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Prospective Student-Athletes
- NCAA Eligibility Website

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. 
  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-Course GPA
  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)
    • 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.
    • Ohio Valley Rule: The Ohio Valley 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 OVC transfer requirements.
  4. International Students:  Please visit our “International Student” page for eligibility requirements that pertain to your situation.
  5. Initial-Eligibility Summary/Resources: The above information is merely a snapshot of Division I Initial-Eligibility requirements.  Additional 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 Lindenwood University; 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 Lindenwood University
  • 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 will be initially eligible upon arrival at new Division I institution, as long as they are eligible upon leaving first Division I four-year institution and meeting progress towards degree (PTD) at new four-year institution. The following refers to NCAA Division I four-year transfer legislation, for both undergraduate and graduate student-athletes.  

13.1.1.4.1 Notification of Transfer -- Undergraduate Student-Athletes. A student-athlete may initiate the notification of transfer process by providing the student-athlete's institution with a written notification of transfer and completing an educational module related to transferring. Notification of transfer must be initiated during a period specified for the applicable sport (see also Figure 13-1). If notification of transfer is provided during a specified period, the student-athlete's institution shall enter the student-athlete's information into the national transfer database within two business days of receipt of a written notification of transfer from the student-athlete or receipt of confirmation of the student-athlete's completion of the educational module, whichever occurs later.
(a) In fall sports other than football, the student must provide written notification of transfer during:
    (1) A 30 consecutive-day period beginning seven days after championship selections are made in the sport; or
    (2) May 1-15.
(b) In football, a student-athlete must provide written notification of transfer during:
    (1) A 20 consecutive-day period beginning the Monday after the first Saturday in December; or
    (2) April 16-25.
        (i) Exception -- Participants in Postseason Contests. Student-athletes who are members of teams that participate in a postseason contest (bowl game, NCAA Division I Football Championship, College Football Playoff, etc.) may also provide written             notification of transfer during a five consecutive-day period beginning the day after their team's final postseason contest.\
(c) In winter sports other than basketball, a student must provide written notification of transfer during a 45 consecutive-day period beginning seven days after championship selections are made in the sport.
(d) In basketball, a student must provide written notification of transfer during a 30 consecutive-day period beginning the day after the conclusion of the second round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship and the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship, respectively.
(e) In spring sports, the student must provide written notification of transfer during:
    (1) December 1-15; or
    (2) A 30 consecutive-day period beginning seven days after championship selections are made in the sport.
(f) In emerging sports for women, the student must provide written notification of transfer during the applicable period (30 consecutive-day period or May 1-15 for fall sports or 45 consecutive-day period for winter and spring sports) beginning seven days after selections are made for a recognized national intercollegiate championship event in the sport.
        13.1.1.4.1.1 Exceptions
        (a) Head Coach Departure or Athletics Aid, Reduction, Cancellation, or Nonrenewal.
        (b) Discontinued Sport.

13.1.1.4.2 Notification of Transfer -- Postgraduate Student-Athletes. A student-athlete who will participate as a postgraduate student at another institution following the next regular academic term or academic year (two semesters/three quarters) may initiate the notification of transfer process at any time between October 1 and the end of the final period specified for the applicable sport in Bylaw 13.1.1.4.1 by providing the student-athlete's institution with a written notification of transfer and completing an educational module related to transferring. The student-athlete's institution shall enter the student-athlete's information into the national transfer database within two business days of receipt of a written notification of transfer from the student-athlete or receipt of confirmation of the student-athlete's completion of the educational module, whichever occurs later. 
        13.1.1.4.2.1 Exceptions. A student-athlete who will participate as a postgraduate student at another institution during the next academic year or regular term who qualifies for an exception to the notification of transfer periods for undergraduate student-        athletes (see Bylaw 13.1.1.4.1.1) may initiate notification of transfer consistent with the applicable exception.

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)