National Collegiate Athletics Association Serves as the athletics governing body for more than 1200 colleges, universities, conferences and organizations. Member colleges and universities develop the rules and guidelines for athletics eligibility and competition for each of the three NCAA divisions NCAA is committed to the student-athlete and to governing competition in a fair, safe, inclusive and sportsmanlike manner Student-athlete GRADUATION is ultimate goal

NCAA Membership Divisions Division I – sponsor at least 7 sports each for men and women (or 6 men/8 women), 2 team sports for each gender, contest and participant minimums for each sport, scheduling requirements, minimum and maximum financial aid requirements Division II – sponsor at least 5 sports each for men and women (or 4 men/6 women), 2 team sports for each gender, contest and participant minimums, scheduling requirements, maximum financial aid awards Division III – sponsor at least 5 sports each for men and women, 2 team sports for each gender, no athletics aid awarded

BECOMING A STUDENT ATHLETE 5 year clock – 4 years of eligibility To be eligible to participate in college athletics at any NCAA Division I or II institution, prospective student athletes (PSA’s) must have their academic and amateur credentials certified through the NCAA ELIGIBILITY CENTER PSA’S will fall into one of four categories:

ELIGIBILITY CATEGORIES QUALIFIER – PSA can receive athletics aid, practice and compete during their first year of college enrollment NONQUALIFIER – PSA can not receive athletics aid, can not practice and can not compete during their first year of college enrollment ACADEMIC REDSHIRT – For PSA’s initially enrolling in a Division I institution August 1, 2016 or later – can receive athletics aid and practice during first year of enrollment but can not compete. PSA must be academically successful during first semester to continue to practice the rest of the academic year PARTIAL QUALIFIER – For PSA’s enrolling at a Division II institution (DI PSA’s can be deemed a partial through initial eligibility waivers as well) – can receive athletics aid and practice but can not compete during their first year of enrollment

DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY GRADUATION CORE COURSES TEST SCORES GRADE POINT AVERAGE AMATEURISM

GRADUATION PSA must graduate from high school on time.

WHAT IS A CORE COURSE? For NCAA purposes, a core course must be an academic course in one or a combination of these areas: English, mathematics, natural/physical science, social science, foreign language, comparative religion or philosophy Be four year college preparatory Be taught at or above high school’s regular academic level (no remedial, developmental, enhanced, taught at a slower pace or those that cover less content than the college prep course)

Not all classes taken to meet high school graduation requirements may be used as core courses by the NCAA Each high school has a list of core classes accepted by the NCAA (called the 48H). Credit by exam courses will not be used

Nontraditional courses (online, virtual, distance learning, independent student, individualized instruction, correspondence, computer software programs, etc) must include ongoing access between the instructor and student as well as regular interaction for purposes of teaching, evaluating and providing assistance Nontraditional courses must have a defined time period for completion

Nontraditional courses should be clearly identified as such on transcript Nontraditional courses must be four year college preparatory. They need to be comparable in length, content and rigor to courses taught in a traditional classroom setting. Credit recovery courses must meet the NCAA definition of a core course to be accepted – these courses may be reviewed on an individual basis – SAVE EVERYTHING!!!!!

CORE COURSES – DIVISION I Must complete these 16 core classes: 4 years of English 3 years of math (Algebra I or higher) 2 years natural/physical science (including one year of lab if offered by high school) 1 additional year of English/math/science 2 years of social science 4 years of additional core courses(from any category above or foreign language, comparative religion or philosophy)

PSA must earn a minimum required GPA in core courses PSA must earn a combined SAT or ACT sum score that corresponds to the core course GPA (slide scale) PSA must complete the 16 core courses within four consecutive academic years from start of 9 th grade If PSA graduates on time, they can use one core course after graduation before initial full time collegiate enrollment to meet NCAA core course requirements. Those students with a diagnosed learning disability can use up to 3 core courses(proper documentation must be provided to EC)

NCAA Division I Sliding Scales Sliding Scale A - for students first enrolling at an NCAA DI institution as a full-time student during a regular academic semester BEFORE August 1, 2016 Sliding Scale B – for students first enrolling at an NCAA DI institution as a full-time student during a regular academic semester AFTER August 1, 2016

PSA’S ENROLLING ON OR AFTER AUGUST 1, 2016 – DIVISION I Qualifiers must complete the 16 core courses, however, 10 of them must be completed BEFORE the seventh semester (senior year) of high school. Seven of those 10 must be English, math or science. Must have a minimum core course GPA of 2.3 Grades earned in the 10 courses required before senior year are “locked in” and can’t be changed

CORE COURSES – DIVISION II PSA’s ENROLLING AUGUST 1, 2013 Must complete these 16 core courses: 3 years of English 2 years of math (Algebra I or higher) 2 years of natural/physical science (one year of lab if offered by high school) 3 additional years of English/math/science 2 years of social studies 4 years additional core courses (from any category above, or foreign language, comparative religion or philosophy)

Must earn a 2.0 GPA or better in core courses Must earn a combined SAT score of 820 or an ACT sum score of 68 PARTIAL QUALIFIER – those PSA’s who did not meet all the academic requirements listed but have graduated from high school and meet one of the following: Combined SAT score of 820 or ACT sum score of 68 Completion of the 16 core courses with a 2.0 core course GPA

Division III Division III college bound student athletes are not certified through the NCAA Eligibility Center – these schools set their own admissions standards and tend to be academically rigorous

