IMPORTANT THINGS TO NOTE:
Parents and Students must take control of this process. Start HERE by watching a Free Recruiting Webinar.
Click here to understand the initial eligibility requirements for Divsion I & Division II athletics.
It is NEVER recommended that you or your student pay for recruiting services. Contact college coaches on your own (if they haven't already contacted you). The best way to start is to visit a college's webpage, click on athletics, find the head coach or recruiting coordinator's contact information, and reach out.
Since the NCAA will not look at a transcript until the end of the Junior year and ONLY after you are placed on a college's IRL (Institutional Request List), you might want to wait until your Junior year, after you have been personally contacted by a collegiate coach, before you register with NCAA and pay the registration fee. Before registering, you may also want to contact the college coaches that are looking at you and make sure that you are on their IRL.
The NCAA and the NAIA are different organizations. Know what associations your recruiting school(s) is a member of before you register with one and/or the other.
Only NCAA Division I and NCAA Division II prospective athletes need to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center. You do not need to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center if you are only looking at Division III schools. NCAA Division III athletes cannot earn scholarships for athletics; therefore, you do not need to register with the Eligibility Center. Keep in mind, that while they cannot offer scholarships specifically for athletics, they often have a variety of scholarships for academics, leadership, community involvement, etc. Do NOT rule out DIII until you have fully considered it as an option.
Never Facebook or Twitter When You Are Bitter! Colleges and college coaches (along with future employers) can and will check your Facebook page. They do not want to see you breaking the law, using foul language, or being friends with people who do the previously mentioned things. Be careful who you associate yourself with and what you post. Also be aware that with cell phone cameras, there are pictures being taken of you all the time. You can never guarantee where these pictures will end up, so be smart and make smart decisions... your future is counting on it!
Ask yourself/your students this question: "If the college you are researching did not offer your sport, would you still consider attending that school"?
CORE COURSE REQUIREMENTS ARE AVAILABLE IN THE BOOKLET here WHICH YOU SHOULD PRINT AND READ THROUGH, ENTITLED NCAA STUDENT ATHLETE BOOKLET.
As of August 1, 2010, online Credit Recovery classes for Division I and Division II have become very difficult to have accepted as core classes for the NCAA.
** IMPORTANT**
Cumulative GPA DOES NOT EQUAL Core GPA! It is not uncommon for Core GPA to be an ENTIRE POINT LOWER than your Cumulative GPA. Example: 3.0 Cumulate GPA COULD = 2.0 NCAA Core GPA. Use the calculation chart in the NCAA Student Athlete Booklet below, along with a copy of your current transcript (available in guidance) to calculate your Core GPA.
3 RULES OF BEING A PARENT according to Free Recruiting Webinar.Org:
1. Your child's future is YOUR responsibility, NOT the coaches or counselors.
2. Let your coaches coach, let your kids play... because THEY want to.
3. Your coach is there to ASSIST you in finding a scholarship, NOT to find you a scholarship.
ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP FACTS from Free Recruiting Webinar.Org:
- 3% of HS student athletes receive a scholarship
- Less than 1% realize a four year Division I scholarship
- 1 out of 4 or 26% of students who enter college on an athletic scholarship, are no longer on an athletic scholarship by the start of their sophomore year
- 80% of scholarship/financial assistance opportunities are NOT on the Division I level