Hoops

NCAA College Eligibility Requirements

Anon^ that's correct, however if you do your due diligence and check with our academia here before you choose your curriculum over there you can still get a huge benefit from your education status. Be it a small Hecs or no debt at all, it is still better than paying for accommodation, food and all the other things overseas students have to cover.

As long as you go into it eyes open and accept what you can get out of it, you can still come out with a decent resume, experience and qualification...

A lot of the colleges degrees are not recognised outside the US. If you come back to Australia you normally have to do a year or two to get the degree recognised. Yes still a hex debt but a smaller one.

@Been There, some very valid points you have made, obviously not directly related to the requirements but none the less very important considerations for anyone looking at the US college NCAA pathway.

If I may add something, if there is opportunity for any kid to go to a D1 or D2 where they can get a full ride or close to it (scholarship), it does offer the kid and the family that chance of a degree without a Hecs debt which can be a valuable achievement on its own.

Yes, there are many pitfalls, there are too many coaches under extreme pressure to just hang onto their jobs, winning is their priority in many cases and finding out what their personality and character is like from short transactions 1000's of miles away is extremely challenging.

My advice, similar to 'Been There's is that if your kid is really keen to go, do everything you can to support them and do your due diligence of course, but if they are not ready or unsure, better to delay it or look at other options, trust me it won't serve you well if you push a kid that isn't that keen to go...

Been there. 100%

Country Vic years ago did have links in their pathways info, not sure if they do now but do remember it being there

Junior college rulings are different again to the div1 as are the div2 rulings, you would think they would make it straight forward though wouldn't you

So where do you put the code in?

A couple of points, firstly, make sure your kid can play, secondly, be wary of these academies that promise US pathways in exchange for $$.

What about those who currently play in wnbl, as there would be a few I'd imagine

What if they play SEABL the year they are going to college how does that effect their playing, will they be redshirted, so for instance if they play SEABL for 2015 and start college 2015, how does that work

#497813

It's not just having to sit out (redshirt) a year before you can compete. For every year outside the 12 month grace period you lose a year of college eligibility. e.g. if your NCAA 'expected graduation date' is Dec 2012 and you play in ANY organised competition in 2014 before starting college in August 2014, you must redshirt in 2014-15 AND lose a year of eligibility (i.e. you can play college basketball for only three rather than four years). Also, for every year of delay after that I believe that another year of college eligibility is forfeited.

Your last four years of High School here in Aus are important and the final two years (11-12) are crucial.

As long as you are taking two sciences (like psychology with biology for example) or a similar mix, then you have your math and english as normal and you throw in something like another language or religion over that term, you should qualify.

This is the crucial bit in your final two years, but you need to get the four years correct in total, making sure you get enough of the required subjects (like another language studies for example).

Funny how they rate religion studies above things like phyical education or business studies, those don't rate, but religion does if your school has it!!

From the U.S. College Board web site:

Division I:
16 Core Courses
4 years of English
3 years of math (algebra 1 or higher level)
2 years of natural or physical science (including one year of lab science if offered)
1 extra year of English, math, or science
2 years of social science
4 years of additional core courses (from any category above, or in a foreign language, nondoctrinal religion or philosophy)

Division II:
16 Core Courses
3 years of English
2 years of math (algebra 1 or higher level)
2 years of natural or physical science (including one year of lab science if offered)
3 extra years of English, math or science;
2 years of social science
3 years of additional core courses (from any category above, or in a foreign language, nondoctrinal religion or philosophy);
4 extra years if enrolling on or after August 1, 2013

Academic standards
Division I eligibility
All students entering college must have completed 16 core courses in high school.
Students must earn a minimum required GPA in core courses and a combined SAT or ACT sum score that matches this GPA on a sliding scale, which can be found in the NCAA Eligibility Center Quick Reference Guide (.pdf/270K). Requires Adobe Reader (latest version recommended).

Division II eligibility
All students entering college prior to August 1, 2013, must have completed 14 core courses in high school.
All students entering college on or after August 1, 2013, must have completed 16 core courses in high school.
Standards require a minimum GPA of 2.0 and a combined minimum SAT score of 820 or sum ACT score of 68.
NCAA core courses definition
An academic course in one or a combination of these areas: English, mathematics, natural/physical science, social science, foreign language, comparative religion or philosophy.

A four-year college preparatory course and a course at or above the high school's regular academic level, for example, an AP® class or outside college course.
Remedial courses, or those taught at a slower pace or that cover less content are not admissible. And not all classes that meet high school graduation requirements meet NCAA course work requirements.

Best to get familiar with the eligibility requirements as early as possible, and keep abreast of any changes (e.g. new regulations for 2016 and following) to avoid any nasty surprises. NCAA regulations are available online, as are useful summaries that relate to Australian athletes. However, there are some pitfalls that students with a non-traditional graduation date (e.g. Australia) do need to be particularly aware of - such as the NCAA penalties for playing in ANY organized competition (rep, local comp, PG Prep schools) outside the 'one-year grace period' after HS graduation.

No a bad idea to at least make the information readily accessible.

We have a good summary of what is required up here thanks to Michael Clarke - a current Aussie who is an Assistant Coach at McMurray State.

Preparing Aussie kids for US college basketball