Transferring to an NCAA school? Are you eligible?

We recently received this e-mail from an athlete:

“I signed an NLI last Fall as a JUCO transfer to a Division II track program, but wasn’t informed until two weeks into this semester that I didn’t meet the academic requirements to be eligible. What options do I have?”  
My first comment is that somebody at that Division II college didn’t do their job as they should have (assuming they received her transcript in a timely manner) if they didn’t inform their athlete of her academic deficiency before the semester started.
Had they done so, she could have at least had the option to go back to the JUCO for one more semester as a full or part-time student, or she could have considered other options.

Now her options are limited and more complicated:

By waiting until two weeks into the semester to inform the athlete of her status, she is stuck at that college and is now ineligible for this academic year.  She must now work to earn her academic eligibility to be able to compete next year at this college.

Also, because an athlete must be academically eligible when they leave their current school in order to be immediately eligible as a transfer to an NCAA member school, she either needs to stay at this school and work to earn her eligibility there, OR
If she chooses to transfer to another NCAA college before she regains eligibility where she is, she will be ineligible for her first academic year at the next college.
Another option is that she could transfer to an NAIA college where it would be possible to regain eligibility after one semester.
How could an athlete AVOID this type of situation?
Make sure you are certified academically eligible by the school you are transferring to before classes begin.
How frequently does this type of thing happen?  
More frequently than you would think.  These are the type of situations I hate because they could easily be prevented.
How can you prevent this from happening to your athlete?

We frequently work with junior college athletes to make sure they’re eligible at their NCAA school of choice by doing a College Transcript Review.  

For more information, contact Informed Athlete at 913-766-1235 or send an email to rick@informedathlete.com.