14 Eligibility: Academic and General Requirements

[14.1 through 14.2 unchanged.]

14.3 Freshman Academic Requirements.

14.3.1 Eligibility for Financial Aid, Practice and Competition. A student-athlete who enrolls in a member institution as an entering freshman with no previous full-time college attendance shall meet the following academic requirements, as certified by the NCAA Eligibility Center, as approved by the Executive Committee, and any applicable institutional and conference regulations, to be considered a qualifier and thus be eligible for financial aid, practice and competition during the first academic year in residence.

[14.3.1.1 through 14.3.1.3 unchanged.]

14.3.1.4 Early Admission Program Waiver. A waiver may be granted by the Initial-Eligibility Waivers Committee for a student who left high school after completion of the junior year or during the senior year to enter a member institution under an early admissions program (open to students solely on the basis of outstanding academic performance and promise), provided the following conditions are met:

(a) For the last four semesters completed in high school, the student maintained a cumulative, minimum grade-point average of 3.500 (based on a maximum of 4.000) and ranked in the top 20 percent of the student's class;

(b) The student has not met the requirements for graduation from high school; and

(c) Any remaining deficiency must be in the core-course area of English (the student is lacking only the fourth year of English).

[14.3.1.5 renumbered as 14.3.1.4, unchanged.]

[14.3.2 through 14.3.4 unchanged.]

14.3.5 Determination of Freshman Eligibility.

14.3.5.1 Participation Prior to Certification.

14.3.5.1.1 Temporary Certification, Recruited Student-Athlete. If a recruited student-athlete reports for athletics participation before his or her qualification status has been certified, the student may practice, but not compete, during a 21-day period, provided the student meets all other requirements to be eligible to practice. An institution shall not provide athletically related financial aid to the student during this period. After the 21-day period, the student shall have established minimum requirements as a qualifier (as certified by the NCAA Eligibility Center) to continue practicing or to compete and receive athletically related financial aid.

14.3.5.1.2 Temporary Certification, Nonrecruited Student-Athlete. If a nonrecruited student-athlete reports for athletics participation before his or her qualification status has been certified, the student may practice, but not compete, during a 45-day period, provided the student meets all other requirements to be eligible to practice. An institution shall not provide athletically related financial aid to the student during this period. After the 45-day period, the student shall have established minimum requirements as a qualifier (as certified by the NCAA Eligibility Center) to continue practicing or to compete and receive athletically related financial aid.

14.3.5.1.2.1 Exception -- Women's Rowing. A nonrecruited student in women's rowing may practice, but not compete, during the nonchampionship season in that sport. Thereafter, the student shall have established minimum-eligibility requirements as a qualifier (as certified by the NCAA Eligibility Center) to continue practicing or to compete.

[14.3.5.2 through 14.3.5.5 unchanged.]

[14.3.6 unchanged.]

14.4 Progress-Toward-Degree Requirements.

[14.4.1 through 14.4.2 unchanged.]

14.4.3 Eligibility for Competition.

14.4.3.1 Fulfillment of Credit-Hour Requirements. Eligibility for competition shall be determined based on satisfactory completion of at least:

[14.4.3.1-(a) through 14.4.3.1-(c) unchanged.]

[14.4.3.1.1 through 14.4.3.1.6 unchanged.]

14.4.3.1.7 Designation of Degree Program. A student-athlete shall designate a program of studies leading toward a specific baccalaureate degree at the certifying institution prior to participating in competition that occurs during or immediately before the third year of enrollment (fifth semester or seventh quarter) and thereafter shall make progress toward that specific degree. This provision shall be applicable to the eligibility not only of a continuing student, but also of a transfer student from a four-year or two-year collegiate institution who is entering his or her third year of collegiate enrollment, even if the student has not yet completed an academic year in residence or used a season of eligibility in a sport at the certifying institution. Designation of a specific baccalaureate degree program may be accomplished by: [D]

(a) Formal enrollment by the student-athlete in a specific baccalaureate degree program; or

(b) Approval by an appropriate academic official (who must not be an academic advisor/counselor employed by the athletics department) of the program leading to the specific baccalaureate degree that the student-athlete is pursuing.

