Many high school athletes aspire to one day compete in college athletics. Academic performance at the high school level is often an early question that college coaches ask about when considering a prospect from the high school level. Remember, it is “student-athlete” and not just “athlete.”
The NCAA has established “initial-eligibility standards” to determine whether an athlete may compete as a freshman in college. The NCAA Eligibility Center has partnered with the NCAA membership to provide the following guidance for the initial-eligibility certification process for students who initially enroll full time in a collegiate institution during the 2023-24 academic year. The Eligibility Center will continue to monitor the environment and make necessary adjustments to prioritize health, safety and fairness for all prospective student-athletes.
The NCAA Eligibility Center has released a new FAQ document that outlines the sunsetting of COVID-19 relief policies initiated during the pandemic. This resource outlines which student-athletes are impacted and when those policies will be sunset. Please refer to this document for information regarding sunsetting COVID relief policies. If you have additional questions regarding these changes, please contact NCAA Eligibility Center’s Customer Service team at 877-262-1492.
For student-athletes who want to play at an NCAA Division I, II or III school, knowing which Eligibility Center account type is right for them is critical. The right Eligibility Center account is an important step in the process toward certification.
When registering at https://eligibilitycenter.org, there are three account options. Which account they need depends on where they are in the recruiting process and which division they plan to attend, among other factors. Click here for more information on which account is the right one for your student-athletes.
The best practice is to start out with a free Profile Page account (option 1) as early as sixth grade but before the start of ninth grade, then transition to the right Certification account later when needed. Encourage your student-athletes to reach out to the Eligibility Center's Customer Service team at 877-262-1492 if they have questions when creating an account.
Do your student-athletes know the time period they are eligible to sign a National Letter of Intent (NLI) for their sport? If not, review the NLI website to look at the signing periods for all the different sports. Be sure to share this website and these dates with your student-athletes.
It also is recommended that coaches, parents and student-athletes visit the Eligibility Center's online FAQ link for answers to many of the questions you or your student-athletes may have. This is also a great resource for questions parents, families or other advocates may have. Examples include “Do all sports have the same rules for amateurism?” or “How can an athlete check their eligibility status?” Be sure to check out the Eligibility Center’s FAQ link and share it with your student-athletes and their families.
Similarly, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics has a set of “initial-eligibility standards” for its member schools. Play.myNAIA.org helps future student-athletes discover and connect with NAIA schools, coaches and athletic scholarships. Play.myNAIA.org also is the official clearinghouse for NAIA eligibility. Every student-athlete must register with the NAIA Eligibility Center to play sports at an NAIA college or university.
More information about NAIA programs are at these links: For High School Students - NAIA | PlayNAIA - NAIA - National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
