NAIA Eligibility & Academic Requirements
Requirements are subject to change, please check with your guidance counselor and coach to verify any information.

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NAIA Eligibility:

(This info is from the NAIA site in July 2006.  Note: As with all information this important to your future, check with your guidance counselor, head coach, the NAIA site and/or the school you wish to attend.)

The following is a short listing of criteria that needs to be met to be eligible to represent a member institution in any manner (scrimmages, intercollegiate competitions). For more information on NAIA Eligibility Regulations, visit www.naia.org.

1. If an entering freshman* be a graduate of an accredited high school or be accepted as a regular student in good standing as defined by the enrolling institution and meet two of the three entry level requirements. 

* An entering freshman is defined as a student who upon becoming identified with an institution has not been previously identified with an institution(s) of higher learning for two semesters or three quarters (or equivalent).

1A.  Achieve a minimum of 18 on the Enhanced ACT or 860 on the SAT. The ACT/SAT test must be taken on a national or international testing date and certified to the institution prior to the beginning of each term in which the student initially participates (residual tests are not acceptable). The SAT score of 860 or higher must be achieved on the CRITICAL READING and MATH sections of the SAT.

Scores must be achieved on a single test.

Students diagnosed with a learning disability may use untimed ACT/SAT test results to meet freshman standards. The untimed test, though, must be arranged, approved, and conducted according to the procedure established by the ACT or SAT national office for the administration of such tests. A minimum score of 18 or 860 must still be achieved.

1B.  Achieve a minimum overall high school grade point average of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale

A student must achieve an overall high school GPA of 2.000 on a 4.000 scale based on the student’s high school transcript which includes all course work taken through the term immediately prior to graduation. There are no core course requirements for the NAIA.  If the high school does not report GPA on a 4.000 scale, the institution’s registrar shall convert all high school grades to the 4.000 scale and establish the GPA. If the high school reports grades in percents then the NAIA institution is to receive high school’s percent grading scale. A student in the “C” range is considered to have met this requirement.

A student who has taken and passed the GED will be considered to have met the 2.000 requirement. The student must still meet the ACT/SAT requirement. A student who has been identified with a preparatory school for one full academic shall have the GPA achieved at the prep school combined with the overall high school GPA for application to the 2.000 requirement.

1C.  Graduate in the top half of your high school graduating class.

A student must graduate in the upper half of their high school graduating class based on the student’s high school transcript which includes all course work taken through the term immediately prior to graduation. High schools that do not rank students may elect to certify on official high school letterhead signed by the high school principal, headmaster, or registrar that if the high school were to rank their graduating class this student would have graduated in the upper half of the graduating class.

A student who graduates the equivalent of 50 out of 100 (50 percentile) will be considered to have graduated in the upper half of the graduating class.

*Remember, athletes as well as member institutions are responsible for knowing and abiding by NAIA rules and regulations as outlined in the NAIA Official Handbook. See your athletics director or faculty athletics representative for all NAIA rules and regulations.

more NAIA info on the NAIA page of this web site.*

Contact Coach Meadows and your guidance counselor if you have any questions about your Core GPA or dates for SAT and ACT tests.

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