

• Ex. – In football, Division II schools may offer the equivalent of 36 full
• scholarships. Division I-FBS schools may offer athletic aid to 85

student-athletes in football (63 for FCS).

• 61% of all student-athletes receive some level of athletics aid

NCAA Division III

• Division III consists of colleges and universities that choose not to
• ffer athletic scholarships
• Median undergraduate enrollment is 1,860
• Division III athletics are treated as an extra-curricular activity for

students – so they do not offer athletic scholarships, do not redshirt freshman, and do not use funds whose primary purpose is to benefit athletics

• 82% of all student-athletes receive some form of academic grant or need-

based scholarship; institutional gift aid totals $17,000 on average

NAIA

• Not affiliated with the NCAA
• Membership consists of mostly smaller colleges and universities
• The NAIA has less strict recruiting rules, allowing more contact with

coaches

• There are limits on the number of full athletic scholarships available for

each sport (which can be divided among multiple student-athletes)

• To register with the NAIA Eligibility Center, go to www.playnaia.org

NJCAA

• Not affiliated with the NCAA
• The NJCAA is an association of community college and

junior college athletic departments

NCAA Academic Requirements

• Graduate from high school on time
• Complete NCAA approved courses (the number

required depends on which Division)

• Earn a minimum Core Course GPA
• Earn a required ACT or SAT sum score (refer to

sliding scale)

Freshman Year

• Concentrate on getting the best grades you can to set up your

GPA for the rest of high school

• Access and print your high school’s list of approved NCAA courses
• n the Eligibility Center website (www.eligibilitycenter.org)
• Take classes that are on your high school’s list of NCAA courses
• The NCAA Eligibility Center will only use approved courses to

certify your initial eligibility

Sophomore Year

• Register with the NCAA Eligibility Center at the beginning of your

sophomore year

• www.eligibilitycenter.org
• Work hard on your GPA
• Take NCAA Core Courses
• Use summer courses if needed to catch up in terms of your GPA

and/or Core Course requirements

NCAA Eligibility Center

Click here to create your account www.eligibilitycenter.org

Junior Year

• Register to take the ACT, SAT, or both and use the NCAA Eligibility Center

code “9999” as a score recipient

• Keep up on your Core Courses
• Get your high school to send official transcripts to the NCAA Eligibility

Center after completing your junior year

• The Eligibility Center does not accept faxed or emailed transcripts, but

there is an online system some schools are able to use

• Need a transcript from each high school you attended
• Check with your counselor and the Eligibility Center between your junior

and senior year to make sure you are taking enough Core Courses during your senior year

Senior Year

• Take the ACT and/or SAT as many times as necessary
• Finish your Core Courses (check the list of approved courses for your school)
• Continue to take college prep courses
• Graduate on time – 8 semesters (4 years) – by June 30
• Apply to colleges – application deadlines vary from school to school and can

be as early as December, so check deadlines early

• Complete the FAFSA (available October 1 the year before)
• Apply for any scholarships you think you qualify for

NCAA Eligibility Center

• Visit the “My Planner” page after you register to view

your status and check for any missing information or documents

• Review your sports participation (amateurism)

responses and request final amateurism certification beginning April 1 (if you are enrolling in the fall) or October 1 (if you are enrolling in the spring)

• After graduation, ask your high school counselor to

send your final official transcript to the NCAA Eligibility Center with proof of graduation

Core Courses

• Core Courses are classes that qualify for high school graduation in the

following subjects:

• English
• Math
• Natural or physical science (biology, chemistry, physics, etc.)
• Social science
• Foreign Language
• Comparative religion or philosophy
• Core Courses are 4-year college preparatory and are taught at or above

the high school’s regular academic level (no remedial courses) by a qualified instructor

• Math – must be Algebra I level or higher

Core Courses

• Division I:
• From the time you start 9th grade, you have 4 years (8 semesters) to

complete your Core Course requirements

• If you do not meet the requirements on time, Core Courses taken after the

8th semester will not be counted toward your NCAA academic eligibility requirements

• “On time” also means that if your high school graduation takes place June

1, you must graduate June 1. If you do not graduate June 1 with the rest of your high school class, you have not completed your requirements “on time”

• Division II:
• You are permitted to use all core courses completed from your 9th grade

year until the time you enroll full-time at a college or university

Division I Core Courses

• Complete 16 Core Courses:
• 4 years of English
• 3 years of Math (Algebra I or higher)
• 2 years of Natural or Physical Science (1 year of lab if offered by your

high school)

• 1 additional year of English, Math, or Natural/Physical Science
• 2 years of Social Science
• 4 years of additional courses (from any area above, foreign language,
• r comparative religion/philosophy)

Division II Core Courses

• Complete 16 Core Courses:
• 3 years of English
• 2 years of Math (Algebra I or higher)
• 2 years of Natural or Physical Science (1 year of lab if offered by your

high school)

• 3 additional years of English, Math, or Natural/Physical Science
• 2 years of Social Science
• 4 years of additional courses (from any area above, foreign language,
• r comparative religion/philosophy)

Division III Core Courses

• Unlike Divisions I and II, there is no uniform set of

eligibility requirements for Division III schools

• Eligibility for admission, financial aid, practice, and

competition is determined by the college or university

• The NCAA Eligibility Center does not perform

certifications for Division III college-bound student- athletes

Core Course GPA

• The NCAA does not use the GPA reported on your

high school transcript – they only use grades earned in approved Core Courses

• No plus/minus – an A- is an A (4.0), a B+ is a B (3.0)
• Some advanced courses may be weighted (check

your list of approved courses)

