General Information
Athletes who intend to play a Division I or II college sport must apply to the NCAA Eligibility Center no later than fall of their senior year. NCAA recommends registering at the beginning of sophomore year.
Students must earn a qualified GPA of at least a 2.3 to be eligible to compete in Division I sports. If a student-athlete graduates from high school with a 2.0-2.29 CORE GPA, they can still receive a scholarship and participate in practice but CANNOT participate in game action their freshman year. The Division II core GPA requirement is a minimum of 2.000. Division II core GPA required to be eligible for competition is 2.200.
NCAA Divisions I and II also require credit earned in 16 core courses. Division I will require 10 of those 16 core courses to be completed prior to the 7th semester of high school (prior to senior year). Seven of the 10 courses completed must be in the areas of English, math, or science. The 16 core courses that must be completed are as follows:
- English - 4 years
- Math - 3 years at the level of Algebra I or above
- Science - 2 years including at least one laboratory course
- Social Science - 2 years
- Additional English, math, or science - 1 year
- Additional academic courses (in any of above or foreign language) - 4 years
Timeline
Grade 9
- Verify with your school counselor and the online core-course listing to make sure you are on track.
Grade 10
- Verify with your school counselor and the online core-course listing to make sure you are on track.
Grade 11
- Register with the eligibility center.
- Make sure you are still on course to meet core-course requirements (verify you have the correct number of core courses and that the core courses are on your high school's 48-H with the eligibility center).
- After your junior year, have your school counselor send a copy of your transcript to the eligibility center. If you have attended any other high schools, make sure a transcript from each school is sent.
- When taking the ACT or the SAT, request test scores to be sent to the eligibility center (the code is 9999).
- Begin your amateurism questionnaire.
Grade 12
- When taking the ACT or SAT, request test scores to be sent to the eligibility center (the code is 9999).
- Complete amateurism questionnaire and sign the final authorization signature online on or after April 1, if you are expecting to enroll in college in the fall semester (October 1 for spring enrollment).
- Have your school counselor send your final transcript with proof of graduation to the eligibility center.