Initial Eligibility 

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For incoming NCAA Division I and II freshmen student-athletes, certain academic and amateurism standards must be fulfilled in order for the incoming student-athlete to be eligible to practice, compete, and receive an athletics scholarship as a freshman. These standards are separate to any institutional admission requirements even though both requirements consider similar credentials.

For the academics component, these NCAA requirements include minimums tied to high school core-course completion, core-course grade-point average, ACT or SAT standardized test scores corresponding with the core-course grade-point average on a sliding scale, timely completion of core-courses and proof of high school graduation.

For the amateurism component, the standards are to ensure the individual has not compromised their amateurism status by, for example, signing with an agent or receiving pay to compete as a professional prior to enrollment at an NCAA institution. The amateurism landscape is on the cusp of a deregulatory renaissance of sorts with anticipated repeal of restrictions on an NCAA student-athlete's ability to use his or her name, image, or likeness.

Both the incoming freshman's academic and amateurism benchmarks are assessed and certified by the NCAA Eligibility Center which operates out of the NCAA national office in Indianapolis. Collectively, these national standards for incoming Division I and Division II freshmen and the corresponding certification process is known as initial eligibility.