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As a player with aspirations of playing in the NCAA, there are a lot of regulations with which you should familiarize yourself. Beyond the requirements that each school has for admissions, the NCAA has set forth numerous rules regarding athletic eligibility. As a young player trying to decide between pursuing Major Junior hockey or Tier II Junior 'A', you need to be well informed about how your decisions will affect your options down the road. If you are considering the NCAA as a potential option, you need to be familiar with the following rules and regulations. This outline of NCAA eligibility requirements is meant to cover a broad spectrum of players. If you have a specific question pertaining to your situation, be sure to Ask the Vet.

Academic & Aid Based Regulations

You must qualify as academically eligible. There are three stipulations to being recognized as a qualifier:

You graduate from high school.
Along with graduating, you must complete a core curriculum of thirteen courses including: 4 English; 2 math; 2 social science; 2 natural or physical science; 1 additional course in English, math, or natural or physical science; and 2 additional academic courses.
You must have a SAT or ACT score and a grade point average based on the 4.000 scale that falls on the qualifier index scale.

If you do not meet the requirements of a qualifier, you may be eligible as a partial qualifier. Under this classification, a player is eligible to practice with the team and to receive a scholarship during their first year of schooling. View the partial qualifier index.

You are allowed to combine your best verbal and math SAT scores from separate testing dates to meet your minimum required test score. For the ACT, you may combine individual subtest scores from different dates to determine whether you reach the minimum requirements.

You must be certified as athletically eligible by the NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse. The Clearinghouse is responsible for determining whether you are a qualifier, partial qualifier, or non-qualifier. You should be able to get the registration forms from your academic advisor. Once you have finished your grade 11 year of high school (or your second last year), you should consider registering with the Clearinghouse.

If you are recognized as a qualifier, you may receive financial aid that includes tuition, room and board, and books. However, there are no 4-year or full-ride scholarships. Athletics scholarships are renewable each year for a total of five years. At Div III schools, there are no athletic scholarships, but financial aid may be available based on student need only.

Professional Status

Under NCAA rules you are considered to be a professional if any of the following are true:

You are paid or will be paid for playing in a game.
You have a contract, written or verbal, with any professional sports organization or agency.
You have your name placed on a draft list after enrolling (i.e. you opt into the draft).
You use your hockey ability or athleticism for pay in any form.
You play on a professional hockey team.
You play on an amateur hockey team and receive a salary or incentive payment above your needed equipment and traveling expenses.

With regards to these stated rules, it is important to know what you can do. Without forfeiting your eligibility, you are allowed to do the following:

Try out for any professional team, without playing against outside competition, at your own expense. You can, however, receive money for your expenses for a period no longer than 48 hours. As well, this reimbursement may happen only once per team. It is important to note, that these rules do apply to Major Junior hockey. The teams of the CHL are considered to be professional by the NCAA.
As well, you may also work at a hockey school. Payment for teaching hockey is not in violation of NCAA regulations.

Recruiting Regulations

There are several NCAA regulations referring to player recruitment. As a player, you become a recruited prospective student-athlete once a coach or another school representative contacts you about enrollment and being a part of the hockey team. From this point on, there are regulations concerning the number of contacts and telephone calls that the coach can have with you. As well, you are not allowed to receive any gifts or benefits that would induce you to sign a National Letter of Intent.

Contacts

A contact is any face-to-face meeting between the coach and you or your parents where more than "Hello" is said.

Only after July 1st following your junior (Grade 11) year of high school can a coach contact you off campus. As a prospective player, you can be contacted only 3 times by the coach. Over one academic year, a hockey coach is allowed to make 7 recruiting trips of which only 3 can be face-to-face contacts with players, you and others. In Division III, the school is allowed unlimited contacts with you.

Phone Calls

As with contacts, phone calls are only allowed after July 1st following your junior year of high school. After July 1st, the coach is only allowed to phone you once a week. However, the exceptions to this rule are during the 5 days before an official visit, on the day of an off campus visit by the coach, and during the first 3 days of National Letter of Intent signings. As a resident of a foreign country (Canada), the coach is also allowed to contact you once during the July following your sophomore or grade 10 year.

There is no limit to the number of times you can call a coach at your own expense. After July 1st of your junior year, you are also allowed to call the coach collect or toll free.

Now that you have familiarized yourself with many of the regulations concerning NCAA eligibility, it is important to realize that every player's situation is different. If there are rules or regulations which you need clarification on, we encourage you to Ask the Vet.