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Athletic Compliance Educational Session

Edina High School

April 10, 2025

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Athletic Compliance Educational Session

NCAA Initial Eligibility and Recruiting

Alexandra Andringa

Assistant Director of Athletic Compliance

University of Minnesota

andri142@umn.edu

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Athletic Compliance Educational Session

Guide to the College Bound

Student-Athlete

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  • Covers Recruiting and Eligibility
  • Download at www.ncaa.org (pdf)
  • High school academic information (Divisions I, II, III)
  • NCAA Eligibility Center registration (Divisions I & II)
    • Google “NCAA Eligibility Center”
  • Sample questions to ask in the recruiting process

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Athletic Compliance Educational Session

NCAA Eligibility Center

  • Located in Indianapolis, IN and run by the NCAA
  • Review high school transcripts and test scores for all Division I and II prospects
  • Register during your junior year in HS
  • Costs $90 to register ($150 for international prospects)
  • SAT/ACT scores must be sent directly to the Eligibility Center by marking code 9999
  • Work closely with your HS counselor to determine core courses/plan classes

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Athletic Compliance Educational Session

NCAA Core Course

  • One full year of academic credit, taught at grade appropriate level.

The NCAA approves core courses, NOT the high school.

  • Each high school has an approved core course list on the Eligibility Center’s website.
  • If the course is not on your high school list at the NCAA, it will not count as a core course
  • If a course title on your transcript does not match the title on the NCAA’s list, it will not count as a core course

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Athletic Compliance Educational Session

Division I Core-Course Requirements – 16 core courses needed:

    • 4 years of English
    • 3 years of Math (Algebra I or Higher)
    • 2 years of Natural/Physical Science (one lab)
    • 1 year of additional English, Math or Science
    • 2 years of Social Science
    • 4 years of Additional Core courses

*** Need to plan for this – not just graduate!

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Athletic Compliance Educational Session

D1: Qualifier, Academic Redshirt, Non-qualifier

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Qualifier

    • Athletic scholarship, practice and competition in your first year in residence
    • Four years to compete

Academic Redshirt

    • Athletic scholarship and practice only in your first year in residence
    • Four years to compete

Non-Qualifier

    • No scholarship, practice or competition in your first year in residence
    • Only three years to compete, with ability to regain 4th

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Athletic Compliance Educational Session

Division II –16 core courses needed:

    • 3 years of English
    • 2 years of Math (Algebra I or Higher)
    • 2 years of Natural/Physical Science (one lab)
    • 3 year of additional English, Math or Science
    • 2 years of Social Science
    • 4 years of additional core courses

Division II Test Score / GPA Requirements

  • Core grade-point average must be at least 2.20 to be a final qualifier, 2.0 to be a partial qualifier

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Athletic Compliance Educational Session

10 Core courses must be completed prior to start of senior year in HS; 7 of 10 must be in the following areas:

    • English
    • Math (Algebra I or Higher)
    • Natural/physical science (one lab)

** The 10 core courses utilized to meet this rule may not be replaced by a course taken in the senior year.

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Athletic Compliance Educational Session

Determining Initial Eligibility

Academic Component:

    • Graduation;
    • Complete the minimum number of core courses; and
    • Minimum core grade point average

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Amateurism Component:

    • Complete amateurism questionnaire

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Athletic Compliance Educational Session

College Admission Process vs. NCAA Eligibility

    • Two separate determinations
    • Being a NCAA qualifier does not automatically mean you will be admitted to an institution
    • Being admitted to an institution does not mean you are eligible under NCAA requirements

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Athletic Compliance Educational Session

-As of January 2023, test scores are no longer required by the NCAA for initial eligibility.

-They may still be required on an institutional admissions basis!

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Athletic Compliance Educational Session

Amateurism – Final Step

Prospects jeopardize NCAA amateur status by:

  • Formally declaring into professional contract, compete with a professional team in hockey or skiing, or accept a salary
  • Accepting prize money that exceeds expenses for an athletic event
  • Entering into agreement or accepting benefits from agents

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Athletic Compliance Educational Session

General Recruiting Concepts

    • Rules are designed to protect the HS students
    • ASK QUESTIONS!!
    • Ask coaches recruiting you, ask academic resources on campus, ask your high school coaches and counselors

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Athletic Compliance Educational Session

General Recruiting Concepts

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Athletic Compliance Educational Session

General Recruiting Concepts

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Athletic Compliance Educational Session

Financial Aid / Scholarship Basics

    • DIII schools do not offer athletic scholarships
      • Other financial aid packages may be available
    • Financial Aid Agreement is a contract between athlete and college (DI & DII)
      • Athletic scholarships may be multi-year agreements between prospect and institution. This is at the offering institution’s discretion.
    • Full Scholarship = tuition & required fees, room & board, books, and cost of attendance
    • Summer aid: Potentially available for scholarship athletes
    • Fifth-year (exhausted eligibility) athletic aid to graduate may be available

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Athletic Compliance Educational Session

Division I Financial Aid / Scholarships

Some sports are “all or nothing” scholarships (Head Count Sport) – if the House settlement is granted – head count sports will not exist anymore, and programs will be held to the roster size limits laid out in the House settlement agreement. Any student-athlete included on the roster could then be on any percentage of athletically-related financial aid.

Currently, these are the head count sports and scholarship limitations:

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      • Football (85)
      • M Basketball (13)
      • W Basketball (15)
      • W Gymnastics (12)
      • W Volleyball (12)
      • W Tennis (8)

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Athletic Compliance Educational Session

Division I Financial Aid / Scholarships

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Some sports are able to divide scholarships (Equivalency Sports). If the House settlement is granted, all sports will become equivalency sports and will be allowed to award as many scholarships as spots on the roster.

    • Hockey (18)
    • M Track/CC (12.6)
    • W Track/CC (18)
    • M Lacrosse (12.6)
    • W Lacrosse (12)
    • Wrestling (9.9)
    • Softball (12)
    • Baseball (11.7)
    • M Golf (4.5)
    • W. Golf (6)
    • M Tennis (4.5)
    • M Soccer (9.9)
    • W Soccer (14)
    • Rowing (20)
    • M Swimming/Diving (9.9)
    • W Swimming/Diving (14)

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Athletic Compliance Educational Session

Name, Image and Likeness (NIL)

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Definitions:

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    • NIL: Student-athlete using their name, image, or likeness for a commercial purpose (e.g. appear in advertisement, license NIL to company, post on social media)

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    • Collective: an NIL entity that assists student-athletes in finding NIL opportunities. They are usually associated with a particular school.
      • Dinkytown Athletes – UMN Collective

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Athletic Compliance Educational Session

Name, Image and Likeness (NIL)

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NCAA Rules to Know (may change pending House settlement):

    • NCAA rules permit high school students to get paid for an NIL opportunity (check with your high school athletic association for rules)
    • Universities cannot currently directly offer an NIL deal to a recruit, nor can they directly pay current student-athletes for an NIL opportunity
      • This is different from a Collective offering a recruit – which is permissible based on the Tennessee injunction that was granted earlier this year.
    • Universities are permitted to provide education and discuss factual information about what their institution is doing with NIL
      • Coaches are also permitted to facilitate agreements for student-athletes, as long as the student-athlete has the final say
    • You must perform an action in order to be paid for NIL (e.g. do something, grant permission to a company to use your NIL)
    • NIL deal cannot be based on athletic performance

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Athletic Compliance Educational Session

Questions??

Alexandra Andringa

Assistant Director of Athletic Compliance

University of Minnesota

andri142@umn.edu

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