The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), an organization that has established rules on eligibility, recruiting, and financial aid, regulates many college athletic programs. The NCAA has three membership divisions – Division I, Division II and Division III. Institutions are members according to the size and scope of their athletic program and whether they provide athletic scholarships.
The NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse must certify students who are planning to enroll in college as freshmen and wish to participate in Division I or II athletics.
It is the responsibility of the prospective student athlete to make sure the Clearinghouse has the documents it needs to certify him/her. These documents are: a completed andsigned student release form and fee, an official transcript mailed directly from every high school attended, ACT or SAT scores, and a foreign student form if applicable. By Christmas break of their junior year, students should initiate the NCAA eligibility process.
To be certified by the Clearinghouse, a student must: graduate from high school; earn a grade point average of at least 2.0 in a core curriculum; and earn a sum of scores of at least 68 on the ACT or combined score of at least 820 on the re-centered SAT (700 non re-centered) on a national test date.