What's the 411: NCAA Eligibility Center

The NCAA Eligibility Center is the branch of the NCAA responsible for determining the academic eligibility and amateurism status for all DI and DII student-athletes. 
The most important thing to understand as a prospective student-athlete is that the NCAA is there to determine your eligibility, not to provide guidance on how to get or maintain your college eligibility.     

It is the responsibility of the student-athlete to understand the academic and amateurism requirements and make sure they are on track to meet those requirements with the help of their high school guidance counselor, parents and coaches.

What is the purpose of the NCAA Eligibility Center?

The NCAA Eligibility Center is the part of the NCAA that will ensure you meet the minimum academic requirements and are considered an amateur athlete. It does this by reviewing your high school transcripts , SAT/ACT test scores and reviewing the answers to your amateurism questionnaire. In rare situations, the NCAA will require additional information surrounding your high school classes or athletic competition, but most athletes pass through the NCAA Eligibility Center without incident.

How do I register for the NCAA Eligibility Center?
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The NCAA has a very user-friendly website at the NCAA Eligibility Center.. Give yourself at least 15-30 minutes to complete the initial registration. Before beginning, make sure you have a valid email address you will have access to after high school. If you are creating a Certification Account, you will need a method of payment for the account.

How long does the NCAA Eligibility Center take?

You are not officially done with the NCAA Eligibility Center process until you are done with high school and officially declared eligible at your DI or DII institution. There are three phases to the NCAA Eligibility Center process you will need to check in to make sure you are on track:

• Creating a Certification Account – This should happen your freshman or sophomore year of high school.
• Having up-to-date transcripts after your junior year – The NCAA requires prospective DI athletes to complete 10 core courses before the start of your final semester of high school. 7 of these courses need to be in English, math and natural or physical science. Additionally, your core course GPA will be “locked in” at this time – you won’t be allowed to retake these classes to improve your grades.
• Sending in final transcripts and requesting final amateurism certification – After you have completed high school, you will send your final transcripts and request your final amateurism certification.

Click the picture below to Learn more about the NCAA Eligibility Center .

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