Requirements
For Athletes
High
School Guidelines
Extracurricular
activities are defined as activities that are sanctioned by a public school
which are not related to a student’s academic requirements.
Eligibility
at the high school level
Students
who are entering the 9th Grade must
have passed at least five subjects during their 8th grade year and
have a composite numerical average of a 70 or higher.
Eligibility
for grades 10 – 12 is based on the last two semesters of attendance (and
summer school, if applicable). A
total of 6 units of Credits must have been obtained.
Of those 6 credits, four must be in the core subject areas of English,
Science, Social Studies, and Mathematics. Furthermore,
a composite numerical average of those 6 credits must be at least 70 or above.
Regaining
Eligibility at the High School Level
Students
may regain eligibility at the start of each term using the last two term grades
(For AHSAA purposes, Term is defined as two 9-week grading periods which equal
one semester). Physical Ed may only
count as one unit per year and no more than two units may be earned during
summer school.
College
Guidelines
Colleges
are affiliated with athletic associations that have their own rules,
regulations, and eligibility requirements. Basic
Eligibility guidelines for the NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA are outlined below.
NCAA
– Division
I and II colleges can offer athletic scholarships; Division III colleges (mostly
smaller, private colleges) cannot. Before
an athlete can play a sport or receive a scholarship at a Division I or II
college, he/she must meet NCAA’s academic requirements.
Division III athletes do not need to meet NCAA academic requirements.
Athletes
who want to go to a Division I college must have a minimum GPA in a specified
number of core courses. They must
also have the required SAT or ACT score. ACT/SAT
test score requirements for Division I eligibility are based on a sliding scale.
The higher the core GPA, the lower the test score required.
A student with a 2.0 core GPA, for example, will be required to have a
much higher test score than a student with a 3.0 core GPA.
Division II athletes need a 2.0 GPA in their core courses and the
required minimum ACT or SAT score.
Athletes
should meet with their counselor as early as possible to discuss NCAA
requirements and make sure that they’re taking the right courses.
Athletes should also take the ACT or the SAT in the spring of their
junior year. To initiate the
eligibility process, athletes need to register with the NCAA Clearinghouse.
This should be done after an athlete’s junior year.
www.ncaaclearinghouse.net
NAIA
– NAIA colleges can award full or partial scholarships.
To play a sport or receive an athletic scholarship, an athlete must meet
two of the following three NAIA requirements:
1) have the required ACT or SAT score, 2) have an overall 2.0 GPA, 3)
graduate in the top half of his/her class.
www.naia.org
NJCAA
– Division I and II junior colleges can offer athletic scholarship; Division
III colleges cannot. There are no
academic eligibility requirements for athletes entering junior colleges.
www.njcaa.org