What are the Eligibility Requirements for College Athletic Associations

Written By Kim Duckworth

Always talk with your coach about specific requirements for your sport, but the following are broad brush eligibility guidelines for the NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA.  If you go to the NCAA site you can also get detailed information about what courses at a specific high school are accepted under their guidelines.  Also, do not forget to copy the NCAA on your final transcript and SAT or ACT test score after you graduate to ensure Div. 1 & Div. 2 eligibility.

NCAA (over 1,000 member colleges) – Division I and Division II colleges can offer athletic scholarships; Division III colleges (mostly smaller, private colleges) cannot. Division III athletes do not need to meet NCAA academic requirements. Athletes going to Division I and II colleges must have a minimum GPA in a specified number of core courses. They must also have the required ACT or SAT score. ACT/SAT requirements for Division I eligibility are based on a sliding scale. The higher a student’s core GPA, the lower the test score required. Athletes should plan to take the ACT and/or SAT in or before the Spring of their junior year. To initiate the eligibility process, athletes need to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center. This should be done at the beginning of an athlete’s junior year. For additional information, go to:  http://www.ncaa.org/student-athletes/play-division-i-sports. 

NAIA (over 300 member colleges) – NAIA colleges can award full or partial scholarships. To play a sport or receive an athletic scholarship, an athlete must meet two of the following three NAIA requirements: 1) have the required ACT or SAT score; 2) have an overall GPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale; 3) graduate in the top half of his/ her class. For more information, go to: http://www.playnaia.org/eligibility-center.

NJCAA (over 500 member colleges) – Division I and Division II junior colleges can offer scholarships; Division III colleges cannot. There are no academic eligibility requirements for athletes entering junior colleges. For additional information, go to: www.njcaa.org.

Kim Duckworth

Scottsdale Education Center’s College Coach is Kim Duckworth. Kim specializes in the application process including resume development, application essay writing and question selection, the common application, college research, timeline development, letters of recommendation, in-state admissions, standardized testing review (ACT vs. SAT), the interview, and overall application review and student packaging. Kim has helped students gain admission to all major Arizona schools as well as Stanford, Harvard, Columbia, Yale, Brown, USC, George Washington, Loyola, SMU, Georgetown, Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, Chicago, Duke, Cal Berkeley, Michigan, UCLA, SDSU, MIT, Penn State, West Point, Naval Academy, Air Force Academy, Coast Guard Academy, plus many more.

Previous

Nine Hot Tips to Format Your Common Application Essay