Student Athletes: NCAA/NAIA/Nutrition

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Students who initially enroll full time in college during 2024/2025 academic year and intend to play NCAA Division I or II or NAIA Division 1 athletics will not be required to take a standardized test to meet NCAA initial-eligibility requirements.
  • Student-athletes enrolling in a Division I school during the 2024-25 academic year will be academically eligible by earning a 2.3 grade-point average in 16 NCAA-approved core courses, with 10 core courses (seven in English, math and science) completed by the start of their seventh semester in high school (before senior year).
  • Student-athletes enrolling in a Division II school during the 2024-25 academic year will be academically eligible by earning a 2.2 grade-point average in 16 NCAA-approved core courses.
 

High School Graduating Class of 2024

  • Student-Athletes: In order to be recruited, it is recommended that students complete their NCAA and NAIA applications by the beginning of their Junior Year.  Students will need to ask their high school counselor to submit their transcript for NCAA/NAIA validation.  The SAT/ACT is no longer required. 
See link  to create an account. NCAANCAA Eligibility Center    
                                                 NAIA:  https://play.mynaia.org/

Academic Eligibility: Division 1 Schools
To participate in Division I athletics or receive an athletics scholarship during the first year of college, a student-athlete must:
Complete the 16 core-course requirement in eight high school semesters :
4 years of English
3 years of math (Algebra 1 or higher)
2 years of natural, Life or physical science (including one year of lab science if offered by the high school)
1 extra year of English, math or natural or physical science
2 years of social science
4 years of extra core courses (from any category above, or foreign language, non-doctrinal religion or philosophy)
Earn a minimum required grade-point average in core courses

Academic Eligibility: Division 2 Schools
If you enroll in a Division II college and want to participate in athletics or receive an athletics scholarship during your first year, you must
Graduate from high school;
Complete these 16 core courses:
3 years of English
2 years of math (Algebra 1 or higher)
2 years of natural or physical science (including one year of lab science if offered by your high school)
3 additional years of English, math, or natural or physical science
2 years of social science
4 years of additional core courses (from any category above, or foreign language, nondoctrinal religion or philosophy);
Earn a 2.000 grade-point average or better in your core courses

Play Division III sports
Division III schools provide an integrated environment focusing on academic success while offering a competitive athletics environment. Division III rules minimize potential conflicts between athletics and academics and focus on regional in-season and conference play.
While Division III schools do not offer athletics scholarships, 75 percent of Division III student-athletes receive some form of merit or need-based financial aid.
If you are planning to attend a Division III school, you do not need to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center. Division III schools set their own admissions standards.

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NCAA
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NCAA schools require college-bound student-athletes to build a foundation of high school courses to prepare them for college coursework. Students who plan to compete in NCAA sports at Division I or II schools must pass 16 GHS pre-approved NCAA core courses.
College-bound student-athletes preparing to enroll in a Division I or Division II school
need to register with the NCAA.  NCAA Prospective student-athletes are strongly recommended to consult
the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Clearinghouse regarding eligibility issues at Division 1 and
Division II Colleges.  You are urged to read the "NCAA Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete".
Register with the NCAA Clearinghouse here
 
Junior Year
  • Register by your Junior year of high school and then tell your high school counselor that you registered. High school counselors must go on line and validate your transcript.
  • Update your transcript and information each year
  • Begin preparing film and stats to show to college recruiters  
  • Upload any SAT or ACT test results.  Send SAT and ACT to 9999 code
 
Senior Year
  • Request final amateurism certification : Students enrolling in the Fall semester of college can log in to their NCAA account and request your final amateurism certification on or after April 1 of that year.
    ***To request final amateurism certification, please follow these steps: 
    1. Log in to your NCAA Eligibility Center account at eligibilitycenter.org. You will be taken to your Dashboard. Already logged in on your laptop or tablet? Select Dashboard from the menu on the left-hand side of the screen. Already logged in on your phone? Scroll to the bottom and click Return to Dashboard. 
    2. Check your progress on your Dashboard. The first circle (Account Creation) must be complete prior to requesting your amateurism certification. 
    3. Ensure you have completed all assigned amateurism-related tasks in your task list. • You may have tasks open in the second circle (Send Test Scores and Transcripts) and still request your amateurism certification. 
    4. In the third box on your Dashboard, select the green “Submit request now” button, as shown at right. 
    5. Select the button for the sport you want to request amateurism. 
    6. You may request your final amateurism certification even if you are not being recruited by an NCAA Division I or II school. However, we may wait to begin your certification until after an NCAA Division I or II school adds you to their Institutional Request List (IRL). Please provide the school(s) recruiting you with your NCAA ID number. 
    7. Tip: If you changed your enrollment period after requesting final certification, you will need to return to the Dashboard and re-request final amateurism for each sport in the third box. If you have not requested final amateurism in the past, follow the timeline above. 

