The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) offers men and women the privilege to participate in following 23 sports: Football, Basketball, Baseball, Ice Hockey, Wrestling, Gymnastics, Track & Field, Swimming & Diving, Fencing, Crew/Rowing, Volleyball, Cross Country, Tennis, Softball, Soccer, Field Hockey, Lacrosse, Water Polo and Rifle. Recruiting Facts In order to participate, a student must meet certain criteria academically in high school. Recruiting Definitions The NCAA Clearinghouse will verify as to whether a student will be eligible. Students must graduate from high school and have at least a 2.00 grade point average in a core curriculum of 16 academic core courses for Division I participation for the Class of 2008 and after. Eligibility Center FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions Division I Initial Eligibility Toolkit Division I only -- 16 core courses in the following breakdown:

* 4 years of English
* 3 years of mathematics (Algebra I or higher)
* 2 years of natural/physical science (one must be a lab science) * 1 year of additional English, math or science
* 2 years of social studies
*4 years of additional core courses (from any area listed above, or from foreign language, nondoctrinal religion or philosophy)

Note: Computer science will no longer be used as a core course! Quick Reference Sheet

In addition, students must achieve a minimum score on their A.C.T. or S.A.T.; currently this is between a sum of 68 to 86 on the A.C.T.(sum of English, Reading, Math and Science) or between 820 to 1010 on the S.A.T. (recentered score). For the Class of 2005, it ranges from a low of 2.0 core GPA with an 86 total of scores on ACT or 1010 SAT I to a 3.55 core GPA with only a 37 total of ACT scores with a 400 total score on SAT I.

The grade point average is calculated only on courses that meet the core curriculum standards; all other courses taken in high school are eliminated and are not considered for eligibility. Each grade is considered on the following scale: A=4 points, B=3 points, C=2 points and D=1 point. This means that B+, B or B- grades are given equal weight (3 points) as an example. The eligibility scale shows that the higher the grade point average, the lower the ACT/SAT score is needed. The reverse is true as well; the lower the grade point average, then the higher ACT/SAT score. (GPA=2.5 or greater; 68 ACT/820 SAT; GPA=2.0; 86 ACT/1010 SAT)

NCAA 2015-2016 Guide for High School Counselors

About the National Letter of Intent (NLI)

The NCAA manages the daily operations of the NLI program while the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA) provides governance oversight of the program. Started in 1964 with seven conferences and eight independent institutions, the program now includes 650 Division I and Division II participating institutions.

The NLI is a voluntary program with regard to both institutions and student-athletes. No prospective student-athlete or parent is required to sign the NLI and no institution is required to join the program.

The NLI is a binding agreement between a prospective student-athlete and an NLI member institution.

A prospective student-athlete agrees to attend the institution full-time for one academic year (two semesters or three quarters).
The institution agrees to provide athletics financial aid for one academic year (two semesters or three quarters).

The penalty for not fulfilling the NLI agreement: A student-athlete has to serve one year in residence (full-time, two semesters or three quarters) at the next NLI member institution and lose one season of competition in all sports.

An important provision of the NLI program is a recruiting prohibition applied after a prospective student-athlete signs the NLI. This prohibition requires member institutions to cease recruitment of a prospective student-athlete once an NLI is signed with another institution.

Investing Where It Matters

NCAA Concussion Fact Sheet

NCAA Athlete Nutrition (Nutrition Handouts)

Evolution of Women in College Sports (History of Title IX)

