A) NCAA Glossary of Terms
- Two-year college: An institution where students can earn an Associate degree. Some people call these schools a community college or junior college.
- Five-Year Clock: If you play at a Division I school, you have 5 calendar years in which to play four seasons of competition - even if you sit out a year, even if you go part-time during your college career. Your five-year clock starts the minute you become a full-time student at any college. Full-time = 12 units
- 10 Semester Rule: If you play at a Division II or III school, you have the first full-time 10 semesters or 15 quarters in which to complete your four seasons of competition for participation. You can use a semester or quarter any time you attend class as a full-time student. You do not lose a term if you go part-time or are not enrolled for a term.
- Certifying school: The new school that you want to attend determines whether you are eligible to play.
- NCAA: National Collegiate Athletic Association
- Greyshirt: The greyshirt rule postpones the start of a student's NCAA Division I or II eligibility. It is a great way to increase an athletes transfer opportunities. A greyshirt is different from a redshirt in one major way. This rule only benefits student's who have never attended as a full-time student. The student would take fewer than twelve units their first semester in college.
- Red Shirt: In Division I or II, redshirting refers to someone who is enrolled full-time at a school but does not play for an entire academic year for the sole purpose of saving a season. A redshirt does not play in any college game or scrimmage in a given sport for an entire academic year, even though that student is eligible. Redshirting does not exist in Division III, if you play or practice after your first opportunity to compete, you are charged with a season of participation.
- 40-60-80% Rule: Determining the percentage of a specific degree at the transfer institution that must be completed to remain eligible for competition after four full-time semesters (40%), six full-time semesters (60%), and eight full-time semesters (80%). Division I only.
- 2-4 Transfer: A student who attends a two-year school then transfer to a four-year school (NCAA).
- 4-2-4 Transfer A student who attends an NCAA school, then transfers to a community college, then returns to an NCAA institution.
B) NCAA Eligibility Center
NCAA Eligibility Center (formerly known as the NCAA clearing house): Located in Iowa City, Iowa, is the organization that handles all inquires regarding an individual's initial eligibility status. The Eligibility Center operates at http://web1ncaa.org/eligibility center/common. The eligibility center evaluates out your high school academic record and amateurism history to determine if you are eligible to play as a freshmen at Division I or Division II college. The eligibility center is a separate legal entity that provides service to NCAA member institutions.
NCAA Qualifier consists of someone who:
- Has graduated High School
- Successfully completed the core curriculum - 16 core courses (Division I)
- Met the specified GPA in the core classes and met the specified minimum SAT/ACT score
- May practice, play and receive financial aid initially out of high school at a 4 year university
NCAA Partial Qualifier consists of someone who:
- Who has met some but not all of the academic requirements necessary to be a qualifier.
- You can practice on campus and receive financial aid from a Division II school but you cannot play for one academic year. Division I does not have partial qualifiers.
NCAA Non-Qualifier consists of someone who:
- A student who has not graduated from high school or who, at the time specified in the regulation, had not earned the GPA or number of core curriculum courses or the SAT or ACT score to qualify
- If you are a non-qualifier, you cannot practice, play, or receive financial aid from a Division I school for one academic year.
- You will only have 3 seasons of competition in Division I.