Why You must Register with the Eligibility Center

The NCAA Eligibility Center works to ensure that all athletes looking to compete at the DI and DII levels have complied with the rules of the NCAA and are held to the same standards as all college student-athletes.

The NCAA Eligibility Center looks at a student’s academic records, including high school transcripts, core courses, and SAT/ACT scores, and athletics history to determine whether they will become eligible to compete in college.

The Eligibility Center also determines an athlete’s amateur status. This means that an athlete must have remained a non-professional within their sport.

Doing things like signing a contract with a pro team, earning a stipend, and collecting prize money can all affect your eligibility when you start looking to get recruited.

The NCAA Clearinghouse is now the Eligibility Center!

Quick Facts about the Eligibility Center

  • The eligibility center clears you to play college sports (you are not eligible until cleared by the NCAA Eligibility Center)
  • You should register at the beginning of your Junior year of high school
    Only Division I and II schools require registration
  • College coaches need to have your NCAA Eligibility Center profile/ID # put on an Institutional Request List (IRL) in order to start the process of getting cleared
  • Getting cleared does not guarantee a scholarship. Get in touch with college coaches for the best opportunity to find a school
  • The Eligibility Center determines an athlete’s amateur status; Check out more information here to find out about your amateurism.

What You Will Need to Become Eligible

Getting cleared by the NCAA Eligibility Center is an ongoing process. Once you have an NCAA Identification Number, a college coach must have your profile moved to the Institution Request List (IRL) in order for your information to be processed and cleared.

Checklist to Becoming Eligible:

  • Register online
  • Send official high school transcripts to NCAA Eligibility Center
  • Have SAT/ACT scores sent to Eligibility Center
  • Update NCAA profile as you progress to graduation
  • Maintain at least a 2.0 GPA

How to Register with the NCAA Eligibility Center

In order to register for the NCAA Eligibility Center, you will need to go to their website at EligibilityCenter.org

Once you see the home screen, you can follow the steps below to get started!

1. Go to NCAA Eligibility Center Website

3. Register your email, then check your email account for a verification code

5. Continue to fill out your information until you have created your profile

2. Click New Account Button

4. Enter the code in the box and submit

Starting Your Eligibility Process

Steps to Determining Your Initial Eligibility

  1. Register with the Eligibility Center on their website
  2. A college coach will put you on their IRL so your information will get processed
  3. The Eligibility Center will check that you have completed the core classes required
  4. You will send in your SAT/ACT scores, High School transcripts, and any other documents needed to the Eligibility Center to make sure you meet the minimum requirements
  5. To ensure your amateur status, the Eligibility Center will ask for your athletic experience to make sure no rules were violated
  6. If all of your information clears, you will be determined eligible to compete in college sports
Are you ready for the NEXT STEP!