As an NCAA athlete, whether in Division I, II, or III, you know how hard you've worked to be able to compete in the sport that you love while attending college. According to the NCAA, only about 6 percent of high school athletes go on to compete at the varsity level in college, with that number spread across all three NCAA divisions. The number of high school athletes who go on to compete in college varies from one sport to another; percentages range from a low of 3.7% (for men's Volleyball) to a high of 26.2% (for women's Ice Hockey). These low percentages highlight how special it is to be competing at the varsity level in college, and they also underscore how important it is to maintain your eligibility during your college years.
For many student-athletes, staying eligible can be a challenge. There is a vast difference between the high school experience and the college experience, particularly for student-athletes who are living on campus, away from home for the first time in their lives. It can be very difficult to have to simultaneously adjust to your new-found freedom, navigate the sometimes confusing college class schedule, meet the study requirements imposed by college academics, deal with a new social setting, and do your best to compete at a new and more challenging level. It's not unusual for new student-athletes to fall behind in their academics, and risk losing their eligibility as a result.
The NCAA has dozens of rules relating to student eligibility. College sports are heavily regulated, particularly at the Division I and II levels, where full or partial scholarships are awarded to some athletes. For many student-athletes, losing their eligibility when they depend on a scholarship to help them with the tremendous costs of a college education can mean having to leave school altogether. In many cases, however, particularly where the eligibility issue relates to your academic progress, you may be eligible to have the NCAA requirement waived. Trying to navigate the extremely complicated NCAA eligibility system, however, can be intimidating and extremely difficult.
That's why when your eligibility to compete is on the line, you need the help of an experienced student defense attorney who understands the NCAA rules and waiver procedures and can make sure you understand your situation and what the waiver possibilities are. The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team has attorneys who have helped other student-athletes stay eligible to compete, and they're ready to help you, too. Reach out at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form.
NCAA Educational Standards
The NCAA has slightly different educational standards that it applies to student-athletes enrolled in Division I, II, and III schools. Currently, Division I student-athletes must complete at least 40 percent of the coursework towards a degree by the end of their second year, 60 percent by the end of their third, and 80 percent by the end of their fourth (with a total of five years of potential eligibility available). They must also earn at least 6 credits during a term to be eligible to compete during the next term and must meet the school's minimum GPA standards.
Division II student-athletes must complete 24 semester hours (or 36 quarter hours) of academic credit during each academic year to remain eligible to compete, with at least 18 semester- or 27 quarter-hours earned during the school year, provided the remainder is earned during the summer. They must also earn at least 9 semester- or 8 quarter-hours each full-time term in order to be eligible to compete during the next term. They must maintain at least a 2.0 GPA each year. Division II student-athletes have a total of four academic years of potential eligibility.
Division III student-athletes need to be in good academic standing at their school and be making satisfactory progress toward their degree. They must also be enrolled in at least 12 semester or quarter hours each semester.
Types of Waivers Available
The NCAA understands that its eligibility rules don't cover every situation, and as a result, it offers waivers in a number of different situations. These include waiver requests for student-athletes who have GPAs above 3.0; for student-athletes entering their final season of competition; for transfer student-athletes seeking to earn financial aid; for situations where the student-athlete's degree program had an adverse impact on their progress; for student-athletes enrolled less than full-time due to an educational disability; where the student-athlete fails to meet minimum credit-hour requirements; for transfer situations where the student-athlete risks being ineligible at their new school; and others.
You don't have to be enrolled in school in order to request a waiver from the NCAA. There are “Initial-Eligibility Waivers” that exist for incoming student-athletes whose academic background in high school may not otherwise entitle them to compete at the varsity level in college.
Situations that can result in a waiver grant include the death of an immediate member of the student-athlete's family; the diagnosis of a terminal illness of an immediate family member; where the student-athlete was the victim of “inappropriate sexual behavior;” the hospitalization of the student-athlete for an extended period of time; or where a catastrophic event (fire, hurricane, tornado, flood) has affected the student-athlete either at their school or in their hometown.
The educational standards and waiver requirements vary somewhat between Division I, Division II, and Division III programs, with Division III being the least restrictive.
Process for Requesting Waivers
Division I or II student-athletes who do not meet the NCAA's educational standards for eligibility can apply for what the NCAA calls a “progress-toward-degree” waiver. Division III student-athletes can request waivers of the 12 credit-hour-per-term requirement. The waiver requests must be filed with the NCAA by your school; it is not something you, as a student-athlete, can submit on your own.
The strength of any waiver request depends heavily on the documentation that supports it. This is where it can be extremely helpful to have the help of an experienced student defense attorney who understands the NCAA waiver requirements and what is needed to support a successful waiver request. The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team has years of experience helping student-athletes across the US stay eligible to compete at all levels of collegiate athletics. Our lawyers know how important this is to you and can help you gather and submit to your school the information you need to support your waiver request.
Some waiver requests are submitted to the NCAA through its Requests/Self-Reports Online (RSRO) Case Management System. In other cases, your school may be able to decide on your waiver request without having to submit it to the NCAA, or as the NCAA calls it, to “self-apply relief.” This can only happen in cases where your school satisfies certain specific criteria, and your waiver situation meets certain specific standards.
What You Can Do if a Waiver Request is Denied
When the NCAA denies your waiver request, all is not lost. Your school can appeal the decision to the NCAA's Committee for Legislative Relief. The appeal needs to be supported with an explanation to the Committee of “why the legislative relief staff's decision should be modified or overturned by the Committee.” In addition, your school must submit a “letter of support” from someone at the school who is not involved in sports and who has the power to have requested the waiver in the first place – generally someone like the school's chancellor, president, or faculty athletics representative.
The Committee may request additional information after the appeal is filed. It will not consider “new information” that was not included in the original waiver request. If additional information beyond what was included in the waiver request is submitted with the appeal, the Committee may treat the appeal as a request for reconsideration of the initial waiver request, which can delay the process. It will only do so where the additional information was not available at the time of the original waiver request and is relevant to the particular waiver that is being requested.
When deciding on an appeal, the Committee for Legislative Relief will consider a number of factors, including the “purpose and intent” of the NCAA legislation at issue, student-athlete well-being, potential competitive advantages that granting the waiver will produce, its own precedent in past waiver appeal cases, and “other factors it considers relevant.”
How the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team Can Help
It's not easy being a student-athlete at the collegiate level. No matter what NCAA division your school competes in, you face the same challenges of keeping up with your academics while also staying in shape and improving your skills in your chosen sport. As part of its mission to regulate collegiate athletics, the NCAA has created an incredibly complicated set of rules and procedures that can be all but impossible for the average person to learn and follow.
That's why if you are facing a situation where your eligibility to compete in NCAA sports at your college or university is threatened, you need the help of an experienced student defense attorney from the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team. Our lawyers have years of experience helping student-athletes competing at the highest levels of college sports keep their eligibility in situations where they are in danger of losing it. We can help with NCAA transfer student issues, as well as with academic eligibility challenges. We can help you understand your situation and work with you and your school to compile the information needed to help you secure a waiver and keep competing.
This is not something you want to face alone. As a student-athlete, you have enough on your plate already without trying to learn the ins and outs of the NCAA eligibility waiver process. The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help. Call us today at 888.535.3686, or use our contact form to set up a confidential consultation. We are here to listen and to help!
