NCAA Clearing House Is Now Called The NCAA Initial Eligibility Center

The NCAA Clearing House has recently been changed to the NCAA initial Eligibility Center.

As a student looking to pursue an education, NCAA athletic scholarships are sometimes the only viable option to be able to afford a degree at a 4 year university.

For other students, being able to play their sport on a high level is the top priority when choosing between various schools and schools in different NCAA divisions.

Many athletes participate in sports without college sports scholarships and are only looking for that continuation of their dream or athletic abilities. Regardless of your or your childs priorities, the NCAA Eligibility Center, or NCAA Clearing House should be your first stop when looking into your options and ensuring the whole process goes smoothly.

"What Is The NCAA Eligibility Center (formally the NCAA Clearing House?)"

The NCAA Eligibility Center or NCAA Clearing House is where a student wishing to play a Division I or II sport at any university must register. The NCAA Initial Eligibility Center (again not to get confused, it used to be known as the NCAA Initial Eligibility Clearing House) handles all student eligibility issues and the website also contains all of the information and forms that you need to look at.

Among the topics that the NCAA Initial Eligibility Center deals with are of course eligibility, recruiting processes and allowances, amateur/professional issues, other rules and compliance issues and much more.

Who Needs the NCAA Eligibility Center?

The people who need to use the NCAA Eligibility Center (NCAA clearing house) include:

• All high school athletes who will plan to play an official, NCAA sanctioned Division I or Division II sport.
• All incoming freshmen, even if there was a year or more off between high school and your freshmen year of college.
• All international students who plan on playing a sport at a Division I or II university will also need to use the NCAA Initial Eligibility Center.
• Students who are transferring between schools, including those who weren't playing sports at the original school, need the NCAA Initial Eligibility Center to process their information and determine their status.

Additionally, the NCAA Initial Eligibility Center - NCAA clearing house - is a great resource for parents of prospective student athletes, as well as coaches, teachers, mentors and the like who may be helping a student on his path towards attending a university and participating in athletics on that high level.

Often times students are too busy to obtain this information or do not have the wherewithal to truly pay attention to all of this important material. Therefore it is important to have somebody help the prospective student athlete in understanding what is expected and required of him or her.

"So What Does The NCAA Eligibility Center Or NCAA Clearing House Actually Do?"

The NCAA Initial Eligibility Center handles all inquiries and the entire set of processes regarding the determination of initial eligibility for student athletes. Also, the NCAA Initial Eligibility Center is the one stop shop for amateur certification processes that used to be handled by the ACT (American College Testing, Inc.). The Center is still new, as the contract with the ACT organization expired at the end of October 2007.

The NCAA Initial Eligibility Center - NCAA clearing house - was created to keep everything in house with the NCAA and to provide a greater level of customer service, ease of use and a portal of useful and necessary information.

By having everything together under one umbrella, the NCAA Initial Eligibility Center makes it easier for parents and students to understand what is expected and needed of them, and to get help when needed.

"What Can Affect My NCAA Clearing House Eligibility and What Other Rules Are There?"

Many different things can affect a prospective student athletes eligibility. Additionally, there are many other rules that need to be remembered in order to receive and maintain that eligibility, active participation and amateur status. The NCAA Initial Eligibility Center - NCAA clearing house - contains information pertaining to the subjects of:

• Gambling and betting on sports: Sports betting is strictly prohibited and guarded against in college athletics.

• The NCAA's drug testing program: The NCAA has a mandatory and scheduled drug testing program. Information includes what drugs are banned and what the drug testing program entails.

• Academic requirements: All student athletes are by definition, students first. There are academic requirements in terms of what you need to complete in high school as well as what you need to accomplish in college while playing your sport.

• Agents/Amateurism: The information pertaining to your amateur status, how obtaining an agent can change that or take that away and what you need to be wary of with shady individuals providing incentives and money. Additionally, information, forms and rules for specific cases where individuals participating in college sports are also participating in competitions outside of the NCAA which involve sponsorship and/or prize money.

• Recruiting processes: What is to be expected and what is and is not allowed with the recruiting process. There are many coaches, assistant coaches or boosters of athletic programs that try to bend the rules and could end up costing you your eligibility.

• Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct: These are on the field and in the community guidelines for how a student athlete needs to carry his or herself and treat others. Additionally, there are awards for those that stand out in this area, as there are academic awards as well.

That is just an overview of the areas that the NCAA Initial Eligibility Center - NCAA clearing house - touches on. Of course these are all important and violation of these practices could cost you playing time, your scholarship and your entire athletic eligibility status. Having an understanding of these areas is essential.

The NCAA Initial Eligibility Center - NCAA clearing house - also provides instructions for how to contact them regarding questions, specific information or special cases. The registration process for prospective student athletes can begin as early as the beginning of the junior year in high school.

The final certification doesn't occur however until several months before the beginning of the freshmen year in college.

If you are looking for college sports scholarships now, then it is best to start the process as early as possible and register for the NCAA Initial Eligibility Center - NCAA clearing house – as it will give you time to resolve any potential issues that may come up when reviewing your individual case in order to attract the college sports scholarships that are right for you.

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