Many students who participate in high school sports have an
interest in continuing their athletic participation
at the collegiate
level. The reality is that only a small
number of student athletes are able to compete at the varsity level in
college. However, most colleges offer a
variety of ways that students can meet their athletic goals, which can include
club and intramural participation.
Students planning to participate at the varsity level in
college, will be looking at NCAA or NAIA colleges. Athletic scholarships can be offered to
students attending NCAA Division I or Division II colleges and NAIA
colleges. NCAA Division III colleges do
not offer athletic scholarships for participation.
If you are hoping to be a recruited athlete, it is important
to be aware of the restrictions on when athletes can be contacted by coaches as
well as when it is acceptable for you to reach out to college coaches. Additionally, the emphasis on academics is
critical and so the NCAA and the NAIA both require student athletes to register
to determine their academic/ athletic eligibility.
NAIA Requirements:
- Must meet 2 out of 3 requirements in addition to
graduating from high school
o
Minimum GPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale
o
Minimum test score of 18 composite score on the
ACT or 860 on the SAT (excluding writing section) – They do not superscore
o
Graduation in the top 50% of your high school
class
- You must submit test scores directly from the
testing agencies. Their number is 9876.
- Students must submit a transcript after
graduation. Only 1 transcript is needed
and should be sent after graduation unless you qualify for an “Early
Decision.” To be eligible for an early
decision students must have the minimum test scores and have earned at least a
3.0 GPA after junior year or at least a 2.5 GPA after first semester of senior
year. If you will qualify for an early
decision, you may send your transcript early and you will receive an
eligibility determination before you graduate from high school.
- Registration fee: $70
NCAA Requirements:
- The NCAA requirements are a bit more complex
because there are different requirements depending upon which division a
student hopes to play in during college.
- Additionally, the requirements for students in
the Class of 2014 and 2015 will be different than for those in the Class of
2016 and beyond. Please look carefully
at what your requirements will be depending on your year of graduation and your
anticipated division of play. (Division
3 does not require eligibility approval
for participation.)
- ACT scores used to determine eligibility are the
sum of the individual scores (English, math, reading and science – not composite)
and the SAT is the sum of the critical reading and math sections. Writing scores are not used. They do superscore (taking highest scores from
each area added together rather than just using the highest from 1 testing
date.)
- You must submit test scores directly from the
testing agencies. Their number is 9999.
- One of the key components to understand with
NCAA requirements is that they compute your Core GPA instead of looking at your
Kilbourne GPA. Core GPA is made up of
just your core classes – English, Math, Science, Social Studies and Foreign
Language classes. Please double check
the list of NCAA approved courses on the NCAA website as not all Kilbourne
classes in the core areas are NCAA approved.
- Registration fee: $70
- They will require that you submit your
transcript after your junior year and again after you graduate from high
school.
- Online classes (such as credit recovery) cannot
count for core classes.
For students
graduating in 2014 and 2015:
Division
1:
o
16 core classes
§
4 English
§
3 Math
§
2 Science
§
1 additional credit in either English, Math or
Science
§
2 Social Studies
§
4 Additional years of Core Classes (English,
Math, Science, Social Studies, or Foreign Language)
o
Minimum GPA and minimum test scores based upon
sliding scale
§
Lowest GPA is 2.0
Division
2:
o
16 core classes
§
3 English
§
2 Math
§
2 Science
§
3 additional credit in either English, Math or
Science
§
2 Social Studies
§
4 Additional years of Core Classes (English,
Math, Science, Social Studies, or Foreign Language)
o
Minimum GPA is 2.0
o
Minimum test scores is ACT sum score of 68 or
SAT sum score of 820.
For students
graduating in 2016 and beyond:
Division
1:
o
16 core classes
§
4 English
§
3 Math
§
2 Science
§
1 additional credit in either English, Math or Science
§
2 Social Studies
§
4 Additional years of Core Classes (English,
Math, Science, Social Studies, or Foreign Language)
o
10 of the 16 core classes must be completed
prior to the start of the senior year and 7 of these 10 must be in English,
Math and Science.
o
The 10 classes completed before the start of
senior year are locked in for GPA calculation of core GPA.
o
Minimum GPA and minimum test scores based upon
sliding scale
§
Lowest GPA is 2.3 to fully qualify
§
Students with a 2.0 GPA may qualify for an
academic redshirt
Division
2:
o
16 core classes
§
3 English
§
2 Math
§
2 Science
§
3 additional credit in either English, Math or
Science
§
2 Social Studies
§
4 Additional years of Core Classes (English,
Math, Science, Social Studies, or Foreign Language)
o
Minimum GPA is 2.0
o
Minimum test scores is ACT sum score of 68 or
SAT sum score of 820.
Although some of these articles are a bit older, I think the
information on them will be valuable to students and parents hoping for college
athletic scholarships.
(Be sure to read the articles highlighted on the left side
of the above article too!)
If you have questions about college athletic participation, please feel free to see me, your coaches, or Mr. Todd in the athletic office.