The NCAA has 1,100 schools in three divisions: Division I has nearly 350 schools with over 6,000 Athletic Teams and over 175,000 Student-Athletes; Division II has 300 Schools with over 110,000 Student-Athletes, and Division III has 450 Schools and over 180,000 Student-Athletes. Approximately 24,500 students compete in 89 championships in these 23 sports. History of Multi-Division Differences and Classification There are 485,000 athletes competing nationwide. These numbers vary year to year History of NCAA Sports Participation 1980-2015 Students must file a form with the NCAA Clearinghouse; it is available online. The registration fee is $60 and is is a one-time fee. Students who have registered may log in to check their status. Students who don't register or who don't qualify may not be eligible to play or practice with their college team during their freshman year. The typical student-athlete in college has five years to complete four years of athletic eligibility. How do athletic scholarships work? Unfortunately, students who fail to meet minimum academic requirements or fail to register with the NCAA clearinghouse, may lose one of those years of eligibility to participate. National Letter of Intent FAQ Changes Waivers Application Waiver Instructions What are the list of 48-H approved high school courses offered at your high school? Signing Dates There are also club sports that some colleges offer like: Archery, Badminton, Bowling, Riding, Rodeo, Skiing and Synchronized Swimming. Some of those club sports offer scholarships; for example, in Michigan, both Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech offer skiing scholarships. In addition, Junior Colleges have their own athletic eligibility criteria. Contact njcaa.org for more information. Also, some colleges aren't affiliated with the NCAA for athletic eligibility. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics or N.A.I.A. may be contacted at naia.org for more information.

If you are a high school athlete who is planning on participating in competitive sports in college, please consider some of the following recruiting process links: Recruiting Process Links 2015-2016 Guide for the College Bound AthletExplaining the Recruiting Calendar Official NCAA Football Division I Recruiting Calendar Letter of Intent: Unintended Trap NCAA 2015-2016 Recruiting Calendar NCAA Football Recruiting Guide

NCAA Fact Sheet

Recruiting Test for Coaches

Another important links for sports camps is the National Strength and Conditioning Association www.nsca-lift.org . As of 2014-2015, there were the following institutions participating in NCAA Sports with over 175,000 athletes competing in Division I and 485,535 athletes competing in all three divisions:

NCAA SPORT	DIVISION I	Championship Bracket	DIVISION II	Championship Bracket	DIVISION III	Championship Bracket
Baseball	295	64	271	32	385	42
Basketball-M	345	64	320	48	424	48
Basketball-W	343	64	289	48	443	50
Field Hockey	73	16	30	2	164	18
Ice Hockey	59-M/35-W	12	6M/4W	n/a	74-M/52W	8
Soccer-M	200	32	214	16	413	44
Soccer-W	326	48	265	16	439	45
Gymnastics-M	15	12	0	n/a	1	n/a
Gymnastics-W	61	12	6	n/a	15	n/a
Lacrosse	68-M/106W	12	31	2	114	14
Football	250	n/a	172	16	218	28
Wrestling	76	n/a	59	n/a	94	n/a
Softball	289	48	299	32	415	43
Volleyball-M	21	4	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Volleyball-W	328	64	309	32	434	48
Water Polo	22-M/32-W	4	7-M/11-W	n/a	15-M/17-W	n/a
Swimming&Diving	134-M/195-W	n/a	72-M/98W	n/a	221-M/255-W	n/a
Rifle Rowing-W Fencing	17-M/24-W 88 20-M/24-W	n/a n/a n/a	4 16 2-M/4-W	n/a n/a n/a	4 42 n/a	n/a n/a n/a
Cross Country	311-M/342-W	n/a	277	n/a	n/a	n/a
Track-Outdoor	278-M/329-W	n/a	208-M/231-W	n/a	294-M-301-W	n/a
Tennis Golf	258-M/328-W 297-M/259-W	n/a n/a	176-M/236-W 239-M/195-W	n/a n/a	331-M/376-W 295-M/197-W	n/a n/a
Totals-all sports	6,475	n/a	4,915	n/a	7,981	n/a

The State of Michigan currently offers 27 colleges and/or universities that participate in NCAA sports. Some athletes do get full-ride scholarships (tuition/room&board/books paid); most student-athletes receiving grant-in-aid scholarships receive partial scholarships. There are maximum scholarships allotted to each school based upon eligibility status and athletic budget. Title IX (Gender Equity)continues to impact this criteria as well. Currently, this is how many scholarships that the NCAA allows in each sport:

