If you want to row in college, at the bare minimum, you will need to be deemed eligible to do so by the NCAA.
The NCAA recently updated and published its 2019-2020 College Bound Student Athlete Handbook . Within the Handbook, the NCAA offers important information to help prospective student athletes meet the requirements necessary to become eligible to compete in college. Below, you will find the NCAA’s general action plan for high school student athletes with the various steps to be taken laid out within each grade.
9th Grade (PLAN):
- Start planning now! Take the right courses and earn the best grades possible.
- Find your high school’s list of NCAA-approved core courses at eligibilitycenter.org/courselist.
- Sign up for a free Profile Page at eligibilitycenter.org for information on NCAA requirements.
10th Grade (REGISTER):
- If you fall behind academically, ask your counselor for help finding approved courses you can take.
- Register for a Profile Page or Certification Account with the NCAA Eligibility Center at eligibilitycenter.org.
- Monitor your Eligibility Center account for next steps.
- At the end of the year, ask your counselor at each high school or program you attended to upload your official transcript to your NCAA Eligibility Center account.
11th Grade (STUDY):
- Check with your counselor to make sure you are on track to complete the required number of NCAA-approved courses and graduate on time with your class.
- Take the ACT or SAT and submit your scores to the NCAA Eligibility Center using code 9999.
- Ensure your sports participation information is correct in your Eligibility Center account.
- At the end of the year, ask your counselor at each high school or program you attended to upload your official transcript to your NCAA Eligibility Center account.
12th Grade (GRADUATE):
- Complete your final NCAA-approved corecourses as you prepare for graduation.
- Take the ACT or SAT again, if necessary, and submit your scores to the NCAA Eligibility Center using code 9999.
- Request your final amateurism certification beginning April 1 (fall enrollees) or Oct. 1 (winter/spring enrollees) in your NCAA Eligibility Center account at eligibilitycenter.org.
- After you graduate, ask your counselor to upload your final official transcript with proof of graduation to your NCAA Eligibility Center account.
- Reminder: Only students on an NCAA Division I or II school’s institutional request list will receive a certification.
NOTE: As a reminder, NCAA Eligibility Certification is the first step towards rowing in college. BUT, meeting NCAA eligibility standards will not guarantee that you are recruited, nor will it guarantee admission to the school of your choice. The standards set by the NCAA are the bare minimum necessary to be deemed eligible to compete in college. And, as it turns out, some of the best rowing programs in the country are also some of the best academic institutions, with some of the highest GPA, course, and standardized testing requirements needing to be met for admission. As we constantly remind you, it’s “Student Athlete” for a reason. So continue working hard not only to get your erg score down, but also your academic scores up!
