IBCA E-Newsletter

Reminder: NCAA academic requirements for Class of 2016 and beyond

The NCAA has released an SAT/ACT sliding scale that corresponds with the increased GPA requirements for the class of 2016 and beyond. Any current high school student-athlete who is even remotely considering the possibility of playing a sport in college needs to pay attention.

Here is a summary of the NCAA Division I academic requirements for a Full Qualifier that take effect for the class of 2016 and beyond:

• Graduate high school.
• Complete 16 core courses.
• 7 of those 10 core courses must be from English, Math and Science subsections.
• 10 of the 16 core course requirements must be satisfied prior to the start of the senior year. Any retakes of the first 10 core courses must be completed prior to senior year. Grades earned in the 10 core courses at the start of the senior year are “locked in” for the purposes of calculating the final core-course GPA.
• The minimum core-course GPA is 2.30.
• Earn the ACT/SAT score matching your core-course GPA on the Division I sliding scale (see scale below).

The NCAA also has what is called an “Academic Redshirt.” An “Academic Redshirt” may receive a scholarship and practice with his/her team, but he/she may not participate in game competition as a college freshman.

Students with a GPA of 2.30 or above may achieve either “Academic Redshirt” or “Full Qualifier” status, depending on their SAT/ACT test scores. Students with a core course GPA between 2.00 and 2.29 cannot attain “Full Qualifier” status but may achieve “Academic Redshirt” status by meeting minimum sliding scale test score requirements.

A student who does not meet either standard is a “Nonqualifier.” A “nonqualfier” may not practice, receive an athletic scholarship or compete during his/her first year of enrollment at an NCAA Division I school.

Rules are similar but slightly different for NCAA Division II schools. For the classes of 2016 and 2017, a student-athlete must graduate high school, complete 16 core course, earn a 2.00 or above in the core course and have an SAT score of 820 or higher or an ACT sum score of 68 or higher.

Beginning with the class of 2018, to be a “Full Qualifier” for NCAA D-II, a student-athlete must graduate high school, complete 16 core courses, have a core-course GPA of 2.20 or above and meet SAT or ACT score on the sliding scale (check with school, D-II scale is different than the D-I scale below). At the D-II level for the class of 2018, there also will be “Partial Qualifiers” and “Nonqualifiers.” A “Partial Qualifier” may receive a scholarship and practice with his/her team, but he/she may not participate in game competition during their first year of enrollment. A “Nonqualifier” may not practice, receive an athletic scholarship or compete during his/her first year of enrollment at an NCAA Division II school.

Remember, the NCAA does not include the writing component of the SAT or ACT and the ACT score is a sum score (not average) of the English, math, reading and science sections.

Finally, just because a student-athlete meets the minimum NCAA academic standards, it does not mean they will be admitted to play sports at the college of their choice. Many universities have academic standards for incoming freshman athletes that are higher than the NCAA minimum requirements.

What does all this mean? Student-athletes must start tracking courses early. A student-athlete should calculate his/her initial core course GPA at the conclusion of his/her first semester in high school and continue to do so each semester thereafter.

Now more than ever, every semester counts.

NCAA Division I initial-eligibility sliding scale (class of 2016 and beyond)