College Athletics

Getting involved in college athletics takes preparation and planning. Find out what many student athletes wish they had known before starting college. Talk to your coach about what level is best for you. Once you find the option that is best for you, begin contacting schools.

Association	Description
NCAA National Collegiate Athletic Association	Oversees the conduct and administration of intercollegiate athletics. Schools range from Division I, which has the highest profile and offers athletic scholarships, to Division III, which may even include no-cut teams.
NAIA National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics	Organized into 9 geographic regions with the basic belief that intercollegiate athletics is a vital part of the complete education program.
NJCAA National Junior College Athletic Association	Promotes and supervises junior college sports.
NCCAA National Christian College Athletic Association	Consist of nearly 100 Christian colleges and universities and focuses on athletic competition in a Christian perspective.
NSCAA National Small College Athletic Association	Allows smaller colleges to compete with each other. Member colleges have fewer than 1,000 males and/or females.
Campus Intramural or Club Sports	Provide students the opportunity to participate in a variety of competitive sporting tournaments and leagues within the campus community.

Getting Started

During your junior year send the following to each school you wish to apply to.

• Resume
• Introduction letter
• Videotape of you playing
• Athlete's To Do List

If you intend to participate in Division I or II athletics, you must register with the NCAA Eligibility Center by the end of your junior year.

• You will also need your transcript and test scores sent to the clearinghouse.
• When registering for the SAT or ACT, use code 9999 to automatically send your scores.

Eligibility Requirements

Each athletic association has different eligibility requirements. To verify the requirements, talk with the athletic personnel at schools that you interested in attending.

For information on eligibility and compliance requirements and recruiting rules and guidelines, please visit the NCAA website at www.ncaa.org

Helpful Tips

Along with location, academics, and environment, athletes also need to evaluate the athletic program, team members, and coaching staff. Visiting the colleges, seeing games, observing practices, meeting professors, and going to a class is even more important for athletes than for other students. Here are a few tips and ideas to remember:

• Send all questionnaires from the college or coach back immediately.
• Send requested video tapes as soon as possible.
• Athletes can call the coaches with questions as often as they want, but coaches are limited in the calls they can make to athletes.
• Keep a notebook to record a summary of phone conversations and who was talked to.
• Athletes need to complete college and scholarship applications so they can have a back up plan if an athletic scholarship falls through.
• Ask coaches before paying application fees; 'how interested are you in me?'.
• Write follow up letters
  • Tell them you are looking forward to the season & interested in their college program.
  • Include updates of statistics & newspaper clippings.
  • If they ask for a schedule send it with a letter.
  • Give an update on new things happening on your high school team.
  • Look up the college schedule, check the papers, and make a comment about their college team if appropriate. Go to a game if you can.