NCAA ELIGIBILITY CENTER

eligibilitycenter.org

If you want to play sports at an NCAA Division I or II school, start by registering with the NCAA Eligibility Center at eligibilitycenter.org during your sophomore year.  We support you and your high school by providing resources to help you meet the initial-eligibility standards to participate in college courses.

Core Courses

NCAA schools require college-bound student-athletes to build a foundation of high school courses to prepare them for the college classroom.  Not all high school classes count as NCAA core courses.  Only classes in English, math (Algebra 1 or higher), natural or physical science, social science, foreign language, comparative religion or philosophy may be approved as NCAA core courses.  Visit eligibilitycenter.org for a full list of your high school’s core courses. This simple formula will help you meet the 16 core-course requirement:

  4 English courses (one per year)

+4 math courses (one per year)

+4 science courses (one per year)

+4 social science (and/or additional)

     courses (one per year)

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16 NCAA CORE COURSES

Grade-Point Average

The NCAA Eligibility Center calculates your grade-point average (GPA) based on the grades you earn in NCAA-approved core courses.

Test Scores

You may take the ACT or SAT as many times as you want before you enroll full time in college, but remember to list the NCAA Eligibility Center (code 9999) as a score recipient whenever you take a test.  If you direct the ACT or SAT to send us your scores every time you take a test, we will choose the best scores from each subject to create your sum score. We can only accept official test scores from ACT or SAT and we can't use the scores from your high school transcript.  

ACADEMIC STANDARDS

DIVISION I

To play sports at a Division I school, you must graduate high school and meet ALL the following requirements:

1.       Complete 16 NCAA core courses:

·         4 years of English

·         3 years of Math (Algebra 1 or higher)

·         2 years of Natural/Physical Science (including one year of lab science if your high school offers it)

·         2 years of Social Science

·         1 additional year of English, Math or Natural/Physical Science

·         4 additional years of English, Math, Natural/Physical Science, Social Science, Foreign Language, Comparative Religion or Philosophy.

2.       10 of the 16 core courses must be completed before the seventh semester (senior year) of high school

3.       7 of the 10 core coures must be in English, Math or Natural/Physical Science

4.    Earn at least a 2.3 GPA in your core courses.

5.        Earn an SAT combined score or ACT sum score that matches our core-course GPA on the Division I sliding scale

ACADEMIC STANDARDS

DIVISION II

To play sports at a Division II school, you must graduate high school and meet ALL the following requirements:

1. Complete 16 high school core courses.
2. Earn at least a 2.200 GPA in your high school core courses.
3. Earn the SAT or ACT score that matches your core-course GPA (minimum 2.200) on the Division II completion sliding scale.

Core Courses for Division II

To play sports at a Division II school, you must complete these NCAA core courses:

·         3 years of English

·         2 years of math (Algebra 1 or higher)

·         2 years of natural or physical science (including one year of lab science if your high school offers it)

·         3 additional years of English, math or natural or physical science

·         2 years of social science

·         4 additional years of English, math, natural or physical science, social science, foreign language, comparative religion or philosophy

DIVISION III

Division III schools provide an integrated environment focusing on academic success while offering a competitive athletics environment.  While Division III schools do not offer athletics scholarships, 75 percent of Division III student-athletes receive some form of merit or need-based financial aid.

If you are planning to attend a Division III school, you do not need to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center.  Division III schools set their own admissions and eligibility standards.  You can visit NCAA.org/d3 or contact the Division III school you are planning to attend.

*Due to COVID-19, the NCAA has made small adjustments to student-athlete eligibility. To view those changes, please click here. For more information, please contact the college or university you plan to attend.