When registering for your NCAA Eligibility Number, you must send your academic information, including your official high school transcript. Depending on the NCAA Division you want to compete in, you may also need a certain grade point average (GPA) to be academically eligible.
It’s important to note that the NCAA will only consider your GPA for your “core courses." Here, we break down exactly what is needed for NCAA Division I and NCAA Division II to be academically eligible.
NCAA Division I
If you want to play for an NCAA Division I program, you need a 2.3 GPA or higher in your core courses. These core courses include:
- Four years of English
- Three years of math (Algebra 1 or higher)
- Two years of natural/physical science (including one year of lab science if your high school offers it)
- One additional year of English, math, or natural/physical science
- Two years of social science
- Four additional years of English, math, natural/physical science, social science, foreign language, comparative religion or philosophy
NCAA Division II
If you want to play for an NCAA Division II program, you need a 2.2 GPA or higher in your core courses. These core courses include:
- Three years of English.
- Two years of math (Algebra 1 or higher).
- Two years of natural or physical science (including one year of lab science if your high school offers it).
- Three additional years of English, math, or natural or physical science
- Two years of social science
- Four additional years of English, math, natural or physical science, social science, foreign language, comparative religion or philosophy
NCAA Division III
NCAA Division III does not have a specific minimum GPA requirement mandated by the NCAA itself. However, individual schools within Division III may have their own academic standards and GPA requirements for admission and participation in athletics. Make sure you are on track by checking in with the school's admissions team.
How Do I Calculate My Core Course GPA?
The NCAA Eligibility Center calculates core courses on a 4.0 scale. Each letter grade is given a point. It’s important to note that the NCAA Eligibility Center does not use + or - when calculating a grade score. For example, a C+ or C- will still be valued at 2 points.
- A = 4 points
- B = 3 points
- C = 2 points
- D = 1 point
From there, you must determine the quality points for each core course. To do this, multiply the numeric grade by the amount of credit earned. A unit of credit is determined by a semester or trimester. If you have a semester, a unit of credit is 0.05, and a trimester is awarded 0.34 units of credit.
To determine your overall core course GPA, you need to divide the total quality points earned from your core courses by the total number of completed course units.
What About SAT or ACT Requirements?
In 2023, the NCAA Eligibility Center eliminated the SAT and ACT requirements for receiving an NCAA Eligibility Number. Therefore, you do not need to submit these test scores to complete your NCAA eligibility application.
While you may not need an SAT or ACT score for the Eligibility Center, you may need one for the admissions process. Once you start narrowing down your target list, reviewing the admissions requirements for the schools on your list will be important. Some schools may be test-optional, meaning you do not need to submit scores, while others may require them.
How Do I Stay on Track Academically?
Becoming a collegiate athlete is more than just your athletic skills. It will be important to ensure you also put in the work in the classroom. To ensure you are on the right track, take the time each year to meet with your academic advocates, including your teachers, college counselors, and guidance counselors.