Reminder:

  • You cannot be spoken to or meet with a college recruiter until you have been cleared through the NCAA.

  • Do not accept any gifts or money from a recruiter.

Please see your high school counselor if you are being contacted by a recruiter.Eligibility Center to ensure they have met amateurism standards and are academically prepared for college coursework.                                                                                                                                            NCAA Eligibility Center Quick Reference Guide                                                                                        

NCAA Core Courses: NOTE: This section was taken directly from the NCAA web site

What are core courses? :  Not all high school classes count as NCAA core courses. Only classes in English, math (Algebra 1 or higher), natural or physical science, social science, foreign language, comparative religion or philosophy may be approved as NCAA core courses. Remedial classes and classes completed through credit-by-exam are not considered NCAA core courses.

Classes that are NCAA core courses include:

  • English: English 1-4, English 2H, AP English 3, BC English 4

  • Math:  Integrated Math 1-3, Advanced Math H, AP Statistics, AP Calculus, BC Math 30 (Calculus)

  • Natural of physical science: Physical Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Anatomy, Forensics Science, Intro to AgriScience, Intermediate AgriScience, Advanced AgriScience Honors

  • Social science: Geography, AP Geography, World History, AP European World History, US History, Government and Economics, Government and Economics Honors

  • Additional: comparative, Spanish 1-3 and AP Spanish

  • College courses or Junior College course that will transfer to a four year college regardless of on-line or in class seat time.  Usually these courses have a 1 or 2 digit number for example, CSI 2 would transfer but CSI 231 would not.  

Classes that are not NCAA core courses include:

  • Classes in non-core areas, fine arts or vocations such as driver education, typing, art, music, physical education or welding and all Career Technical Ed courses including the Animal Sciences regardless if they are A-G approved for four year colleges.

  • Personal skill classes such as personal finance or consumer education.

  • Classes taught below grade level, at a slower pace or with less rigor or depth. These classes are often titled basic, essential, fundamental or foundational: Integrated Math 1A and 2A and EL English.

  • Classes that are not academic in nature such as film appreciation, video editing or greenhouse management.
  • On line high school courses this includes any course taken through Cyber High.

 

Notes:
  • If you take a high school class such as Integrated Math 1 before you start ninth grade, the class may count for your 16 core courses if it is on your high school’s list of approved core courses and is shown on your high school transcript with a grade and a credit.Credit:
  • You can earn credit for a core course only once. If you take a course that repeats the content of another core course, you earn credit for only one of these courses and the higher grade counts toward your core-course GPA.                                         

Generally, you receive the same number of credits from the NCAA for a core course that you receive from your high school for the class. One academic semester of a class counts for 5 of a core course credit. A one-year class taken over a longer period of time is considered one core course and is not awarded more than one credit.                                                                                                                                                          

NCAA Guide and Worksheets

2023/2024  http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/eligibility_center/Student_Resources/CBSA.pdf

Division 1 Academic Standards: http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/eligibility_center/Student_Resources/DI_ReqsFactSheet.pdf

Division 2 Academic Standards: http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/eligibility_center/Student_Resources/DII_ReqsFactSheet.pdf

Division I and II Worksheet http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/eligibility_center/DI_and_DII_Worksheet.pdf

CORE COURSES at Gridley High School

NOTE: Courses listed are current for the 2016 - 2017 School Year

NCAA List of  Approved Courses at GHS

 


English

 ENGLISH 1

ENGLISH 2

ENGLISH 3

ENGLISH 3/AP

ENGLISH 4/AP

ENGLISH 4/BC

 


Social Science

 

ECONOMICS/Honors

GOVERNMENT/Honors

US HISTORY

EUROPEAN WORLD HISTORY AP

WORLD HISTORY

GEOGRAPHY/

AP Geography


Mathematics


INTEGRATED MATH 1

INTEGRATED MATH 2

INTEGRATED MATH 3

ADVANCED MATH H

AP Calculus

BC Math 30 (CALCULUS)

AP STATISTICS


Natural/Physical Science

X indicates lab science

 

Introduction to AgriScience

Intermediate AgriScience
Advanced AgriScience Honors

Physical Science

Biology

Chemistry

Forensics Science

ANATOMY/PHYSIOLOGY

PHYSICS


Additional Core Courses

 

Languages

SPANISH 3

SPANISH 2 AND SPANISH 2 for Native Speakers

SPANISH 1

AP SPANISH


NCAA'S THREE DIVISIONS

The NCAA’s three divisions were created in 1973 to align like-minded campuses in the areas of philosophy, competition and opportunity.

