What are the requirements to play college sports?

DIVISION 1 REQUIREMENTS

If You Enroll AFTER August 1, 2016 To be eligible to practice, compete and receive athletics scholarships in your first full-time year at a Division I school, you must graduate high school and meet ALL the following requirements:

1. Complete 16 NCAA core courses: • Four years of English; • Three years of math (Algebra 1 or higher); • Two years of natural/physical science (including one year of lab science if your high school offers it); • Two years of social science; • One additional year of English, math or natural/ physical science; and • Four additional years of English, math, natural/ physical science, social science, foreign language, comparative religion or philosophy.
2. Complete 10 core courses, including seven in English, math or natural/physical science, before the start of your seventh semester. Once you begin your seventh semester, you may not repeat or replace any of those 10 courses for GPA improvement.
3. Earn at least a 2.3 GPA in your core courses.
4. Earn an SAT combined score or ACT sum score that matches your core-course GPA on the Division I sliding Scale.

What If I Don’t Meet the Division 1 Standards?

If you enroll full time at a Division I school after August 1, 2016, and you have not met all the Division I academic standards, you may not compete in your first year at college. However, if you qualify as an academic redshirt, you may practice during your first term in college and receive an athletics scholarship for the entire year. The academic redshirt qualification is only for students who enroll full time in college after August 1, 2016. To qualify as an academic redshirt, you must graduate high school and meet ALL the following academic standards: 1. Complete 16 core courses; 2. Earn at least a 2.0 GPA in your core courses; and 3. Earn an SAT combined score or ACT sum score matching your core-course GPA on the Division I sliding scale

DIVISION 2 REQUIREMENTS

If You Enroll BEFORE August 1, 2018 To be eligible to practice, compete and receive an athletics scholarship in your first full-time year at a Division II school, you must graduate high school and meet ALL the following requirements:

1. Complete 16 core courses: • Three years of English; • Two years of math (Algebra 1 or higher); • Two years of natural or physical science (including one year of lab science if your high school offers it); • Two years of social science; • Three additional years of English, math or natural or physical science; and • Four additional years of English, math, natural or physical science, social science, foreign language, comparative religion or philosophy.
2. Earn at least a 2.0 GPA in your core courses.
3. Earn an SAT combined score of 820 or an ACT sum score of 68.

What If I Don’t Meet the Division 2 Standards?

If You Enroll BEFORE August 1, 2018 If you enroll full time at a Division II school before August 1, 2018, and you have not met all the Division II academic standards, you may not compete in your first year. However, if you meet the standards to be a partial qualifier, you may practice and receive an athletics scholarship in your first year at college. To be a partial qualifier, you must graduate high school and meet ONE of the following standards:

1. Earn a 2.0 GPA in 16 core courses; or
2. Earn an SAT combined score of 820 or an ACT sum score of 68.

DIVISION 3 REQUIREMENTS

There is good news and bad news at the NCAA Division 3 level. The good news is the Eligibility Center does not certify athletes to play at the NCAA D3 level. In fact, there are no academic standards you need to meet to be eligible to play D3 athletics. The bad news is that many D3 colleges are small private colleges with far higher academic standards for admission than the NCAA requires for eligibility at the D1 or D2 level.

How do I know the core classes I am taking at my high school will satisfy NCAA eligibility?

This is where your guidance counselor earns their money. They should know what classes qualify and if they or you are unsure you can research your high school’s classes on the NCAA website NCAA Core Course Requirements