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 National Collegiate Athletic Association has established “initial-eligibility standards” to determine whether an athlete may compete as a freshman in college. Given the continuing impact of COVID-19 on the educational environment, the NCAA Eligibility Center has partnered with the NCAA membership to identify the following changes to the initial-eligibility certification process for students who initially enroll full time in a collegiate institution during the 2021-22 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 link below provides a PDF with the NCAA’s “Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete.” It lists information about requirements for the NCAA levels: CBSA.pdf
Similarly, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics has a set of “initial-eligibility standards” for its member schools. PlayNAIA.org helps future student-athletes discover and connect with NAIA schools, coaches and athletic scholarships. PlayNAIA.org is also 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 this link: https://www.naia.org/why-naia/pdf/NAIA_EligibilityCenter.pdf.
