NCAA INITIAL ELIGIBILITY: ACADEMICS & AMATEURISM

NCAA INITIAL ELIGIBILITY: ACADEMICS & AMATEURISM Susanna Tamol Compliance Assistant Sun Devil Athletics August 30, 2012

NCAA ELIGIBILITY CENTER • Required of ALL student-athletes planning to participate in college athletics at the NCAA Division-I or NCAA Division-II level • Covers 2 areas connected to college athletics: • ACADEMICS • AMATEURISM • Must be certified by the NCAA in both areas to practice, compete, and receive athletic financial aid in college

CURRENT ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS FOR DIVISION-I ATHLETICS • 4 years ENGLISH • 3 years MATH (lowest acceptable Math is First-Year Algebra) • 2 years NATURAL/PHYSICAL SCIENCE (must include 1 year of Lab Science) • 1 additional year of ENGLISH, MATH, or NATURAL/PHYSICAL SCIENCE • 2 years SOCIAL SCIENCE • 4 years ANY ADDITIONAL CORE

ACCEPTABLE CORE COURSES • Courses that are on a high school’s NCAA List of Approved Core Courses • Courses that are college preparatory • All high schools should have an approved core-course list • All lists are posted on the NCAA Eligibility Center web site • Accommodations available for students with a documented learning disability

GPA AND TEST SCORE • Only approved core courses are used to determine NCAA GPA • Must have a minimum NCAA GPA of at least 2.00 • Must have corresponding ACT or SAT score • ACT = English + Math + Reading + Science • SAT = Critical Reading + Math only • Writing score NOT used • High GPA = Lower required test score • High test score = Lower required GPA

AMATEURISM REQUIREMENTS FOR DIVISION-I ATHLETICS • Must be an AMATEUR in order to participate in college athletics • Enrollment Period is the first semester that the student plans to enroll full-time at any Division-I or Division-II university • NCAA Sports Participation Questionnaire determines if any PROFESSIONAL triggers have occurred before the NCAA Enrollment Period • Questionnaire is completed during the NCAA Eligibility Center registration process

AMATEURISM TIMELINE FORCOLLEGE ENROLLMENT In all sports except Tennis, a student-athlete who does not enroll in college as a full-time student in a regular academic term within a one-year time period of his or her high school graduation date or the graduation date of his or her class (whichever is first) shall be subject to the following penalties: • Charged 1 season of NCAA athletic competition, and • Must serve 1 academic year in residence at the NCAA college prior to competing in his or her sport. ***Tennis only has a six-month time period.***

AMATEURISM RECORDS TO KEEP • Information about teams to which the student belongs BESIDES his or her high school team • Team name and location • Team manager’s name and phone number • Dates of participation • Fees and expenses incurred • Prize money earned • Keep as much information as possible! Better to have too much than too little!

THINK ABOUT THIS… • Keep track of all schools that have been attended; the NCAA will look at every school’s transcript on an individual basis • Try to complete all core classes at one high school in a traditional classroom setting • For any ONLINE core classes, keep all records about that class (such as course description, course syllabus, names of textbooks used, teacher e-mails, examples of course work submitted, etc.)

AND THIS… • The NCAA will NOT accept any core courses completed through certain nontraditional programs; check the NCAA Eligibility Center web site to confirm the status of all schools attended • A repeated course must be comparable in Quantity and Quality to the original course before the NCAA will accept it • Finally, the student MUST graduate on time from high school with his or her class

WHAT ABOUT COLLEGE ADMISSION? • Admission requirements to the college of the student’s choice are NOT THE SAME as NCAA initial-eligibility requirements • The student should work with his or her high school counselor to meet all of the following: • High school graduation requirements • NCAA initial-eligibility requirements • College admission requirements

FUTURE ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS FOR DIVISION-I ATHLETICS • NCAA initial-eligibility standards are CHANGING for students enrolling in college in Fall 2016 or later (this year’s high school freshmen): • New core-course completion timeline • Higher GPA requirement • Higher test score requirement • See the following web site for specifics: http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/eligibility_center/Important_New_Rules/New_IE_Rules.pdf

IMPORTANT CONTACT • The NCAA Eligibility Center: • www.eligibilitycenter.org • (877) 262-1492 • Visit your NCAA Eligibility Center High School Portal for educational materials, legislative updates, and to-do items

THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING!ANY QUESTIONS?

NCAA INITIAL ELIGIBILITY: ACADEMICS & AMATEURISM