NCAA

If you enroll in a Division I or Division II college and want to participate in athletics or receive an athletics scholarship during your first year, you will need to meet certain requirements as set by NCAA to be eligible. The requirements are:

NCAA Division I:

  • Complete 16 NCAA core courses in high school as outlined in the table below.
  • Complete 10 core courses, including 7 in English, math, or natural/physical science, before the start of your seventh semester. Once you begin your seventh semester, you may not repeat or replace any of those 10 courses for GPA improvement.
  • Earn at least a 2.3 GPA in your core courses.
  • Earn an SAT combined score or ACT sum score that matches your core-course GPA on the Division I sliding scale. The sliding scale is posted on the NCAA web site: www.eligibilitycenter.org
  • Students who do not meet core-course progression requirements may still be eligible to receive athletic aid and practice in the initial year of enrollment by meeting academic redshirt requirements.

NCAA Division II:

  • Complete 16 NCAA core courses in high school as outlined in the table below.
  •  Beginning August 1, 2018, to become a full or partial qualifier for Division II, all college-bound student-athletes must complete the 16 core-course requirement
  • Division II currently requires a minimum SAT score of 820 or an ACT sum score of 68. 
  • Beginning August 1, 2018, Division II will use a sliding scale to match test scores and core-course grade-point averages (GPA). The sliding scale can be found on the NCAA web site.
  • The SAT scores used for NCAA purposes includes only the critical reading and math sections. The writing section of the SAT is not used.
  • The current Division II core GPA requirement is a minimum of 2.0. Division II core GPA required to be eligible for competition on or after August 1, 2018 is 2.2.

PLEASE NOTE:

  • When you register for the SAT or ACT, use the NCAA Eligibility Center code of 9999 to ensure all SAT and ACT scores are reported directly to the NCAA Eligibility Center from the testing agency. Test scores that appear on transcripts will not be used.
  • The NCAA core GPA is calculated using NCAA core courses only. 
  • Make sure to check out Kennard-Dale's list of courses that will count towards eligibility on the NCAA web site. Our school code is 391375.

Core Course Requirements:

Division I: 16 Core Course Rule 

4 years of English

3 years of math (Algebra I or higher)

2 years of natural/physical science (1 year of a lab)

1 year of additional English, math, or natural/physical science

2 years of social science

4 years of additional courses (from any area above, foreign language, or comparative religion/philosophy)

Division II: 16 Core Course Rule

3 years of English

2 years of math (Algebra I or higher)

2 years of natural/physical science (1 year of a lab)

3 years of additional English, math, or natural/physical science

2 years of social science

4 years of additional courses (from any area above, foreign language, or comparative religion/philosophy) 

For additional information, visit the NCAA web site at www.eligibilitycenter.org. The Guide for the College-Bound Athlete is a very informative booklet that outlines everything you will need to know about NCAA. It can be found under the "Resources" section of the web site.