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Nick Beaton

ELIGIBILITY
If you are looking to play intercollegiate athletics at the Division I level, there are certain academic eligibility and amateurism requirements that must be met.  All college-bound student-athletes must have both an academic and amateurism certification completed by the NCAA Eligibility Center.  Below is information on initial- and transfer eligibility, as well as amateurism issues.
 
DIVISION I INITIAL-ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
For prospective student-athletes (“PSA”) looking to compete at a Division I institution, certain Initial-Eligibility Requirements need to be met.  The NCAA Eligibility Center certifies the academic status for each Division I and Division II student-athlete.  Please ensure that you register with the NCAA Eligibility Center early in your high school career. 
 
Beginning with PSAs enrolling at Division I institutions after the Fall 2016 semester, additional requirements are now in place.  Based upon a PSA’s high school transcripts and ACT/SAT scores, he/she will be considered either a “Qualifier,” “Academic Redshirt” or “Nonqualifier.”
  1.   To be eligible for financial aid, practice and competition, a PSA must satisfy ALL of the following requirements:
    • High School Graduate
    • 16 Core-Courses (see below)
      • 10/7 Rule—Ten (10) core courses completed prior to start of 7th semester.Seven (7) of the 10 must be in English, Math or Natural/Physical Science
    • At least a 2.30 Core-CourseGPA
    • Earn a combined ACT or SAT sum score that matches the core course grade-point average and test-score sliding scale (e.g., 2.50 GPA and 820 SAT/68 ACT).
  2. Academic Redshirt: Eligible for financial aid and practice only.  Academic redshirts present the same academic qualifiers as a “Qualifier” above, except for the following:
    • Earned a combined GPA between a 2.0-2.29 but still met the core course grade-point average and test-score sliding scale (e.g., 2.25 GPA and 920 SAT/77 ACT)
    • Did not satisfy the 10/7 Rule above
  3. A nonqualifier is a PSA that that does not satisfy either the Qualifier or Academic Redshirt standards above.  Nonqualifiers are not eligible for athletically related financial aid, practice or competition during their first academic year at a Division I institution.
    • Mountain West Rule: The Mountain West does not allow its member institutions to take NOnqualifiers straight out of high school.The individual must first attend another two- or four-year institutions and satisfy both NCAA and MW transfer requirements.
  4. International Students:  Please visit our “International Student” page for eligibility requiements that pertain to your situation.
  5. Initial-Eligibility Summary/Resources: The above information is merely a snapshot of Division I Initial-Eligibility requirements.  Additioanl steps may be required for certain students (e.g., Home School, Multiple HS, etc.).  Please work closely with your high school counselor to ensure you are on track to meet NCAA Division I Initial-Eligibility requirements.  Below are resources that are helpful to putting yourself on the right path. 

DIVISION I TRANSFER ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
If you are a student-athlete who has enrolled full-time at a two- or four-year college/university (including international institutions) that is looking to transfer, there are different transfer requirements you need to meet in order to be eligible for financial aid, practice and competition at a Division I institution.The NCAA requirements depend upon each prospective student-athlete’s (“PSA”):
  • Qualifier status (see Division I Initial-Eligibility Requirements above); and
  • The type of transfer category you fall into (2-4, 4-4 or 4-2-4).
    • 2-4 Transfer – Transfer from a two-year college directly to a four-year college;
    • 4-4 Transfer – Transfer from a four-year college directly to another four-year college; and
    • 4-2-4 Transfer – Transfer from a four-year college, to a two-year college and back to a four-year college.
Knowing the answer to each question informs the requirements a PSA is required to satisfy.

Two-Year College Transfer PSA (2-4)
The requirement for a PSA that enrolled initially enrolled full-time after high school at a two-year college differs for “Qualifiers” and “Non-Qualifiers.”  Here are the general standards for to be immediately eligible for financial aid, practice and competition at a Division I institution:
  • 2-4 Qualifier Requirements
    • Complete at least one full-time term (semester or quarter) at a two-year college (excludes summer);
    • 2.50 Transferable GPA to the University of Nevada; and
    • Complete 12 semester units of transferable degree credit for each full-time term at the two-year college (e.g., 3 FT semesters = 36 transferable units required)
  • 2-4 Non-Qualifier Requirements
    • Graduated from a two-year college (e.g., Associate of Arts Degree);
    • 48 semester units of transferable degree credit (including 6 English, 3 Math and 3 Science units);
    • Attended the two-year college as a full-time student for at least three semesters; and
    • 2.50 Transferable GPA to the University of Nevada
  • 4-2-4 Requirements:
    • Complete 12 semester units of transferable degree credit for each full-time at the two-year college (e.g., 2 FT semesters = 24 transferable units required)
    • Do not enroll at four-year college until at least one calendar year has elapsed since departure from previous four-year college; and
    • Graduated from two-year college (e.g., Associate of Arts Degree)
Four-Year College Transfer PSA (4-4)
To transfer from one four-year institution to another, the first step involves requesting “permission to contact” from your current institution.  To obtain your permission to contact other four-year institutions, you will need to reach out to your current institution’s Compliance Office.  Until you obtain permission to contact, you are unable to have any recruiting contact with other four-year (I, II, III or NAIA) institutions.  The requirements for financial aid, practice and competition are as follows:

