When you register with the NCAA Eligibility Center, you will be asked a series of questions about your sports participation to determine your amateur status.
More than 90 percent of student-athletes who register are automatically certified. In some instances, the NCAA Eligibility Center staff may need to gather additional information to evaluate your amateur status.
If you are enrolling at a Division I or II school for the fall semester, you may request an amateurism certification decision from the NCAA Eligibility Center on or after April 1 before your enrollment in college. If you are enrolling in college in the spring semester, you may request a final amateurism decision on or after October 1 before your enrollment in college.
How to request final amateurism certification
In most sports, you may delay full-time college enrollment for one year after your expected high school graduation without impacting your eligibility. In tennis, you may delay enrollment for six months after your expected date of high school graduation, as long as you have not yet turned 20 years old. In men's ice hockey or skiing, you may be required to enroll full-time in college before you turn 21 to avoid impacting your eligibility.
Amateurism review
The following activities may impact your amateur status:
- Signing a contract with a professional team
- Playing with professionals
- Participating in tryouts or practices with a professional team
- Accepting payments or preferential benefits for playing sports
- Accepting prize money above your expenses
- Accepting benefits from an agent or prospective agent
- Agreeing to be represented by an agent
- Delaying your full-time college enrollment to play in organized sports competitions
