ACC encourages initial eligibility education

ACC and its Member Institutions Encourage Initial Eligibility Education

League’s SAAC members bring educational video to life

The ACC and its member institutions are aiming to bring awareness to the new NCAA academic requirements for college-bound student-athletes. In conjunction with the league’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee, the ACC is promoting an educational video outlining the new Division I Initial-Eligibility Standards.

“Given the significant change to the future NCAA eligibility standards, our league felt it was important to play a role in educating as many future student-athletes especially through the avenues in which they consume information,” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. “We felt there was no better way to communicate this message than through our current student-athletes and let them express in their own words the importance of begin prepared.”

College-bound student-athletes entering an NCAA Division I college or university on or after August 1, 2016, will need to meet new academic rules in order to receive athletics aid (scholarship), practice or compete during their first year.

To become a Full Qualifier (eligible for scholarship, practice and competition) for NCAA Division I, college-bound student-athletes must:

• Complete 16 Core Courses (English, Math, Social Sciences and Natural & Physical Science)

o    Ten of the 16 core courses must be completed before the seventh semester (senior year) of high school.

o    Seven of the 10 core courses must be in English, Math or Science.

• Earn a minimum core-course GPA of 2.300.
• Meet the NCAA Division-I sliding scale requirement of GPA and ACT/SAT score.
• Graduate from high school.

In hopes of connecting with college-bound high school students, the ACC and the league’s SAAC members have assembled an informational video featuring current and former student-athletes speaking on the new requirements for prospective student-athletes.

The video can be viewed at: http://theacc.co/SAAC14EligVideo

All college-bound student-athletes with aspirations to compete on the Division-I level are encouraged to regularly meet with their high school guidance counselor to ensure these requirements are being fulfilled.

For additional information on the new Initial-Eligibility Standards for NCAA Division I, please visit the following websites:www.eligibilitycenter.org or www.2point3.org.