If you plan to enter college in 2008 or after, you will need to present 16 core courses in the following breakdown:
Prospective student-athletes may register with the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse on-line. By registering on-line, prospects will be able to view their eligibility information on-line, and will not have to call the clearinghouse for eligibility updates. On-line registration saves time, and allows prospective student-athletes to view their eligibility status up to six weeks faster than through the paper registration process.
Division I member institutions have to sponsor at least seven sports for men and seven for women (or six for men and eight for women) with two team sports for each gender. Each playing season has to be represented by each gender as well. There are contest and participant minimums for each sport, as well as scheduling criteria. For sports other than football and basketball, Division I schools must play 100 percent of the minimum number of contests against Division I opponents -- anything over the minimum number of games has to be 50 percent Division I. men's and women's basketball teams have to play all but two games against Division I teams; for men, they must play one-third of all their contests in the home arena. Schools that have football are classified as Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) or NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). Football Bowl Subdivision schools are usually fairly elaborate programs. Football Bowl Subdivision teams have to meet minimum attendance requirements (average 15,000 people in actual or paid attendance per home game), which must be met once in a rolling two-year period. NCAA Football Championship Subdivision teams do not need to meet minimum attendance requirements. Division I schools must meet minimum financial aid awards for their athletics program, and there are maximum financial aid awards for each sport that a Division I school cannot exceed.
Division II institutions have to sponsor at least five sports for men and five for women, (or four for men and six for women), with two team sports for each gender, and each playing season represented by each gender. There are contest and participant minimums for each sport, as well as scheduling criteria -- football and men's and women's basketball teams must play at least 50 percent of their games against Division II or Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) or Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) opponents. For sports other than football and basketball there are no scheduling requirements. There are not attendance requirements for football, or arena game requirements for basketball. There are maximum financial aid awards for each sport that a Division II school must not exceed. Division II teams usually feature a number of local or in-state student-athletes. Many Division II student-athletes pay for school through a combination of scholarship money, grants, student loans and employment earnings. Division II athletics programs are financed in the institution's budget like other academic departments on campus. Traditional rivalries with regional institutions dominate schedules of many Division II athletics programs.
Division III institutions have to sponsor at least five sports for men and five for women, with two team sports for each gender, and each playing season represented by each gender. There are minimum contest and participant minimums for each sport. Division III athletics features student-athletes who receive no financial aid related to their athletic ability and athletic departments are staffed and funded like any other department in the university. Division III athletics departments place special importance on the impact of athletics on the participants rather than on the spectators. The student-athlete's experience is of paramount concern. Division III athletics encourages participation by maximizing the number and variety of athletics opportunities available to students, placing primary emphasis on regional in-season and conference competition.
How do I register with the NCAA Clearinghouse?
Clearinghouse Customer Service:
Toll-free number: 877/622-2321
NCAA Eligibility Center
ACT
319-337-1701
SAT
1-866-756-7346
NCAA FRESHMAN-ELIGIBILITY STANDARDS
QUICK REFERENCE SHEET
KNOW THE RULES: (taken from NCAA website)
Core Courses
· Starting August 1, 2008, 16 core courses will be required for NCAA Division I only. This rule applies to any student first entering any Division I college or university on or after August 1, 2008. See the chart below for the breakdown of this 16 core-course requirement.
· 14 core courses are required in NCAA Division II. See the breakdown of core-course requirements below.
Test Scores
· Division I has a sliding scale for test score and grade-point average. The sliding scale for those requirements is shown on page two of this sheet.
· Division II has a minimum SAT score requirement 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 four sections on the ACT: English, math, reading and science.
· All SAT and ACT scores must be reported directly to the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse by the testing agency. Test scores that appear on transcripts will no longer be used. When registering for the SAT or ACT, use the clearinghouse code of 9999 to make sure the score is reported to the
clearinghouse.
Grade-Point Average
· Only core courses are used in the calculation of the grade-point average.
· Be sure to look at your high school’s list of NCAA-approved core courses on the clearinghouse Web site to make certain that the courses being taken have been approved as core courses. The Web site is
www.ncaaclearinghouse.net.
· Division I grade-point-average requirements are listed on page two of this sheet.
· The Division II grade-point-average requirement is a minimum 2.000.
PLEASE NOTE: For students first entering any NCAA college or university on or after August 1, 2005, computer science courses may only be used for initial-eligibility purposes if the course receives graduation credit in mathematics or natural/physical science and is listed as such on the high school’s list of NCAA-approved core courses.
DIVISION I
16 Core-Course Rule
16 Core Courses:
4 years of English.
3 years of mathematics (Algebra I or higher).
2 years of natural/physical science (1 year of lab
if offered by high school).
1 year of additional English, mathematics or
natural/physical science.
2 years of social science.
4 years of additional courses (from any area
above, foreign language or nondoctrinal
religion/philosophy).
DIVISION II
14 Core-Course Rule
14 Core Courses:
3 years of English.
2 years of mathematics (Algebra I or higher).
2 years of natural/physical science (1 year of lab
if offered by high school).
2 years of additional English, mathematics or
natural/physical science.
2 years of social science.
3 years of additional courses (from any area
above, foreign language or nondoctrinal
religion/philosophy).
NCAA DIVISION I SLIDING SCALE
CORE GRADE-POINT AVERAGE/
TEST-SCORE
New Core GPA / Test Score Index
Core GPA SAT ACT
Verbal and Math ONLY
3.550 & above 400 37
3.525 410 38
3.500 420 39
3.475 430 40
3.450 440 41
3.425 450 41
3.400 460 42
3.375 470 42
3.350 480 43
3.325 490 44
3.300 500 44
3.275 510 45
3.250 520 46
3.225 530 46
3.200 540 47
3.175 550 47
3.150 560 48
3.125 570 49
3.100 580 49
3.075 590 50
3.050 600 50
3.025 610 51
3.000 620 52
2.975 630 52
2.950 640 53
2.925 650 53
2.900 660 54
2.875 670 55
2.850 680 56
2.825 690 56
2.800 700 57
2.775 710 58
2.750 720 59
2.725 730 59
2.700 730 60
2.675 740-750 61
2.650 760 62
2.625 770 63
2.600 780 64
2.575 790 65
2.550 800 66
2.525 810 67
2.500 820 68
2.475 830 69
2.450 840-850 70
2.425 860 70
2.400 860 71
2.375 870 72
2.350 880 73
2.325 890 74
2.300 900 75
2.275 910 76
2.250 920 77
2.225 930 78
2.200 940 79
2.175 950 80
2.150 960 80
2.125 960 81
2.100 970 82
2.075 980 83
2.050 990 84
2.025 1000 85
2.000 1010 86
OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
· Division II has no sliding scale. The
minimum core grade-point average is 2.000.
The minimum SAT score is 820 (verbal and
math sections only) and the minimum ACT
sum score is 68.
· 14 Core courses are required for Division II.
· 16 Core courses are required for Division I.
· The SAT combined score is based on the
verbal and math sections only. The writing
section will not be used.
· SAT and ACT scores must be reported
directly to the clearinghouse from the
testing agency. Scores on transcripts will
not be used.
For more information regarding the rules,
please go to www.ncaa.org. Click on
“Academics and Athletes” then “Eligibility
and Recruiting.” Or visit the clearinghouse
Web site at www.ncaaclearinghouse.net.