Overview

Founded more than one hundred years ago as a way to protect student-athletes, the NCAA continues to implement that principle with increased emphasis on both athletics and academic excellence. The NCAA membership creates rules in three separate divisions that determine an individual’s eligibility to participate in intercollegiate athletics. Prospective student-athletes must meet minimum academic standards and amateurism criteria in to play college sports. The NCAA Eligibility Center administers the process for prospects seeking initial eligibility. NCAA membership committees composed of faculty members, administrators and other higher education professionals create and apply eligibility standards.

College-Bound Student-Athletes

The initial-eligibility standards for NCAA Division 1 college-bound student-athletes are changing. College-bound student-athletes first entering a Division 1 college or university on or after August 1, 2015, will need to meet new academic rules in order to receive athletics aid (scholarship), practice or compete during their first year. First, here are three terms you need to know:

• Full Qualifier: A college-bound student-athlete may receive athletics aid (scholarship), practice and compete in the first year of enrollment at the Division I college or university.

• Academic Redshirt: A college-bound student-athlete may receive athletics aid (scholarship) in the first year of enrollment and may practice in the first regular academic term (semester or quarter) but may NOT compete in the first year of enrollment. After the first term is complete, the college-bound student-athlete must be academically successful at his/her college or university to continue to practice for the rest of the year.

• Nonqualifier: A college-bound student-athlete cannot receive athletics aid (scholarship), cannot practice and cannot compete in the first year of enrollment.

Requirements

Full Qualifier
1. Complete 16 core courses (same distribution as in the past)
• Ten of the 16 core courses must be completed before the seventh semester (senior year) of high school.
• Seven of the 10 core courses must be English, math or science.
2. Have a minimum core-course GPA of 2.300
• Grades earned in the 10 required courses required before the senior year are "locked in" for purposes of GPA calculation.
• A repeat of one of the "locked in" courses will not be used to improve the GPA if taken after the seventh semester begins.
3. Meet the competition sliding scale requirement of GPA and ACT/SAT score (this is a new scale with increased GPA/test score requirements)
4. Graduate from high school

Academic Redshirt

1. Complete 16 core courses (same distribution as in the past)
2. Have a minimum core-course GPA of 2.000
3. Meet the academic redshirt sliding scale requirement of GPA and ACT/SAT score
4. Graduate from high school
Nonqualifier is a college-bound student-athlete who fails to meet the standards for a qualifier or for an academic redshirt.

New Rules and Sliding Scales Q&A

Q: A college-bound student-athlete completes 15 core courses with a 2.500 core-course GPA and an 820 SAT score (critical reading and math). What is the college-bound student-athlete's NCAA initial-eligibility status?
A: The college-bound student-athlete is a nonqualifier because only 15 core courses were completed, not the required 16 core courses.

Q: A college-bound student-athlete completes 16 core courses in the required framework with a 2.500 core-course GPA and a 68 sum ACT. What is the college-bound student-athlete's initial-eligibility status?
A: The college-bound student-athlete is an academic redshirt. Under the new competition scale, a 68 sum ACT score requires a 2.950 core-course GPA.

Q: A college-bound student-athlete completes nine core courses prior to the seventh semester of high school. What is the college-bound student-athlete's initial-eligibility status?
A: The college-bound student-athlete cannot be certified as a qualifier because only nine of the 10 required courses were completed before the seventh semester. He/she would be permitted to practice and receive aid (scholarship), provided he/she presents 16 core courses and meets the necessary core-course GPA and test-score requirement at the time of graduation.

Online Resources

CoreCourse GPA http://www.corecoursegpa.com/
NCAA Core Course List https://web1.ncaa.org/hsportal/exec/hsAction
(High School Code: 310205)

NCAA Eligibility Center-http://web1.ncaa.org/ECWR2/NCAA_EMS/NCAA.jsp
NCAA Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/CBSA16.pdf

NCAA Road Map to Initial Eligibility-http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/EB12.pdf