Many students who participate in high school sports have an interest in continuing to play sports at the college level. The reality is that only a small number of student athletes are able to compete at the varsity level in college. However, most colleges offer a variety of ways that students can meet their athletic goals, which can include club and intramural participation.

Students hoping to participate at the varsity level in college, will be looking at NCAA or NAIA colleges. Athletic scholarships can be offered to students attending NCAA Division I or Division II colleges and NAIA colleges. NCAA Division III colleges do not offer athletic scholarships for participation. 

Eligibility
If you are hoping to be a recruited athlete, it is important to be aware of the restrictions on when athletes can be contacted by coaches as well as when it is acceptable for you to reach out to college coaches. Additionally, the emphasis on academics is critical and so the NCAA and the NAIA both require student athletes to register to determine their academic/ athletic eligibility.

The website for NCAA Eligibility is: www.eligibilitycenter.org

The website for NAIA Eligibility is:http://www.playnaia.org/

NAIA Requirements:
- - Must meet 2 out of 3 requirements in addition to graduating from high school
I. Minimum GPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale
II. Minimum test score of 18 composite score on the ACT or 970 on the SAT – They do not superscore
III. Graduation in the top 50% of your high school class
- - You must submit test scores directly from the testing agencies. Their number is 9876.
- - Students must submit a transcript after graduation. Only 1 transcript is needed and should be sent after graduation unless you qualify for an “Early Decision.” To be eligible for an early decision, students must have the minimum test scores and have earned at least a 3.0 GPA after junior year or at least a 2.5 GPA after first semester of senior year. If you will qualify for an early decision, you may send your transcript early and you will receive an eligibility determination before you graduate from high school.
- - Registration fee: $70

NCAA Requirements:
- - The NCAA requirements are a bit more complex because there are different requirements depending upon which division a student hopes to play in during college.
- - Please look carefully at what your requirements will be depending on your year of graduation and your anticipated division of play. (Division 3 does not require eligibility approval for participation.)
- - ACT scores used to determine eligibility are the sum of the individual scores (English, math, reading and science – not composite) and the SAT is the sum of the critical reading and math sections. Writing scores are not used. They do superscore (taking highest scores from each area added together rather than just using the highest from 1 testing date.)
- - You must submit test scores directly from the testing agencies. Their number is 9999.
- - One of the key components to understand with NCAA requirements is that they compute your Core GPA instead of looking at your Kilbourne GPA. Core GPA is made up of just your core classes – English, Math, Science, Social Studies and Foreign Language classes. Please double check the list of NCAA approved courses on the NCAA website as not all Kilbourne classes in the core areas are NCAA approved.
- - Registration fee: $70
- - They will require that you submit your transcript after your junior year and again after you graduate from high school.
- - Online classes (such as credit recovery) cannot count for core classes.

The NCAA Want to Play College Sports page is a good starting point students may want to use to develop their understanding of the various divisions and requirements.

Attached is the NCAA Initial Eligibility Brochure.

Attached is the worksheet you can use to calculate your core GPA.

Here is an information sheet to compare the 3 NCAA Divisions.

And this is the NCAA Guide for the College-Bound Student Athlete.

Requirements:

Division 1:

- 16 core classes
• 4 English
• 3 Math
• 2 Science
• 1 additional credit in either English, Math or Science
• 2 Social Studies
• 4 Additional years of Core Classes (English, Math, Science, Social Studies, or Foreign Language)
- 10 of the 16 core classes must be completed prior to the start of the senior year and 7 of these 10 must be in English, Math and Science.
- The 10 classes completed before the start of senior year are locked in for GPA calculation of core GPA.
- Minimum GPA and minimum test scores based upon sliding scale
• Lowest GPA is 2.3 to fully qualify
• Students with a 2.0 GPA may qualify for an academic redshirt

Division 2:
- 16 core classes
• 3 English
• 2 Math
• 2 Science
• 3 additional credit in either English, Math or Science
• 2 Social Studies
• 4 Additional years of Core Classes (English, Math, Science, Social Studies, or Foreign Language)
- Minimum GPA is 2.2
- Minimum GPA and minimum test scores based upon sliding scale

Attached is the link to NCAA information for Student Athletes and their families.

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