College Athletics


Students and Parents/Guardians: 

High school student-athletes share many of the concerns of other college-bound students. They also have distinctive concerns that may require further family support, whether they hope to gain college admission and scholarships with their athletic ability or just want to play on a college team.

If your student is interested in college athletics, he or she can sign up to learn more about academic eligibility as it relates to college athletics.  Students will be sent a Google Form to complete in order to attend the meeting. 

The student-only meeting will occur on Friday, November 17, 2023.  During the meeting, students will receive information from a PowerPoint presentation and learn about the NCAA and NAIA websites.  Each student who registers in advance and attends will receive a transcript and information about checking individual status for NCAA and NAIA eligibility.   The process involves

1) registering with the conference(s) of choice
2) requesting a transcript be sent
3) sending an ACT score
4) checking eligibility and acceptance
5) completing any and all other paperwork (amateur status, release forms, etc., if applicable).    
 

Your student is responsible for making sure all of these steps are taken if they plan to be eligible for college athletics.  

The student/family role
Student-athletes and their families need to know about academic requirements for high school graduation, college admission, and athletic participation.  Students and families need to review the eligibility requirements and information related to any and all of the appropriate athletic conferences— 

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)
https://web3.ncaa.org/ecwr3/
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) 
http://www.playnaia.org/page/process.php
National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA)
http://www.njcaa.org/landing/index

During the college search and application process, student-athletes should remember that sports should be only part of their decision. They are choosing a college, not a team.  Students should consider all the factors that go into that choice, such as location, size, academic offerings and student life. They should look for a college they'll thrive in even if they stop playing sports.

Make sure that your student-athletes understand that meeting the academic eligibility requirements to play a sport at a given college is not the same as meeting the academic standards for admission to that college.

No matter how enthusiastic a college recruiter or coach is about a student-athlete, admission decisions will still be made by the college admission staff. And no matter how outstanding the high school athlete, simply meeting NCAA academic requirements may not be sufficient to gain admission to desired colleges.

As with any student, the more rigorous a course load your student-athlete takes, the more options they have when it comes time to choose a college.

The other side of the equation is working with coaches to make sure that the student has the athletic knowledge needed to be successful as a college athlete.  Contact with coaches, film, etc. has to be discussed through the athletic programs.  

Below are the guides/requirements for student athletes for the NCAA and for the NAIA: 

Division 1 Academic Requirements
Division II Academic Requirements
NCAA Student Guide
NAIA Student Guide
NAIA: NAIA Guide

Please reach out to Jason Boitnott, Counselor, if you have questions about the academic portion of this journey. 
jason.boitnott@district145.org 

NCAA - Clearinghouse
If your student is planning to be involved in Division I or Division II college athletics, he or she will need to register with the NCAA.  We can help you through this process.  

Listed below are the Nebraska NCAA Colleges:
UNL (Division I)
UNO (Division I)
Creighton (Division I)
Chadron State (Division II)
Wayne State (Division II)
UNK (Division II)
Nebraska Wesleyan University (Division III) 

Information can also be obtained directly from NCAA's new website: www.eligibilitycenter.org/

NAIA National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
If you student is planning on playing a sport at one of the following Nebraska colleges, they will need to register with the NAIA Eligibility Center:

Bellevue University
College of Saint Mary
Concordia University, Seward
Doane College
Hastings College
Midland Lutheran College
Peru State College
York College

Additional information can be found at: www.PlayNAIA.org

Please check back regularly for updated information.
Updated: 9/15/2023