Working with students who aspire to be college student-athletes can be uncharted territory for many college access professionals. Outlined below is a list of need-to-know information along with resources to help you best serve your students.

If you have ever found yourself working with a student who aspires to be a college athlete, you may have found yourself navigating unfamiliar waters. The information in this post will help you support students interested in attending a school covered by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The NCAA is one of only three intercollegiate sports associations. The NCAA was chosen as the focus for this post because there are currently 1,100 colleges/universities within the NCAA across all 50 states serving over 500,000 college athletes, making it the largest of the three intercollegiate sports associations. The other two intercollegiate associations are the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).

The NCAA is further divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II, and Division III:

• There are currently 350 schools that fall into Division I, and they serve approximately 37% of all student-athletes within the NCAA. These schools tend to be the institutions with the largest student population, and they are the only group that offers multi-year cost-of-attendance athletics scholarships.
• Division II is the smallest of the three categories with only 310 institutions serving 25% of all NCAA student-athletes. These schools do not offer full athletic scholarships, but they do offer partial athletic scholarships.
• The final division, Division III, is the largest in terms of both numbers of institutions (438) and the percentage of all NCAA student-athletes (39%). It is also the only one of the three divisions that does not offer athletic scholarships.

If your student is interested in attending an NCAA institution, it is important to know if your school is registered with the NCAA. The easiest way to see if your school is registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center is to search the NCAA High School Portal. Schools will have a profile indicating their account status along with a designated primary contact. The primary contact individual would be a key person to coordinate with when planning on how to best serve your students interested in college athletics.

The high school profile will also have a list of all approved courses. Approved courses are used by the NCAA to determine academic standards for students interested in playing either Division I or Division II athletics. Students interested in playing at these divisional levels must complete 16 core courses before graduation. These course requirements are accompanied by additional deadlines, minimum GPA scores, and minimum SAT/ACT scores that must be met. Outlined below are the requirements for Division I and Division II schools.

Division I

1. Complete 16 Core Courses
   • English – 4 years
   • Math (Algebra I or higher) – 3 years
   • Natural/Physical Science – 2 years
   • Additional (English, Math, or Natural/Physical Science) – 1 year
   • Social Science – 2 years
   • Additional Course (Any of the prior categories, Foreign Language, or Comparative Religion/Philosophy) – 4 years
2. Complete 10 out of 16 courses before the start of senior year. Any core courses taken during senior year cannot be replaced or repeated.
3. Complete the 16 core courses in four consecutive academic years
4. Earn a minimum of a 2.3 GPA in core courses along with either the matching required SAT combined score or the ACT sum score
5. Submit proof of graduation to the Eligibility Center

Division II

1. Complete 16 Core Courses
   • English – 4 years
   • Math (Algebra I or higher) – 3 years
   • Natural/Physical Science – 2 years
   • Additional (English, Math, or Natural/Physical Science) – 1 year
   • Social Science – 2 years
   • Additional Course (Any of the prior categories, Foreign Language, or Comparative Religion/Philosophy) – 4 years
2. Earn a minimum of a 2.2 GPA in core courses along with either the matching required SAT combined score of the ACT sum score
3. Submit proof of graduation to the Eligibility Center

Students who are interested in college athletics at an NCAA school should be encouraged to create an account with the NCAA Eligibility Center starting in the 9^th grade. Students can create accounts for the Division I/Division II level or for Division III/Undecided. The NCAA Eligibility Center is home to a variety or resources that students can review that will help guide them along their collegiate athletic careers.

This brief introduction into working with high school students interested in college athletics is only a small sample of a much broader landscape within college access. Here are some additional resources:

•  High School Counselor Quick Tips
•  NCAA Guide For High School Counselors 2021-2022
• NCAA Eligibility Center
• NCAA Division I: Academic Eligibility Requirements Fact Sheet
• NCAA Division II: Academic Eligibility Requirements Fact Sheet