NCAA Eligibility Center Newsletter:
Know the NCAA's Academic Standards

"Do your student-athletes know the requirements to be eligible to compete? It takes more than talent on the field!

The NCAA Eligibility Center calculates your athletes' core-course grade-point average based only on the grades they earn in NCAA-approved core courses.

• Division I requires a minimum 2.3 GPA.
• Division II requires a minimum 2.2 GPA.

Do your student-athletes know the requirements to be eligible to compete? For Divisions I and II, your student-athletes must complete a total of 16 NCAA-approved core courses to be eligible to play their sport at the collegiate level. Divisions I and II have different core-course requirements. Click here for a resource you can share with your students to help ensure they are on track with these core-course requirements.

Is your student-athlete being recruited by a Division I school? To study and compete at a Division I school, your student-athletes must complete 10 of their 16 core courses (including seven in English, math or science) before the start of their seventh semester. (International student-athletes don't have this requirement.) Click here for Division II requirements.

Student-Athlete Timeline: Steps for Each Year

Knowing what your student-athletes need to do each year (starting in ninth grade) can go a long way toward helping them achieve their dreams.

Grade 9: Register

If they haven’t yet, remind them to register for a free Profile Page account at eligibilitycenter.org.

Encourage all athletes to use NCAA Research’s interactive map to help locate NCAA schools they’re interested in attending.

Help them to find their high school’s list of NCAA-approved core courses at eligibilitycenter.org/courselist to ensure they're taking the right courses and earning the best grades possible!

Grade 10: Plan

If your athlete is being actively recruited by an NCAA school and have a Profile Page account, remind them to transition it to the required certification account.

Encourage them to monitor the task list in their NCAA Eligibility Center account for next steps.

At the end of the school year, remind them to ask their high school counselor from each school they attended to upload an official transcript to their Eligibility Center account.

If they fall behind academically, help them ask their high school counselor for help finding approved courses they can take.

Grade 11: Study

Remind them to ensure their sports participation information is correct in their Eligibility Center account.

Help athletes check with their high school counselor to make sure they're on track to complete the required number of NCAA-approved core courses and graduate on time with their class.

Share their NCAA ID with college coaches and remind students to include it with every correspondence with college coaches.

At the end of the school year, remind them to ask their high school counselor from each school they have attended to upload an official transcript to their Eligibility Center account.

Grade 12: Graduate

Remind them to request their final amateurism certification beginning April 1 (fall enrollees) or Oct. 1 (winter/spring enrollees).

Don't forget: Each student must apply and be accepted to the NCAA school they plan to attend! This is a separate process from the NCAA Eligibility Center.

Encourage students to complete their final NCAA-approved core courses as they prepare for graduation.

After they graduate, remind them to ask their high school counselor to upload their final official transcript with proof of graduation to their Eligibility Center account."

 

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NCAA Eligibility Center Webinar:
Understanding Initial-Eligibility Standards

The link below will take you to a one-hour webinar conducted by the NCAA Eligibility Center's staff. In this webinar, NCAA Staff discussed requirements student-athletes must know to be eligible to play Division I or II sports. A question-and-answer session was held at the end of the event, with Eligibility Center staff on hand to answer submitted questions. 

Click the link to watch the recording:
http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/eligibility_center/Webinar/PSA/2022/Recording_01112022.mp4

If you have or receive any questions, feel free to contact  Amber Viles with the NCAA Eligibility Center by email at aviles@ncaa.org.

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SHS NCAA Night Presentation

Greg Stillman, Director of School Counseling and Jeff Pinney, Director of Athletics & Student Activities, hosted an NCAA Information Night on November 30, 2022. You can view the presentation if you weren't able to attend.

If you have any questions about playing sports at the college level, please speak with your student's counselor. 

For questions about the presentation, you can contact Greg Stillman at 860-658-0451 x446 or Jeff Pinney at 860-658-0451 x190.

 

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NCAA Eligibility Center COVID-19 Response

The CIAC has been communicating with the NCAA eligibility center to understand how initial student-athlete eligibility may be impacted by COVID-19.  The NCAA has been very responsive and has published the NCAA Eligibility Center COVID-19 Response FAQs  (link currently unavailable)  to to learn more about their response to COVID-19.

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NCAA INFORMATION