Tag Archive for: NAIA Academic Eligibility

NAIA “Season of Competition” Rule Is Used to Approve Medical Hardship Waivers

While the NCAA uses medical hardship waivers, the NAIA has a different approach for their student-athletes who have a season-ending injury, physical illness or mental health condition.

In those situations, the NAIA uses a “season of competition” rule for student–athletes who compete in no more than the permissible number of games in their sport.

Under this rule, the NAIA will only charge a student-athlete with the use of a season of competition if the student-athlete participates in more than 20% of the maximum number of games or dates of competition in their sport.

As an example, if an NAIA baseball or softball athlete competes in no more than 10 games during this season AND doesn’t compete in any post-season games (even if they are still under 10 games total) that athlete will not be charged with the use of a “season of competition” under the NAIA rules.

Do you Have Questions?

If you have questions about this rule and how it may impact your athlete – or a question about a hardship waiver for an athlete who has transferred to an NAIA program from an NCAA or a junior college program – schedule a confidential Eligibility Consult online. You can also call us at 913-766-1235 or send an email to rick@informedathlete.com for more information.

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Recent NCAA Division I Seasons of Eligibility Blanket Waiver

We are receiving many calls and emails from former Junior College and NAIA athletes who are now at NCAA schools asking if they have additional eligibility in the NCAA because of the “new NCAA JUCO rule” or “the NCAA Pavia rule” as some people are calling it.

In a lawsuit filed against the NCAA, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia asked for extra seasons of playing eligibility because he didn’t think that his seasons played at the JUCO level should count against his permissible four seasons of college eligibility.

In response to a judge imposing a court injunction against the NCAA in the Pavia vs the NCAA case, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors has approved a waiver with a specific set of circumstances.

  • This waiver is only available at the NCAA Division I level and only for athletes who competed at a non-NCAA school for one or more seasons AND who would have “…otherwise used their final season of competition during the 2024-25 academic year.”
  • In addition, to be able to utilize this waiver, athletes also must meet other eligibility requirements, such as standard Division I academic requirements (percentage of degree completion, etc.)

It is possible that this may become an actual NCAA rule at some point in which seasons of competition for a JUCO or an NAIA program don’t count as seasons of competition in the NCAA, but that’s not the case at this time. We may learn more after the annual NCAA Convention, which begins on January 14 in Nashville.

If you have questions about this Division I waiver, or about any other eligibility situation, schedule a confidential Eligibility Issues Consult online, contact us at rick@informedathlete.com or by calling 913-766-1235.

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Recent NAIA Eligibility Rulings for Fall 2020 Student-Athletes

The NAIA recently ruled that Fall 2020 will not be counted as a term of attendance toward the 10-semester or 15-quarter limit of eligibility for currently enrolled student-athletes.

  • Fall sport student-athletes who are entering their 10th semester or 15th quarter of full-time enrollment this Fall at an NAIA college will be allowed to return in Spring 2021 to compete in their final season of eligibility.
  • However, the Fall term will still count as a term of attendance for other NAIA rules, such as the GPA or number of credit hours required for eligibility.

Current NAIA student-athletes will only be charged with a season of competition during the 2020-21 academic year:

  • If they appear in more than 50% of the maximum number of contests in their particular sport,
  • OR if a student-athlete competes in NAIA post-season competition.

The NAIA will not charge current or prospective student-athletes with a season of competition if they participate in any outside amateur competition in their sport between May 16, 2020 to May 15, 2021.

  • This may especially benefit international athletes who may not be able to physically attend their NAIA university this year but would like to compete for an amateur team in their home country.

Do you have questions?

For questions about NAIA eligibility, schedule an Eligibility Issues consultation online, or contact us at rick@informedathlete.com or by calling 913-766-1235.

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NAIA Raises Freshman Academic Eligibility Requirements

High School Athletes who are considering an NAIA college should be aware that the NAIA has increased one of their academic requirements to be immediately eligible as an incoming freshman.

To be eligible as an incoming freshman to an NAIA college, an athlete must satisfy two of three academic requirements:

  • A cumulative high school GPA of 2.000 or higher on a 4.000.
  • Rank in the upper half of the athlete’s graduating class per final official high school transcript.
  • A minimum ACT composite score of 18 or 970 on the SAT (Reading/Writing and Math sections) for tests taken on or after May 1, 2019.
  • For ACT tests taken March 2016 through April 30, 2019, the minimum composite score is 16. For SAT tests taken prior to May 1, 2019, the minimum required score is 860.

If you have a question about NAIA or NCAA eligibility requirements, schedule a confidential consult online, or contact us  at 913-766-1235 or rick@informedathlete.com.

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Should a college recruit tell a coach if they have a learning disability?

I recently talked to the dad of an athlete who had withdrawn from her university (where she had an athletic scholarship) because the coursework got to be too much for her and she was struggling in her classes.

He told me his daughter was diagnosed with an education-impacting disability (or learning disability) in high school and did well academically at that level with proper accommodations.  However, during the college recruiting process, they did not inform the coaches about her need for assistance.

This is very common because athletes and sometimes their parents think it makes them look weak and therefore, don’t want to share such information with a college coach.  You can imagine what their reasoning is:

  • Will the coach view me differently because of my disability?
  • Will they withdraw their scholarship offer?
  • Will they try to force me to transfer to another college after I’m already a member of their team?

It’s understandable that families wrestle with such questions. But if you’re in this situation or know of someone who is, here are a couple of things to consider.

  • When making a campus visit, be sure to stop in or, better yet, schedule time with the Academic and Student Support Services offices to ask about services offered for learning disabilities.
  • Be honest and up front with the coaching staff during the recruiting process.  While you might find out that, yes, they do appear to be showing reduced interest and might withdraw their scholarship offer, would it not be better to find out the character of the coaches and their true concern for your athlete during the recruiting process rather than after the athlete has started their college career at that college?

If you have questions regarding recruiting visits and how to approach a coach about potential accommodations for learning disabilities and other recruiting issues, call Informed Athlete at 913-766-1235 to schedule a consult.  All consultations are private and confidential.

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When I worked on campus, the hardest thing I had to do was tell an athlete they weren’t academically eligible to play their sport.

If you are a High School prospect entering your senior year and graduating in 2019, NOW is the time to review your course enrollment to make sure you are on track to meet the NCAA or NAIA freshman eligibility requirements.
Many high school athletes fall through the cracks and don’t meet the academic requirements to be a “Qualifier” because they weren’t planning early enough in high school, or due to inadequate advice regarding college athletic eligibility.

For more information on our Freshman Academic Eligibility & Transcript Review Service, visit https://informedathlete.com/services/ncaa-freshman-transcript-review-service/.

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