NCAA Eligibility Center Fact SheetWHO?Every Prospective Student-Athlete (PSA) – both domestic and foreign – intending to enroll in an NCAA Division I or II institution must register with the NCAA Eligibility Center. Those who will be attending an NCAA Division I or II institution for the first time ON or AFTER August 1, 2007 must also complete the NCAA Amateurism Certification questionnaire. This includes prospects transferring from any two-year or four-year institutions (including foreign institutions) that are not members of Division I or II. If a PSA wishes to participate in athletics at a Division I or II institution, the PSA must register with the NCAA Eligibility Center and submit the appropriate documentation to receive a certification decision.
WHAT?The NCAA Eligibility Center is the organization that handles ALL inquiries regarding an individual's initial eligibility status. There are now two components to the NCAA Eligibility Center: 1) the Academic Certification Process and 2) the Amateurism Certification Process.
WHERE?The NCAA Eligibility Center – whose offices are now located near the NCAA Headquarters in Indianapolis, IN – operate web site which maintains and processes all eligibility certifications: at the NCAA Eligibility Center.
WHEN?PSAs are encouraged to register as early as possible because registration forms are handled in the order in which they are received. If PSAs have potential amateurism issues – waiting to register until the summer before they attend an NCAA Division I or II institution will likely lengthen the certification process.
WHY?If you want to compete in Division I or II athletics in your first year of college, you must register with and be certified academically and as an amateur by the NCAA Eligibility Center.
COST?A one-time registration fee of $75* for domestic prospects and $130* for foreign prospects applies.
*Effective September 1, 2014HOW?1. ACADEMIC CERTIFICATION
When you register with the
NCAA Eligibility Center you will be asked to provide basic information regarding your address, high school, year of graduation etc. The NCAA Eligibility Center will then begin the process of certifying your academic status. This certification will be based on standardized test scores, your grade-point average and the core courses that you took while in high school.
The NCAA requires prospects to supply:
a. Official (sealed) High School transcript sent to the NCAA Eligibility Center DIRECTLY from the high school.
b. ACT or SAT scores sent to the
NCAA Eligibility Center DIRECTLY from the testing agencies. Test scores on an official high
school transcript are NO LONGER USABLE for NCAA purposes.
2. AMATEUR CERTIFICATION
When you register with the
NCAA Eligibility Center, you will also be asked to provide answers to five questions relative to your athletics participation and any agreements you may have with an agent or professional team. Based on the information you provide, the NCAA Eligibility Center will determine if you are still an amateur:
After you complete all of the questions, the length of time it will take for you to receive your "preliminary status report" will depend on the answers you provided. The term "preliminary" means that the certification is not final; however, it does give you and the Division I or II institution(s) recruiting you an idea of your amateur status. The actual definitions for each certification type are as follows:
• Preliminarily certified – means the information you have already provided to the NCAA Eligibility Center has satisfied the NCAA amateurism rules.
• Preliminarily certified with conditions – means the information you have already provided to the NCAA Eligibility Center or the information the NCAA may have received from other sources (which the NCAA will share with you so you can respond) indicates that you have not satisfied all of the NCAA amateurism rules. In this scenario, you may be charged with penalties. Once these penalties have been satisfied, you would become eligible to compete. An example may be that you will be required to sit out your first three contests at the Division I or II institution you attend as a penalty for the three games you played as a member of a professional sports team. Another example might be that you must pay back the prize money you earned that exceeded your expenses for a tournament that you competed in. Once the "conditions" are met, you will then be able to compete.
• Preliminarily not certified – means the information you have already provided to the NCAA Eligibility Center indicated that you have violated the NCAA amateurism rules to the extent that you will not be eligible to compete at a Division I or II institution.
• Under review – means the NCAA staff is reviewing your registration form to determine your preliminary (or final) status.
