Since you are serious about playing a sport in college you need to make sure that you’ll be eligible once you get there. This post is going to walk you through all of the NCAA, NAIA, and JUCO college academic eligibility requirements to play in college.

College coaches will often ask where you stand in terms of meeting these requirements. The sooner you get them done the better off you will be.

Eligibility Requirements for Student Athletes

Eligibility Timeline:

Like we said previously, it is better to start checking things off your list early, rather than later. Below is the proposed timeline the NCAA created to help you better manage your academic eligibility requirements.

It is extremely important to set up your schedule with the help of a guidance counselor in your freshman year. By doing so, you will have way more leverage to get in all of the core course requirements.

Grade 9

Grade 10

Grade 11

Grade 12

Word of Advice:

At the end of the day, the recruiting process often comes down to relationships. Make sure to build a strong relationship with your guidance counselor as early on as possible. Counselors understand the academic eligibility requirements that you will need to complete.

They will be asked to do a lot of work for you between figuring out your schedule, submitting NCAA files, and making sure you are eligible. Go check in with them frequently, not just when you need something from them.

The College Recruiting Guidebook

The college recruiting guidebook is the ultimate manual to earning an athletic scholarship for student-athletes and parents.

How would a $50,000/year athletic scholarship change your families life?
College Recruiting Guidebook to earning an athletic scholarship

Inside the guidebook you’ll have access to:

 

Parents will pay $20 just for admission in to their kids game. You can get this guidebook for the same price.

The college recruiting guidebook could literally change your families future! 

Download the Guidebook

NCAA eligibility requirements for DI and DII

There is a very slight differentiation between DI and DII requirements, but it’s not that much of a game changer. Aim to meet all of the DI requirements and you will be qualified at the DII level as well.

NCAA Division 1 core course requirements:

NCAA Division 2 core course requirements:

GPA in your Core Courses:

The NCAA only looks at your GPA for the required core courses. You need to take these courses seriously because that easy art class won’t count toward your NCAA core course GPA.

The DI core course GPA requirement is a 2.3 and for DII it is a 2.2. Both GPA’s are evaluated on a 4.0 grading scale.

SAT/ACT Scores:

For the SAT, the minimum requirement is a 900 for DI and an 840 for DII.

The ACT combines your math, english, reading, and science scores together. For DI, you need a sum of 75 or higher and DII is a minimum of 70.

NCAA Sliding Scale:

The NCAA will look at your GPA, SAT or ACT and review it on a scale. The lower your GPA the higher your tests scores need to be and vice versa. You can find an example sliding scale on the NCAA’s website.

If you are able to qualify for DI, then there is a 99.99% chance you will be eligible at all other levels in college sports.

If DI or DII schools are actively recruiting you then you will need to create a Certification Account through the NCAA. There is a small fee associated with this account, but many athletes are able to get this fee waived.

The Certification Account is important as it is the NCAA’s way of assessing your eligibility status. Remember, if you are able to qualify for DI, then there is a 99.99% chance you will be eligible at all of the other levels in college sports.

NCAA DIII eligibility requirements

The NCAA leaves it up to DIII schools to manage their own academic eligibility rules.

If this is the level that you want to pursue then set up a free profile page with the NCAA (if you decide later on to play DI or DII then you’ll have to transition to a certification account).

You should also be asking coaches at DIII schools what requirements you need to meet. Another thing you can do is visit the website of these schools and see what their admission standards are.

NAIA eligibility requirements

Of all the different collegiate institutions the NAIA is the easiest to navigate with fairly straightforward eligibility rules. There are two requirements that every prospective student-athlete must match:

  1. You need to graduate from an accredited high school
  2. You need to meet the entrance requirements of the NAIA school

Within those two rules there are a few more things you must match.

  1. Minimum score of 18 on the ACT or 860 on the SAT
  2. Your high school GPA needs to be above a 2.0 on a 4.0 scale
  3. Be in the top 50% of your graduating class

Of those three criteria, you need to pass at least 2 of them. The NAIA has their own eligibility center where you can check on your eligibility status.

Go to their website and register by creating a new NAIA Student-Athlete Profile.

JUCO eligibility requirements

Being eligible to play at the junior college level takes the least amount of academic work. For this reason alone, many athletes use the two years of JUCO to obtain a better academic standing. From there you can move on to a state university or private institution.

Requirements:

If you don’t meet the NCAA or NAIA eligibility requirements then junior college is your best option. Do well academically and athletically for two years at a JUCO and you’ll have a plethora of options on your plate.

If you want to learn more on the eligibility requirements at the junior college level feel free to visit their website.

My Experience:

During my recruiting days I often found the college academic eligibility requirements very confusing.

When I started receiving Division 1 basketball offers that only further complicated the process.

Luckily, my high school guidance counselor was very helpful. She made sure I took the correct classes and stayed on path.

I understand many of you might not be that lucky. Use this post and create a checklist on the classes you already completed and the ones you still need to complete.

Conclusion of Eligibility Requirements

The recruiting process can be quite hectic and confusing. Be sure to figure out your academic eligibility requirements as early as possible.

You want to be focused on playing well in your sport, getting good grades, and communicating with coaches. You do not want to be worrying about what classes you’ll have to squeeze in last minute.

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