Practice Eligibility
A PSA that transfers directly from one Division I four-year institution to another Division I four-year institution is eligible for practice as they are enrolled full-time (either undergraduate or graduate) at their new institution.

Competition Eligibility
A PSA that transfers directly from one Division I four-year institution to another generally has to serve a “year in residence” (one academic year) prior to be gaining their competition eligibility at the new four-year institution.  There are many exceptions available, however, that can allow a 4-4 transfer to gain immediate competition eligibility at their new four-year institution.  This list is not totally inclusive, but rather highlights the more common avenues:
  • One-Time Transfer Exception: A student-athlete in a sport other than Baseball, Men’s Basketball, FBS Football and Men’s Ice Hockey can be immediately eligible at a another Division I institution if the student-athlete satisfies ALL the following conditions:
    • Has not previously transferred from a four-year institution (unless student-athlete used the discontinued/nonsponsored sport exception below);
    • Would have been academically eligible for competition if he/she remained at previous institution; and
    • The previous institution supports, in writing, the student-athlete receiving this exception.
  • Discontinued/Nonsponsored Sport Exception: A student-athlete can be immediately eligible at the new institution if ANY of the following conditions are satisfied:
    • Previous four-year institution dropped the student-athlete’s sport (or announces intent to do so);
    • Previous four-year institution reclassifies (or announces intent to do so) from Division I to Division II status; or
    • Previous four-year institution never sponsored the sport on an intercollegiate level while student-athlete was in attendance.
      • This exception is predominately used for international student-athletes who are transferring from their home country to a Division I institution.
  • Nonrecruited Student Exception: A student-athlete that was not “recruited”( per NCAA Bylaw 13.02.13.1) by the new institution and BOTH conditions are met:
    • No athletically related financial aid (e.g., scholarship) has been received by the student-athlete; and
    • Student-athlete did not practice/workout more than 14 days at their previous institution.
  • Graduate Student Exception: A student-athlete who graduates from one four-year institution and transfers to another four-year institution to begin a graduate program can be immediately eligible if the student-athlete satisfied ALL the following conditions:
    • Has not previously transferred from a four-year institution (unless student-athlete used the discontinued/nonsponsored sport exception below);
    • Would have been academically eligible for competition if he/she remained at previous institution; and
    • The previous institution supports, in writing, the student-athlete receiving this exception.
    • Has at least one season of competition remaining; and
    • Previous four-year institution did not renew their scholarship.
Athletically Related Financial Aid
A PSA that transfers directly from one Division I four-year institution to another Division I four-year institution can only receive athletically related financial aid (e.g., scholarship) their first semester if they would have been academically eligible for competition at their previous four-year institution.

Transfer Summary/Resources
The above information is merely a snapshot of Division I transfer eligibility requirements.  Depending upon each student-athlete’s situation, additional steps may be required.
There are also Progress-Toward Degree Requirements that student-athletes are required to meet.  For more information on those, please reference the “Continuing Eligibility” tab on our website.
Also, many conferences have additional requirements that must be met.  Here are some helpful resources: AMATEUR STATUS
In order to compete at an NCAA member institution, the prospective student-athlete (“PSA”) must be certified as an amateur athlete by the NCAA Eligibility Center.  To certify your amateur status, PSAs must complete a questionnaire containing the following information:
  • Contracts with professional teams
  • Salary for participating in athletics
  • Prize money
  • Play with professionals
  • Tryouts, practice or competition with a professional team
  • Benefits from an agent or prospective agent
  • Agreement to be represented by an agent
  • Delayed initial full-time collegiate enrollment to participate in organized sports competition
For more information on the NCAA’s Amateurism review process, please visit the NCAA Eligibility Center’s Amateurism Certification Process FAQ (http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/Amateurism_Certification_Process_FAQ.pdf)