TEST SCORES PSA must achieve the required score of the SAT or ACT before full-time collegiate enrollment (this goes for international students as well) State administered ACT exams will be accepted by NCAA as well as those administered on national testing dates If your ACT/SAT test fee was waived, your eligibility center fee can be waived as well – talk to your guidance counselor

All SAT and ACT scores must be reported to the NCAA Eligibility Center directly from the testing agency (test scores on transcripts will not be accepted) When registering for the SAT or ACT, PSA should input the NCAA EC code of 9999 to make sure it’s reported directly to NCAA. PSA can take the ACT or SAT more than one time. The best sub scores from each test will be added to get the total score Writing components of SAT/ACT will not be used

GRADE POINT AVERAGE PSA’S grade point average of core courses is calculated based on a 4.0 scale Best grades from classes taken that are listed on the 48H will be used to calculate the GPA To determine quality points earned for each course, multiply quality point for the grade by the amount of credit earned: A = 4 pointsB = 3 points C = 2 pointsD = 1 point

- -Some high schools “weight” honors or AP courses – please refer to your high school’s 48H to see if the NCAA will grant that weight to help boost GPA To calculate the core course GPA, divide the total number of quality points for all core courses by the total number of core courses completed. This is the GPA the NCAA Eligibility Center will use to determine initial eligibility

TRANSCRIPTS If you’ve attended more than one high school, official transcripts from EACH school must be sent in to the Eligibility Center Faxed or ed transcripts will not be accepted, however, some can be accepted electronically through Docufide/Parchment, Scrip Safe, ConnectEDU, National Transcript Center/Pearson Edustructure, USMO ET and Xap.

AMATEURISM To participate in NCAA Division I or II athletics, a PSA must be certified as an amateur athlete. When PSA registers with Eligibility Center, they will be asked questions regarding their athletics participation. These answers will be reviewed and a determination of amateur status will be made. Amateurism must be certified for each sport you wish to participate in.

Pre-enrollment activities that may be reviewed: Contracts with a professional team Salary for participating in athletics Prize money Play with professionals Tryouts, practice or competition with a pro team Benefits from an agent/prospective agent Agreement to be represented by an agent Delayed initial full-time collegiate enrollment to participate in organized sports competition Any financial assistance based on athletics skills or participation

STEPS TO ACHIEVING ELIGIBILITY Freshmen and Sophomores – Start planning now! Get best grades possible Take classes that match the high school’s 48H At beginning of sophomore year, complete online registration at

Juniors – Register to take the ACT, SAT or both – use the NCAA Eligibility Center code “9999” as a score recipient Continue taking college prep courses. Work with high school guidance counselor to ensure they are not only meeting high school graduation requirements, but NCAA core course requirements as well Before registering for senior year classes, check with counselor again to verify courses needed Have high school guidance counselor send NCAA Eligibility Center copy of transcript at end of junior year ALL high schools attended must send in official transcripts to NCAA Eligibility Center

Seniors – Take ACT/SAT again if necessary to help achieve best cumulative score Continue taking college prep courses Verify courses match high school’s 48H Review amateurism responses and request final amateurism certification on or after April 1 (October 1 for spring enrollees) Graduate on time Continue getting best grades possible! After graduation, high school guidance counselor needs to send NCAA Eligibility Center the final transcript with PROOF OF GRADUATION

RECRUITING RULES College coaches are expected to know and abide by the rules governing recruiting – as a prospective student athlete, you are expected to follow the rules as well. Violations of recruiting rules CAN NEGATIVELY IMPACT YOUR ELIGIBILITY!!!

Each sport has a recruiting calendar – there are specified times when a coach is permitted to have face to face contact with you (contact period), when they can watch you play or practice (evaluation period), when they can have in person contact with you and parents only on college campus (quiet period) and when they can’t have any in person contact with you or your parents (dead period). Official visits – visit to a college campus that is paid for by the college – allowed up to 5 – can only be taken during senior year(except basketball). You must be registered with Eligibility Center and provide college with copy of your transcript and test score. Transportation, room, meals and reasonable entertainment can be provided.

Unofficial visit – visit to college campus financed by the prospect – no expenses can be provided with exception of complimentary admission to a home athletics event. These can be taken at any time with no limit on number. You should NEVER be given any kind of gift or extra benefit while being recruited There are limits to the types and number of communications you can receive from a college coach as well as a limit on the number of contacts and evaluations they can have with you– these are sport specific and change yearly. Familiarize yourself with your sport’s recruiting rules!

Verbal Commitment – this phrase is used to describe a prospect’s commitment to a school before they sign (or are able to sign) an NLI. A verbal commitment is not binding for either the prospect or the college. National Letter of Intent – signed during your senior year, this binds you to the college and binds the college to you. Make sure you CAREFULLY read the rules and provisions of the NLI before signing!! A National Letter of Intent must be accompanied by an athletics financial aid agreement for it to be valid.

Picking a College Be realistic – academically, financially and athletically Be informed – get to know your coach and the program, investigate what the campus and surrounding area has to offer Be prepared – academics doesn’t stop once you’re a qualifier – PTD requirements have to be met each year to maintain your eligibility! Be proactive – don’t wait until the last minute! Respond to requests and keep track of deadlines.

The Guide for the College Bound Student Athlete - excellent resource for questions regarding eligibility, amateurism, and recruiting REMEMBER – YOU are responsible for your eligibility – keep up with your assigned tasks in Eligibility Center!