Don’t get stuck on the bench in college.

To play Division I sports, you need to qualify academically. To meet the minimum requirements for Division I student-athletes enrolling in college in August 2016 or later you must:

  • Graduate from high school
  • Complete 16 Core Courses, including 10 before your seventh semester
  • Earn a minimum 2.300 Grade-Point Average in core courses to compete in your first year of college
  • Earn a combined SAT or ACT score that matches your core-course GPA on the sliding scale.

Core Courses

NCAA member schools require incoming student-athletes to build a foundation of high school courses that will best prepare them for the academic expectations in college.

  • To play Division I sports, you must earn 16 core courses.
  • Ten of them must be completed prior to the seventh semester. Those ten courses are “locked in” and can’t be retaken to improve the grade-point average.
  • Seven of those 10 must be a combination of English, math or natural or physical science that fulfills the overall distribution requirements listed below.
  • If you don’t earn 10 courses before your seventh semester, you are still eligible to practice and receive a scholarship, but you can’t compete.
  • For a complete list of your high school’s NCAA core courses, visit www.eligibilitycenter.org.

Division I Core Course Requirements

  • 4 years of English.
  • 3 years of mathematics (Algebra I or higher).
  • 2 years of natural/physical science (1 year of lab if offered by high school).
  • 1 year of additional English, mathematics or natural/physical science.
  • 2 years of social science.
  • 4 years of additional courses (from any area above, foreign language or comparative religion/philosophy).

GRADE POINT-AVERAGE

Incoming student-athletes must present a grade-point average that predicts academic success at the collegiate level.

  • Beginning August 1, 2016, you must earn at least a 2.300 GPA in NCAA core courses to be eligible to compete in your first year of college.
  • To get a scholarship and practice, you must earn at least a 2.000 GPA in NCAA core courses.
  • Only courses that appear on your high school’s list of NCAA courses will be used to calculate your GPA for NCAA eligibility purposes. For a complete list of your school’s courses, visit www.eligibilitycenter.org.
  • Once ten core courses are “locked in” prior to the start of your seventh semester, you can’t take those classes over again to improve your GPA.
  • Division I uses a sliding scale to match test scores and core GPAs.

  • NCAA Division I Sliding Scale

    Use for Division I prior to August 1, 2016 Use for Division I beginning August 1, 2016
    Core GPA SAT ACT Core GPA SAT ACT
    3.550 & above 400 37 3.550 & above 400 37
    3.525 410 38 3.525 410 38
    3.500 420 39 3.500 420 39
    3.475 430 40 3.475 430 40
    3.450 440 41 3.450 440 41
    3.425 450 41 3.425 450 41
    3.400 460 42 3.400 460 42
    3.375 470 42 3.375 470 42
    3.350 480 43 3.350 480 43
    3.325 490 44 3.325 490 44
    3.300 500 44 3.300 500 44
    3.275 510 45 3.275 510 45
    3.250 520 46 3.250 520 46
    3.225 530 46 3.225 530 46
    3.200 540 47 3.200 540 47
    3.175 550 47 3.175 550 47
    3.150 560 48 3.150 560 48
    3.125 570 49 3.125 570 49
    3.100 580 49 3.100 580 49
    3.075 590 50 3.075 590 50
    3.050 600 50 3.050 600 50
    3.025 610 51 3.025 610 51
    3.000 620 52 3.000 620 52
    2.975 630 52 2.975 630 52
    2.950 640 53 2.950 640 53
    2.925 650 53 2.925 650 53
    2.900 660 54 2.900 660 54
    2.875 670 55 2.875 670 55
    2.850 680 56 2.850 680 56
    2.825 690 56 2.825 690 56
    2.800 700 57 2.800 700 57
    2.775 710 58 2.775 710 58
    2.750 720 59 2.750 720 59
    2.725 730 59 2.725 730 60
    2.700 730 60 2.700 740 61
    2.675 740-750 61 2.675 750 61
    2.650 760 62 2.650 760 62
    2.625 770 63 2.625 770 63
    2.600 780 64 2.600 780 64
    2.575 790 65 2.575 790 65
    2.550 800 66 2.550 800 66
    2.525 810 67 2.525 810 67
    2.500 820 68 2.500 820 68
    2.475 830 69 2.475 830 69
    2.450 840-850 70 2.450 840 70
    2.425 860 70 2.425 850 70
    2.400 860 71 2.400 860 71
    2.375 870 72 2.375 870 72
    2.350 880 73 2.350 880 73
    2.325 890 74 2.325 890 74
    2.300 900 75 2.300 900 75
    2.275 910 76 2.299 910 76
    2.250 920 77 2.275 910 76
    2.225 930 78 2.250 920 77
    2.200 940 79 2.225 930 78
    2.175 950 80 2.200 940 79
    2.150 960 80 2.175 950 80
    2.125 960 81 2.150 960 81
    2.100 970 82 2.125 970 82
    2.075 980 83 2.100 980 83
    2.050 990 84 2.075 990 84
    2.025 1000 85 2.050 1000 85
    2.000 1010 86 2.025 1010 86
    2.000 1020 86

TEST SCORES

Data show that while GPA is a better predictor of collegiate success than test scores, using the two in combination is the best method. The NCAA continues to emphasize GPA over test scores when assessing college preparedness.

  • Division I uses a sliding scale to match test scores and core-course grade-point averages to determine eligibility.
  • The NCAA uses only the critical reading and math SAT scores to determine eligibility. The writing score is not used.
  • The NCAA uses only the sum of English, math, reading and science ACT scores to determine eligibility.
ncaa.org