Division II Toolkit

Academic Eligibility (2009 - July 31, 2013)

If you enroll in a Division II college between now and July 31, 2013, and want to participate in athletics or receive an athletics scholarship during your first year, you must:

• Graduate from high school;
• Complete these 14 core courses:
• 3 years of English
• 2 years of math (Algebra 1 or higher)
• 2 years of natural or physical science (including one year of lab science if offered by your high school)
• 2 additional years of English, math, or natural or physical science
• 2 years of social science              
• 3 years of extra core courses (from any category above, or foreign language, nondoctrinal religion or philosophy); 
• Earn a 2.000 grade-point average or better in your core courses; and
• Earn a combined SAT score of 820 or an ACT sum score of 68.

If you enroll in a Division II college on or after August 1, 2013, and want to participate in athletics or receive an athletics scholarship during your first year, you must

• Graduate from high school;
• Complete these 16 core courses:
• 3 years of English
• 2 years of math (Algebra 1 or higher)
• 2 years of natural or physical science (including one year of lab science if offered by your high school)
• 3 additional years of English, math, or natural or physical science
• 2 years of social science
• 4 years of additional core courses (from any category above, or foreign language, nondoctrinal religion or philosophy);
• Earn a 2.000 grade-point average or better in your core courses; and
• Earn a combined SAT score of 820 or an ACT sum score of 68.

Division II Qualifier

Being a qualifier entitles you to:

• Practice or compete for your college or university during your first year of college;
• Receive an athletics scholarship during your first year of college; and
• Play four seasons in your sport if you maintain your eligibility from year to year.

Division II Partial Qualifier

You will be considered a partial qualifier if you do not meet all of the academic requirements listed above but have graduated from high school and meet one of the following standards:

• The combined SAT score of 820 or ACT sum score of 68; or
• Completion of the 14 core courses with a 2.000 core-course grade-point average.

As a partial qualifier, you:

• Can practice with your team at its home facility during your first year of college;
• Can receive athletically related financial aid during your first year of college;
• Cannot compete during your first year of college; and
• Can play four seasons in your sport if you maintain your eligibility from year to year.

Division II Nonqualifier

You will be considered a nonqualifier if you did not graduate from high school or if you graduated and are missing both the core-course grade-point average or minimum number of core courses and the required ACT or SAT scores.

As a nonqualifier, you:

• Cannot practice or compete for your college or university during your first year of college;
• Cannot receive athletically related financial aid during your first year of college, although you may receive need-based financial aid; and
• Can play four seasons in your sport if you maintain your eligibility from year to year.

Amateurism Eligibility

All incoming student-athletes must be certified as an amateur student-athlete. With global recruiting becoming more common, determining the amateur status of college-bound student-athletes can be challenging. All college-bound student-athletes, including international students, need to adhere to NCAA amateurism requirements in order to preserve their eligibility for NCAA intercollegiate athletics.

Certification process

All college-bound student-athletes must have an academic and amateurism certification from the NCAA Eligibility Center.

For the staff at the NCAA Eligibility Center to certify your amateur status, you must answer a questionnaire during registration. The questionnaire covers the following pre-collegiate enrollment activities:

• Contracts with professional teams
• Salary for participating in athletics
• Prize money
• Play with professionals
• Tryouts, practice or competition with a professional team
• Benefits from an agent or prospective agent
• Agreement to be represented by an agent
• Delayed initial full-time collegiate enrollment to participate in organized sports competition

The Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete contains more detailed information about initial academic and amateurism eligibility.

Recruiting Rules

The NCAA has policies governing the recruitment of college-bound student-athletes. The rules specify when and how coaches can contact you and send you materials and when you can visit campus. The rules differ depending on which sport you play.

The NCAA Eligibility Center administers the National Letter of Intent program. The National Letter of Intent is a contract between a college or university and a prospect that requires the prospect to attend the college or university for one academic year and the college or university to provide athletics financial aid for one academic year. This is a legal document and should be read carefully before signing.

Financial Aid

Athletics grants-in-aid are awarded by individual colleges or universities on a one-year, renewable basis. They may be renewed for a maximum of five years within a six-year period of continuous college attendance. Aid can be renewed, canceled or reduced at the end of each year. If your aid is reduced or canceled, your college or university must provide you with an opportunity to appeal.

Grants-in-aid are awarded in a variety of amounts, ranging from full packages (including tuition, fees, room, board and books) to smaller packages known as equivalencies. Most athletically related financial aid in Division II is provided as equivalencies.

All financial aid from any source must be reported to your college financial aid office. The total amount of financial aid a student-athlete can receive and the total amount of athletics aid a team can award may be limited. These limits can affect whether a student-athlete can accept aid from other sources.

Athletics financial aid can be a tremendous benefit to most families, but some costs are not covered by the scholarship (for example, travel between home and school).

Last Updated: Jul 5, 2012