Initial Eligibility Changes

New Freshmen Initial Eligibility Standards: May 1, 2022 as applied to eligibility

decisions for NAIA competition in August 2022 or beyond

An entering freshman student can become eligible by achieving an overall high school grade point average of 2.300 or higher on a 4.000 scale.

EXCEPTION: A prospective student attending an accredited U.S. high school can satisfy NAIA entering freshman academic requirements prior to completing high school graduation requirements provided the student has registered with the NAIA Eligibility Center and satisfies one of the following academic criteria:

a. A student may satisfy freshman academic requirements upon completing six semesters, or its equivalent, of secondary education by obtaining an overall high school grade point average of 3.300 or higher on a 4.000 scale.

b. A student may satisfy freshman academic requirements upon completing seven semesters, or its equivalent, of secondary education by obtaining an overall high school grade point average of 2.800 or higher on a 4.000 scale.

The early determination of eligibility by the NAIA Eligibility Center shall be the center’s only determination. It shall be the responsibility of the certifying member institution to verify that an entering freshman has graduated from an accredited high school or been accepted as a regular student in good standing as defined by the enrolling institution and met all other NAIA, conference and institutional academic requirements prior to representing the institution in any manner against outside competition.

Beginning on May 1, 2022, entering freshman will have a new way to meet initial eligibility. Previously a student needed two of the following three to be eligible: GPA, class rank, and/or test score. If a student didn’t meet the two out of three then they would have to meet one of the exceptions or request an exception with the National Eligibility Committee. However, entering freshman beginning in the fall of 2022 will be able to meet initial eligibility requirements by only meeting the elevated GPA requirement of 2.300 on a 4.000 scale. This change is in light of the national trend of institutions of higher learning moving away from standardized tests and fewer high schools providing a class rank.

With this change also comes a change to early decision criteria as well. Now students can receive an early decision of eligible based solely on their high school GPA. A student who has a 3.300 or higher after their sixth semester of high school and a student with a 2.800 or higher after their seventh semester can receive early decisions of eligible. As with all early decisions it

will be the schools responsibility to ensure a student receiving an early decision did in fact graduate from high school and has been accepted in good standing.

This bylaw change does not go into effect until 2022 because the Council of Presidents and National Eligibility Committee extended the entering freshman COVID exception for the 20212022 academic year.

FAQ’s

Q: What about the 2.00 High School GPA standard that has been in place these past couple of years?

A: In conjunction with the National Eligibility Committee and Council of Faculty Athletics Representatives, the Council of Presidents approved an exception to initial eligibility rules for incoming freshmen in 2020-21 and the 2021-2022 academic years only due to the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic. This exception allowed student-athletes to become immediately eligible with only a 2.0 HS GPA. Moving forward, this exception will expire.

Q: We are recruiting a student from a junior college who has used one term of attendance (spring of 2021) and one non-intercollegiate season of competition (competed in a chargeable league in 2018). How will the freshmen eligibility requirements work for this student?

A: The student is still considered an entering freshman because she will be in her second semester term of attendance, and therefore the student can still seek to use the new FR eligibility requirements. The student can be certified to play in 2022-2023 season based off a 2.300 HS GPA, even though it will be her second season of competition. Prior to competing in her third season of competition, she will be required to have a 2.000 collegiate GPA per NAIA Bylaws Article V, Section C, Item 9.

Q: What about the old, traditional 2/3 FR Eligibility Requirements. Is this still in effect?

A: Yes, if a student’s HS GPA is between a 2.00 – 2.29 HS GPA, the student can seek eligibility by pairing the GPA with a qualifying test score or class rank.

Q: What if an athlete receives an early decision of eligible but their final high school GPA is less than 2.3, do they need a new decision? Are they ineligible?

A: They do not need a new decision and they would still be considered as having received an eligible decision. It will be the NAIA institutions responsibility to ensure the student did in fact graduate from an accredited high school or has been accepted as a regular student in good standing.

Q: What if there are multiple GPAs on the student’s high school transcript? Which one will be used for eligibility?

A: In keeping with long-standing NAIA policy, the Eligibility Center will rely on the GPA that is used by the high school to determine class rank/valedictorian.