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The Clearinghouse

Most people who follow college sports know that colleges are divided into Division I, Division II, and Division III schools. NCAA student athlete regulations differ between divisions, so the NCAA created the NCAA Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse. The Clearinghouse ensures that only eligible athletes apply to Division I and Division II schools.

It’s essential to register with the Clearinghouse immediately after the completion of the junior year of high school. You acquire the forms from your guidance counselors, athletic offices, and go to the NCAA Clearinghouse website https://web1.ncaa.org/eligibilitycenter/common/

Don’t wait until the last second to get your forms to the Clearinghouse. It’s is a large bureaucracy, and many athletes have complained about problems and delays during their certification process. You can’t play in college if you’re not registered and certified.

Initial Eligibility

To be certified, you must have achieved minimum academic standards. The Clearinghouse’s standards come from the following four requirements:

- Graduating from high school
- Successfully completing all core courses
- Maintaining a minimum 2.0 GPA in core courses
- Attaining a minimum qualifying score on the ACT or SAT

Core courses are in the subjects of: English, Math, Natural/Physical Science, and Social Science. The NCAA reviews and approves courses in those areas. Only courses on their list count toward meeting the Clearinghouse’s requirements. Every student athlete must complete a minimum number of core courses in each category as part of the certification process.

To find a list of approved core courses, ask your high school’s counselor or go to the NCAA Clearinghouse website https://web1.ncaa.org/eligibilitycenter/common/

From the website’s main page, click on “Prospective Student-Athletes.” Click on “The List of Approved Core Courses.” Enter your school’s name and state in the search form.

If you’re having trouble getting enough core courses, independent study, Internet, and correspondence courses can be used to meet the core course requirement as long as certain conditions are met. You can learn more about this at: www.ncaaclearinghouse.net.

In addition to completing the required number of core courses in the correct categories, a minimum GPA of 2.00 must be maintained. This is not the same as the overall high school GPA. The NCAA is only concerned with the grades in core courses.

In addition to the completing the core courses, you have to earn a minimum ACT or SAT score. For those attending Division II schools, the minimum SAT score is 820, and the minimum ACT sum score is 68. If you’re attending a attending Division I school, your minimum standardized test score depends on your core GPA. The higher your core GPA, the lower your SAT and ACT can be. There’s a table on the Clearinghouse’s website that lists the standardized scores for each GPA. Standardize test scores should be reported directly to the NCAA by using code 9999 on the test form.

Related articles:

How To Play Sports In a Division I, II, or III School
The Courting Process - A Junior Year Experience
Recruiting Terms
College Visits
The Clearinghouse and Initial Eligibility
Recruiting Regulations and Rules - NEW!!
How Coaches Recruit Athletes - NEW!!
Improve Your Chances - Coming Soon!!
Recruiting Your Own Help - Coming Soon!!
Sealing the Deal - Coming Soon!!

Learn more about the recruiting calendar, rules and terms like the dead period, click on one of the sports below:

Men's Basketball - Updated 12/11/08
Women's Basketball - Updated 12/11/08
Men's Lacrosse - Updated 12/11/08
Women's Lacrosse - Updated 12/11/08
Men's Soccer - Updated 12/11/08
Women's Soccer - NEW!!
Women's Field Hockey - NEW!!
Football - NEW!!
Baseball - NEW!!
Softball - NEW!!
Women's Volleyball– Coming Soon!!

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