NCAA Sport	Scholarships Men	Scholarships Women	Division I Teams	Division II Teams	Total Teams	HC=Head Count/EQ=Equity	Notes
Baseball	11.7	n/a	n/a	n/a	1600	EQ
Basketball	13	15	679	581	3600	HC
Bowling	5	5	31	17	72	HC
Cross Country	12.69	18	309	218	n/a	EQ
Fencing	4.5	n/a	n/a	n/a	21	EQ
Field Hockey	n/a	12	n/a	n/a	n/a	HC
Football	85	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	HC
Golf	4.5	6	521	335	1957	EQ
Gymnastics	6.3	12	78	n/a	98	EQ/HC
Ice Hockey	18	18	92	n/a	210	HC	18 spread out among 30 students
Lacrosse	12.6	12	144	n/a	n/a	EQ
Rifle	3.6	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	EQ
Rowing	n/a	20	81	15	138	HC
Skiing	6.3	7	n/a	n/a	74	EQ
Soccer	9.9	14	n/a	n/a	2600	EQ
Softball	n/a	12	286	264	n/a	HC
Swimming & Diving	9.9	14	326	127	1040	EQ
Tennis	4.5	8	583	373	1050	EQ/HC
Track & Field	12.6	18	n/a	n/a	n/a	EQ
Volleyball	4.5	12	329	286	1783	EQ/HC
Water Polo	4.5	8	n/a	n/a	n/a	EQ
Wrestling	9.9	n/a	n/a	n/a	304	EQ
Totals	239	211	3459	2216	14547

NCAA Sport	Division I	Division II	Division III	Offer
Baseball	11.7	9	None
Basketball(M)	13	10	None
Basketball(W)	15	10	None
Crew (Rowing)	20	n/a	None
Fencing-M/W	4.5/5	n/a	None	43
Field Hockey	12	n/a	None
Football	85 (I-AA:63)	36	None
Golf (M)	4.5	3.6	None
Golf (W)	6	5.4	None
Gymnastics (M)	6.3	6	None
Gymnastics (W)	12	6	None
Ice Hockey (New: Women's)	18	13.5	None
Lacrosse (M)	12.6	10.8	None
Lacrosse (W)	12	9.9	None
Rifle	3.6	n/a	None
Soccer (M)	9.9	9	None
Soccer (W)	12	9.9	None
Softball	12	7.2	None
Swimming&Diving (M)	9.9	8.1	None
Swimming&Diving (W)	12	8.1	None
Tennis (M)	4.5	4.5	None
Tennis (W)	8	6	None
Track-Indoor/Outdoor/Cross Country (M)	12.6	12.6	None
Track-Indoor/Outdoor/Cross Country (W)	18	12.6	None
Volleyball (M)	4.5	4.5	None
Volleyball (W)	12	6	None
Water Polo (M)	4.5	n/a	None
Water Polo (W)	8	n/a	None
Wrestling	9.9	9	None
Potential Total-M	215	136.6	None
Potential Total-W	164	81.1	None
Totals	379	217.7	None

Other Sports: Archery: Badminton: Bowling: 5 Cheerleading: Cricket: Equestrian: Judo: Pistol: Polo: Rodeo: Rugby: Sailing: Skiing-M/W: 6.3/7 (Northern Michigan/Michigan Tech) Slow-Pitch Softball: Squash-W: 12 Synchronized Swimming: 5 Team Handball-W: 10 Triathlon: Water Skiing: NACDA/Sear's Director's Cup Trophy NACDA/Sear's Director's Cup Previous Winners

NCAA Statistics and Records

NCAA Playing Rules

NCAA Championships

Polls and Rankings

Drug Testing 2010-2011

Academic Progress

NCAA Rules and By-Laws

NCAA Timeline of History: The Century Series

NCAA History

1906 – The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS), later the NCAA, is formed.

1910 – IAAUS is renamed as the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

1921 – The NCAA holds its first national championship, the National Collegiate Track and Field Championships.

1939 – The NCAA adds another national championship in basketball.

1952 – The NCAA headquarters are established in Kansas City.

1973 – The NCAA is divided into three subdivisions depending on level of play; Divisions I, II and III.

1978 – The NCAA divides Division-I football into their own subdivisions, Division-IA and IAA.

1983 – The NCAA starts athletic programs and competition for women.

1984 – The Presidents Commission, made of presidents from all divisions in the NCAA, is formed. The presidents set the agenda and plans for the Association.

2010 – The NCAA has approximately 1200 members across the country.