14.4.3.1.7.1 Documentation of Degree Program Designation. If the designation is in accordance with Bylaw 14.4.3.1.7-(a), the official enrollment records of the institution shall constitute the documentation of the program against which progress toward degree under this regulation shall be measured. If the designation is in accordance with Bylaw 14.4.3.1.7-(b), the record of the degree program designation, approved by the appropriate academic official, shall constitute that documentation. For purposes of certifying eligibility for competition, an appropriate academic official shall affirm in writing the number of credit hours applicable to the designated degree program that have been completed satisfactorily. The institution's records for all student-athlete degree program designations and progress-toward-degree evaluations shall be retained for inspection (on request) by an authorized representative of the NCAA.

[14.4.3.1.8 renumbered as 14.4.3.1.7, unchanged.]

[14.4.3.2 through 14.4.3.9 unchanged.]

14.5 Transfer Regulations.

[14.5.1 through 14.5.3 unchanged.]

14.5.4 Two-Year College Transfers. A student who transfers to a member institution from a two-year college or from a branch school that conducts an intercollegiate athletics program must complete an academic year of residence unless the student meets the following eligibility requirements.

[14.5.4.1 through 14.5.4.4 unchanged.]

14.5.4.5 Two-Year College Transfer Regulations. The following regulations shall be applied in administering the eligibility requirements for two-year college transfers.

[14.5.4.5.1 through 14.5.4.5.6 unchanged.]

14.5.4.5.7 Participation Prior to Certification.

14.5.4.5.7.1 Temporary Certification, Recruited Two-Year College Transfer. If a recruited two-year college transfer student reports for athletics participation before the student's high school or two-year college academic record has been certified, the student may practice, but not compete, during a 21-day period, provided the student meets all other requirements to be eligible to practice. An institution shall not provide athletically related financial aid to the student during this period. After the 21-day period, the student shall have established minimum requirements as a transfer student to continue practicing or to compete and receive athletically related financial aid.

14.5.4.5.7.2 Temporary Certification, Nonrecruited Two-Year College Transfer. If a nonrecruited two-year college transfer student reports for athletics participation before the student's high school or two-year college academic record has been certified, the student may practice, but not compete, during a 45-day period, provided the student meets all other requirements to be eligible to practice. An institution shall not provide athletically related financial aid to the student during this period. After the 45-day period, the student shall have established minimum requirements as a transfer student to continue practicing or to compete and receive athletically related financial aid.

[14.5.4.5.8 unchanged.]

[14.5.4.6 through 14.5.4.8 unchanged.]

[14.5.5 through 14.5.6 unchanged.]

14.6 High School All-Star Games, Effects on Eligibility. A student-athlete shall be denied the first year of intercollegiate athletics competition if, following completion of high school eligibility in the student-athlete’s sport and prior to the student-athlete’s high school graduation, the student-athlete competes in more than two all-star football contests or two all-star basketball contests.

14.6.1 High School All-Star Contest Defined. A high school all-star contest is any contest in football or basketball that meets the following criteria:

(a) The teams participating in the contest involve individuals who have completed their high school eligibility in the sport and have not yet enrolled in and attended classes during a regular term at a collegiate institution;

(b) The contest is scheduled and publicized in advance;

(c) The competition is sponsored and promoted by an individual, organization or agency; and

(d) The individuals are selected for participation in the contest on an invitational basis and have not competed together previously as members of a team that played a regular schedule of games in an organized recreation or interscholastic program.

14.6.2 Contests Not Considered High School All-Star Competition. Contests conducted under the criteria listed in Bylaw 14.6.1 shall not be considered all-star competition for purposes of Bylaw 14.6 if one or more of the following conditions is applicable:

(a) The contest occurs within a framework of a regularly scheduled recreational program involving solely participants from the community in which the sponsor is located;

(b) The competition is limited solely to participants from the community in which the sponsor is located and no revenue, including gate receipts, concessions, program sales or contributions, is generated from the contest;

(c) The competition is scheduled within the framework of an established cultural exchange program involving other educational activities; or

(d) The contest is scheduled in conjunction with developmental competition sponsored by the national governing body of amateur basketball (USA Basketball) or an active member thereof.

14.6.3 Multiple Competition (Tournaments). Multiple competition (e.g., tournaments) involving more than one contest or two teams will be considered high school all-star competition if the specific criteria in Bylaw 14.6.1 (subject to the conditions in Bylaw 14.6.2) are applicable. Each game conducted under such circumstances would be considered a high school all-star contest.

14.6.4 Facility Use for High School All-Star Games. An institution is prohibited from making its facilities available for a high school all-star game unless the conditions specified in Bylaw 13.11.3.2 are met.

[14.7 through 14.12 renumbered as 14.6 through 14.11, unchanged.]