Test Scores

• On the ACT, you get scores for 4 parts of the test and an overall average

score – the NCAA adds up the scores for the 4 parts to determine your sum score

• The SAT has 2 parts – add these together for your combined score
• Writing is not included for either the ACT or SAT
• The NCAA will use your best score for each part of the ACT or SAT to

determine your sum score

• Ex. – You take the ACT and get these component scores:
• 20, 19, 17, 25 - Then you re-take it and get scores of:
• 19, 22, 21, 19 – The NCAA would take the highest score in each section:
• 20, 22, 21, 25 – Which would make your sum score 88, better than the

single test sum score of 81

Division I Sliding Scale

The full sliding scale can be found at www.eligibilitycenter.org under Resources

Academic Changes – 2016 (Div. I)

• Minimum Core Course GPA of 2.300 to be a Qualifier
• 10 Core Courses must be completed before the

beginning of your senior year

• Of these 10 courses, at least 7 must be in English,

Math, or Science

Qualifer (Div. I)

• Qualifiers met all of the initial eligibility requirements
• During their first academic year, qualifiers can:
• Receive an athletic scholarship
• Practice
• Compete
• Early academic qualifier – Automatically a qualifier after six (6)

semesters (after junior year) if:

• SAT sum score of at least 900, or ACT sum score of at least 75
• 3.000 core course GPA
• 3 years of English, 2 years of math, 2 years of science, 2 additional years of

English, math, or science, and 5 additional core courses in any area

Academic Redshirt (Div. I)

• Two ways to end up an Academic Redshirt:
• Core Course GPA below 2.300 but above 2.000
• Do not meet the 10/7 core course requirement by senior

year

• Academic Redshirts:
• Can receive an athletic scholarship and practice during first

regular academic term

• Must pass at least nine (9) semester hours or eight (8) quarter hours

in order to practice in the next term

• Cannot compete during first academic year

Non-Qualifiers

• If you do not meet the academic requirements to be either

a Qualifier or Academic Redshirt, you are a Non-Qualifier

• Non-Qualifiers:
• Cannot receive athletic financial aid during their first

year at an NCAA Division I institution

• Cannot practice or compete during the first year at a

Division I institution

Division II GPA & Test Scores

• Instead of a sliding scale, Division II currently has minimum

requirements for GPA and test scores:

• Earn a 2.000 GPA or better in your core courses
• Earn a combined SAT score of 820 or an ACT sum score of 68
• Beginning August 1, 2018, Division II will start using a sliding scale:

Division II Outcomes

• Qualifier
• May practice, compete, and receive an athletic scholarship in first

year

• Partial Qualifier
• Similar to Division I’s Academic Redshirt
• May receive an athletic scholarship and practice in first year
• May not compete
• Non-Qualifier
• Cannot practice, compete or receive an athletic scholarship

Recruiting – General Rules

• College coaches are not permitted to contact PSAs until

certain times (times vary depending on the sport). Generally speaking:

• In-person contact is not permitted until Sept. 1 of your

senior year

• Phone calls, texts, email, and mail not permitted until
• Sept. 1 of your junior year

Recruiting – General Rules

• There are recruiting calendars which limit when certain

actions are permissible (each sport has a different calendar)

• Contact period = coaches may have in-person contact with

PSAs

• Evaluation period = coaches may watch PSAs compete, but

may not have in-person contact away from the institution’s campus

• Quiet period = coaches may not have in-person contact with

PSAs away from the institution’s campus and may not watch PSAs compete

• Dead period = coaches may not have in-person contact with

PSAs and may not watch PSAs compete

Recruiting – Other Terms

• Contact = in-person exchange of more than a greeting
• Evaluation = coach observes a PSA practicing or competing
• Official visit = visit with expenses/meals covered by the institution
• You may take up to five (5) official visits, and no more than one (1) to

any institution

• May take official visits starting the first day of classes of your senior

year (January 1 of junior year if men’s basketball)

• Unofficial visit = visit with no expenses or meals provided by the

institution

• You can make an unofficial visit at any time, except during dead periods

Athletic Scholarships

• NCAA Division I and II institutions offer athletic scholarships
• Athletic scholarships can be for one year or multiple years
• They may be renewed annually for up to five years
• Athletic scholarships range from full scholarships (tuition, room,

board, and books (and even cost of attendance)) to very small scholarships

Amateurism

• To be eligible to compete in college, you must maintain amateur

status.

• Basically, this means that you cannot be paid for your participation

in athletics

• Cannot receive prize money above your actual and necessary

expenses

• Cannot agree to be represented by an agent
• It’s important to update your sports participation information

with the NCAA Eligibility Center often, especially if you participate in events outside of the normal high school season

• Always ask before you act

Resources

• www.ncaa.org/student-athletes/future
• NCAA Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete:

www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/CBSA17.pdf

• www.2point3.org (website with new academic requirements)
• Resources tab on the Eligibility Center website

(www.eligibilitycenter.org)

• www.naia.org – About the NAIA – Play Sports in College – NAIA Guide

for the College-Bound Student-Athlete

• NCAA Eligibility Center customer service staff – 877-262-1492