NCAA REGULATIONS
NCAA Clearinghouse
A NCAA member coach will require confirmation from the Clearinghouse that you are academically eligible to compete in college sports. If you have not achieved the required grades, test scores, and taken the right courses, the coach will immediately eliminate you from his recruiting list. Don’t get knocked out of the recruiting game before it even starts by underachieving in class.
Core Courses
The NCAA requires a certain number of college preparatory (core) courses to be completed in high school before an athlete is eligible to play his or her freshman year. This requirement recently changed from 13 to 14 and it’s possible it may change again.
Make sure in your freshman year of high school you know the current requirement for your graduating class and are taking enough core courses to qualify for the NCAA Clearinghouse. If athletes have insufficient core courses when they graduate, they not only won’t be allowed to participate in their sport during their freshman year of college, they also won’t be allowed to receive an athletic scholarship.
It is imperative that you make sure at the start of your freshman year that you have planned your academic schedule to include enough core courses and that you do so each year until you graduate. It is also best to try to complete core courses as early as you can in your high school career. In the event that you fail one of the required courses, you will have enough time left in your high school career to make it up!
Additional Resources
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