High school administrators, parents and students should remember that the NCAA now requires prospective student-athletes who desire to participate in Division I athletics must have 16 core courses in addition to graduation from high school, a minimum required grade point average in those16 core-courses; and a combined SAT (on the Critical Reading and Math only) or ACT sum score that corresponds with the core-course grade-point average and the sliding scale (see sliding scale). The core-course breakdown is as follows:

• 4 years of English
• 3 years of math (Algebra I or higher)
• 2 years of natural/physical science (one lab)
• 1 year of additional English/math/science
• 2 years of social science
• 4 years of additional core courses (any of the areas above or foreign language, nondoctrinal religion/philosophy)

These changes took effect on August 1 and must be met by student-athletes who enter an NCAA Division I college or university as a full-time student in August of 2008. It should be noted that the core-course requirements for prospective student-athletes who seek to participate in Division II intercollegiate athletics remains at 14.

On June 1, the NCAA Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse began evaluating prospective student-athletes who graduated high school in 2007, to determine if they qualify for a new initial eligibility waiver. This program was established based on criteria developed from information on prospective student- athlete data in the Clearinghouse database. Prospective student-athletes who have achieved 1) a combined SAT score of 1100 (on the critical reading and math sections) or a sum score of 95 on the ACT or 2) have 12 core courses with a minimum grade-point average of 3.000 and at least a combined SAT score of 1000 (on the critical reading and math sections) or 85 ACT sum score. According to the research conducted by the NCAA, students who meet these standards were determined to clearly predict to be qualifiers. However, prospective student-athlete records will continue to be reviewed for academic irregularities.

If this waiver is applicable, the prospective student-athletes will know if they are considered a final academic qualifier through the notification on their certification report with the annotation “Waiver Approved.”

The NCAA anticipates that approximately 25 percent of the prospective student-athletes will be certified as qualifiers under this early certification waiver program. Prospective student-athletes who do not meet the above-referenced criteria may be certified as qualifiers by meeting initial eligibility requirements as legislated by Division I or Division II.

Inasmuch as this is a pilot program, the NCAA has not said whether this program will be applicable to classes beyond those graduating after 2007. The pilot waiver program will be evaluated by the NCAA Division I Board of Directors and Division II Presidents’ Council in the fall.

Finally, this pilot waiver program is only applicable to academic eligibility. Students must also be certified for amateurism eligibility. Please see below to learn about amateurism eligibility.

In November, the NCAA began requiring prospective student-athletes to complete a questionnaire regarding their amateurism status. This additional layer was incorporated into the certification process in response to the concerns expressed by administrators at NCAA member schools. All prospective student-athletes who plan to attend an NCAA Division I or II school must complete the questionnaire and be certified as an amateur prior to participation in NCAA Division I or II intercollegiate athletics. Some of the types of questions that prospective student-athletes must answer include:

• In any sport, have you ever authorized anyone (other than your parent, legal guardian or coach) to market your athletics skill or reputation?
• In any sport, have you ever accepted any benefits from an agent (or other individual who has marketed any individual’s athletics skill)?
• Before ever attending classes full time at any college, in the sport(s) of _________ have you ever competed in an event and accepted prize money?
• Was the prize money you received more than the amount you spent to participate in the event?
• Before ever attending classes full time at any college, in the sport(s) of __________ have you ever competed in an event where any part of your expenses were paid for by anyone other than your family, your team or the sponsor of the event?
• Before ever attending classes full time at any college, in the sport(s) of __________ have you ever been paid to compete?

Prospective student-athletes can begin completing the questionnaire at the beginning of their junior year in high school when they register with the Clearinghouse (or the Eligibility Center). Answers to the questions will determine one’s amateurism eligibility status. The questionnaire can be updated until the prospective student-athlete submits his or her final authorization signature.