The NCAA Adjusts Initial Eligibility Requirements

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA shows flexibility for prospective students

The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Eligibility Center hosted a webinar on Oct. 10 discussing changes to initial eligibility during COVID-19.

(screen grab from the NCAA)

A panel including Amber Viles, coordinator of communication, Barrington Huntley and Trae Heeter who are both former NCAA student-athletes and assistant directors of outreach and strategic partnership, led the discussion geared toward informing high school athletes, coaches and academic counselors.

“I’ve been in your shoes,” Heeter said during the webinar. “I remember going through my high school career trying to decide what courses I needed to take [and] what the college requirements were.”

The Eligibility Center acts as the “front door” of the NCAA granting student-athletes the academic clearance prior to participating in collegiate athletics. 

According to the Eligibility Center’s COVID-19 FAQ page, “Given the continuing impact of COVID-19 on the educational environment, the NCAA Eligibility Center has partnered with the NCAA membership to identify the following changes to the initial-eligibility certification process for students who initially enroll full time in a collegiate institution during the 2021-22 academic year. The Eligibility Center will continue to monitor the environment and make necessary adjustments to prioritize health, safety and fairness for all prospective student-athletes.”

Students interested in participating in the NCAA need to first register for a certification (for Division I or II level) or profile page (for Division III level). From there, the athletes must fill out paperwork regarding amateurism and courses taken at the high school level to create your high school portal. Through this process college coaches can access an athlete’s information for recruiting.

“Just being registered with the Eligibility Center is going to separate you through that college recruitment process,” Heeter said.

Heeter also encouraged athletes to communicate closely with high school counselors to stay up to date with the necessary coursework.

This is an example of what a high school athlete interested in a Division I program should be following to acquire initial eligibility in the NCAA. (screen grab from the NCAA)

Major takeaways from the webinar are:

1)    Standardized test scores are excluded from NCAA initial eligibility criteria fro students who initially enroll full time in an NCAA school during the 2021-2022 academic year. However, colleges and/or scholarship programs may still require test scores.

2)    NCAA Divisions I and II have approved flexibility for college-bound student-athletes who delay initial full-time collegiate enrollment and would be impacted by organized competition occurring in the 2020-21 academic year. During the amateurism certification process, the Eligibility Center will apply such flexibility, which will be visible in the student-athlete’s Eligibility Center account. 

3)    Consistent with the approach to reviews in Spring/Summer 2020, the Eligibility Center will not require a separate review of distance, e-learning or hybrid programs offered by schools with NCAA- approved core courses during 2020-21 in response to COVID-19. Students may complete their NCAA-approved core courses through the channels of instruction provided or recommended by their school, district or state department of education. 

The NCAA Eligibility Center FAQ page has helpful information regarding the requirement changes.

How are high school teams doing?

Varying COVID-19 infection rates throughout the nation impact both colleges and high school levels. For prospective college student-athletes, their junior and senior years are crucial for the college recruiting process. Competitions being canceled and postponed has shaken up the recruiting process for high school upperclassmen.

Some areas in the east coast have been able to participate in cross country competition this fall while some west coast high school teams are still standing by which creates unique situations for high school athletes seeking initial eligibility from the NCAA.

I talked to Christopher Lee, head cross country coach at Arcadia High School in Arcadia, CA and Brian McNeiece, head girls’ varsity cross country coach at North Kingstown High School in North Kingstown, Rhode Island about the impact of COVID-19 on their team.

“We were running good times. It [was] early March and everybody on the team has a 3200 [meter] pr (personal record),” Lee said. “So, there was a lot of excitement and for that to be taken away, they were pretty upset because they knew they were well-prepped to do some good things.”

Arcadia is in Los Angeles County and the infection rate is still too high for the high school to open its facilities to its teams. Lee’s athletes unfortunately are left to run alone. He stated that the pandemic discouraged some athletes preparing for college running.

“For some of them they thought they had a shot, but they had to do some things in the track season and now that they don’t have their junior track season that was kind of like their [opportunity] to show that they could run at the college level,” Lee said.

Lee plans on having his team run time trials to create a race-like experience for his team in January if the new winter cross country season does not take place due to continued pandemic precautions.

Over on the east coast, the girls’ varsity team led by Coach McNeiece has been lucky enough to train in “pods” and compete together for cross country.

The pandemic allowed the athletes to foster an environment where they can focus solely on training and getting faster. 

“It's ironic… because of COVID they’re faster, but because of COVID they can’t show it,” McNeiece said. “We’re hoping that we get to the state meet so they could show the college coaches where they are at.”

McNeiece has two or three athletes who are planning on running in college.

The Eligibility Center will host this webinar again on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 1 p.m. CT. Register for the upcoming event with this link and follow the Eligibility Center on social media @ncaaec for updates.