 

 

DIVISION I

DIVISION II

DIVISION III

SCHOOLS

347

32%

309

28%

 

*Numbers do not include provisional or reclassifying schools.

442

40%
MEDIAN UNDERGRADUATE ENROLLMENT

9,743

2,540

1,766

STUDENTS WHO ARE ATHLETES

1 IN 25

1 IN 11

1 IN 6

PERCENTAGE OF STUDENT-ATHLETES IN DIVISION
36%
25%
39%
ATHLETICS SCHOLARSHIPS
Multiyear, cost-of-attendance athletics scholarships available
56 percent of athletes receive athletics aid
Partial athletics scholarship
60 percent of athletes receive athletics aid
No athletics scholarships
80 percent of athletes receive non-athletics aid

 

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National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., is a governing body of small athletics programs that are dedicated to character driven intercollegiate athletics. Since 1937, the NAIA has administered programs dedicated to championships in balance with the overall college educational experience. Each year more than 65,000 NAIA student-athletes have the opportunity to play college sports, earn over $600 million in scholarships, and compete for a chance to participate in 25 national championships. Learn more at naia.org. FAST. FREE. SECURE. HIGH SCHOOL PORTAL The NAIA’s preferred transcript submission service #PlayNAIA

NAIA Division 1 and Division 2 give the same number of athletic scholarships as NCAA Division 1 and 2.  Same academic rules apply as NCAA 16 core courses.

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Student Athlete Statistics
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According to http://www.ncaa.org  there are a few million high school athletes, more than 500,000 NCAA student-athletes, and fewer than two percent of them will go pro in their sports. The probability of competing beyond high school is daunting. A chart on the site demonstrates just how challenging it is for high school athletes to become members of the NCAA and the percentage who then move onto professional sports.
In the example below the first number represents the number of high school athletes by sport, followed by the percentage who are able to play at the college level, then the percentage that are drafted to professional sports teams and finally a summary of the percentage who move from high school to professional sports:
 
MEN’S FOOTBALL:
High School Student-Athletes: 1,006,013
NCAA Student Athletes: 73,712
NCAA Student Athletes Drafted: 254
Percent High School to NCAA:7.3%
Percent NCAA to Professional: 1.6%
 
MEN’S BASKETBALL:
High School Student-Athletes: 540,769
NCAA Student Athletes: 18,816
NCAA Student Athletes Drafted: 52
Percent High School to NCAA: 3.5%
Percent NCAA to Professional: 1.2%
 
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL:
High School Student-Athletes: 399,067
NCAA Student Athletes: 16,509
NCAA Student Athletes Drafted: 36
Percent High School to NCAA: 4.1%
Percent NCAA to Professional: 0.8%
 
MEN’S BASEBALL:
High School Student-Athletes: 482,740
NCAA Student Athletes: 36,011
NCAA Student Athletes Drafted: 791
Percent High School to NCAA: 7.5%
Percent NCAA to Professional: 9.9%
 
if you’re still interested in pursuing playing a sport in college, your first order of business is to spend some time doing your homework on the following websites:
www.ncaa.org – The official website of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Read the NCAA guide for prospective collegiate athletes.
www.naia.org – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, another governing body of college sports.
https://web3.ncaa.org/ecwr3/  – The NCAA Eligibility Center is the place where student athletes need to go to register and begin the recruitment process.  The site helps students and families determine academic eligibility and amateur athlete eligibility status. Prospective student-athletes must register with the “Eligibility Center” to be considered for scholarships and financial aid.
www.playnaia.org - Play NAIA is the place where student athletes need to go to register and begin the recruitment process. 
 
Here are some things you’ll want to think about as you consider entering the athletic recruitment process:
Think about the concept of “fit” – make sure the school is solid academic fit for you as well as sports/social fit. You want to make sure you will be able to graduate in four years with a solid major and a strong transcript.
Talk with your coach to help determine at what level you are able to play (DI,DII,DIII).
Be responsible in the process and don’t forget to return questionnaires, send film if requested, take standardized tests, send transcripts etc.
Visit as many schools as possible (unofficial). Spend some serious quality time with the coach(es) and other players and ask how they are treated, how well they’re doing in their classes and what their life is like.
Be honest throughout the process and follow the rules diligently. Be straight with the coaches recruiting you and look for those being honest with you.