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Academic Requirements for College Athletes

NCAA D1 Eligibility Requirements

This information is for athletes who want to play NCAA D1 sports and receive an athletic scholarship. 99% of athletes who meet the DI requirements will also be eligible at other division levels.  It is important to remember that just because you meet the academic requirements of the NCAA, you are not guaranteed to gain admission into the school of your choice. Here are the NCAA D1 requirements for athlete graduating in the class of 2013, 2014 or 2015.

  1. You must graduate from high school
  2. You must complete 16 core courses and receive a minimum GPA of 2.0 in those courses. The core course requirements are as follows 4 years of English, 3 years of Math (Algebra 1 or higher), 2 years of Natural or Physical Science, 2 years of Social Science, 1 extra year of English, Math or Science and 4 years of Religion, Philosophy, Foreign Language or additional years of any of the categories above.
  3. You must take the SAT or ACT and score a minimum of 400 on the SAT (Math and Reading only) or 37 on the ACT (your sum score).
  4. Your core course GPA combined with your SAT/ACT score must meet the minimum requirements as laid out by the NCAA Sliding Scale (please go to the bottom of this page to see the complete sliding scale).

New NCAA D1 Requirements for Athletes Graduating in 2016 or Later

The academic requirements for student athletes graduating in 2016 or later are going to be much higher than the current academic markers. If current high school athletes were required to meet the new academic standards, over 15% of incoming freshman would not be eligible (40% of basketball players and 35% of football players). This means if you are following the same courses as the athletes ahead of you, there is a chance you will not be eligible. Here is a summary of all of the new requirements.

  • The new minimum GPA goes up from 2.0 to 2.3
  • The GPA requirements on the sliding scale have gone up roughly .5. See the sliding scale for 2016 graduates at the bottom of this page.
  • You must complete 10 of your 16 core course before your senior year of high school
  • You will not be allowed to retake any of your 10 core courses before your senior year for a higher score.

NCAA DII Eligibility Requirements

The requirements to play NCAA D2 sports and receive a scholarship are lower than the DI level. All eligible DI athletes are eligible at the DII level. If you don’t meet the DI requirements but meet the requirements below, you can compete at the NCAA DII level.

  1. You must graduate from high school
  2. You must complete 16 core courses and receive a minimum GPA of 2.0. The core course requirements are as follows 3 years of English, 3 years of Math (Algebra 1 or higher), 2 years of Natural or Physical Science, 2 years of Social Science, 2 extra years of English, Math or Science and 4 years of Religion, Philosophy, Foreign Language or additional years of any of the categories above.
  3. You must take the SAT or ACT. You need to score a minimum of 820 on the SAT (Math and Reading only) or an ACT sum score of 68.

NCAA DIII Eligibility Requirements

If you are going to compete at the NCAA DIII level you do not need to register with the NCAA. The NCAA has no academic requirements for DIII athletes. Each university sets their own academic standards for student athletes and financial aid. It is best to contact the coaches at the DIII universities you are interested and get the standards from them.

NAIA Eligibility Requirements

The academic standards for the NAIA are the lowest of all division levels except Junior Colleges. In order to be eligible  athletes must graduate from high school and meet 2 of the following 3 requirements:

  1. Finish in the top half of your graduating class
  2. Achieve a minimum GPA of 2.0
  3. Score 860 on the SAT or 16 on the ACT

The academic requirements are only one set of the requirements needed to meet the eligibility standards to play college sports and receive a scholarship. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
NCAA Division I Sliding Scale 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

 
 
 
 
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