The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is the national organization that governs participation in intercollegiate athletic competition. The NCAA has established academic standards that student-athletes must meet in order to be eligible for intercollegiate competition. In addition, the NCAA has rules concerning the amount of time that student-athletes may be required to practice and any benefits student-athletes may receive.

The student must have taken 13 "core" courses in high school. They are:
• English – 4 years;
• Mathematics – 2 years;
• Natural or Physical Science (including at least 1 laboratory course) – 2 years;
• Social Science – 2 years;
• 1 additional year of either English, Math or Science; and
• 2 additional years of other academic courses which may include English, Math, Science, Foreign Language, Computer Science, Philosophy or non-doctrinal Religion.

The GPA which must be achieved in these core courses and the minimum scores which must be achieved in the SAT (combined math and verbal scores) or ACT (sum scores) are established by an Initial-Eligibility Index:

Core GPA	SAT Recentered	SUM ACT
3.550 and above	400	37
3.525	410	38
3.500	420	39
3.475	430	40
3.450	440	41
3.425	450	41
3.400	460	42
3.375	470	42
3.350	480	43
3.325	490	44
3.300	500	44
3.275	510	45
3.250	520	46
3.225	530	46
3.200	540	47
3.175	550	47
3.150	560	48
3.125	570	49
3.100	580	49
3.075	590	50
3.050	600	50
3.025	610	51
3.000	620	52
2.975	630	52
2.950	640	53
2.925	650	53
2.900	660	54
2.875	670	55
2.850	680	56
2.825	690	56
2.800	700	57
2.775	710	57
2.750	720	58
2.725	730	59
2.700	740	60
2.675	750	61
2.650	760	62
2.625	770	63
2.600	780	64
2.575	790	65
2.550	800	66
2.525	810	67
2.500	820	68
2.475	830	69
2.450	840–850	70
2.425	860	70
2.400	860	71
2.375	870	72
2.350	880	73
2.325	890	74
2.300	900	75
2.275	910	76
2.250	920	77
2.225	930	78
2.200	940	79
2.175	950	80
2.150	960	80
2.125	960	81
2.100	970	82
2.075	980	83
2.050	990	84
2.025	1000	85
2.00	1010	86

Compliance with these initial academic eligibility standards for all student-athletes is determined by the NCAA Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse.

Post-Enrollment Academic Standards

The NCAA also has adopted minimum academic standards that must be met in order for a student-athlete to be eligible for competition after his or her freshman year. These requirements are intended to support the academic development of student-athletes and raise their graduation rates. The basic requirements are as follows:
(a) Enrollment in a minimum of 12 units each semester.
(b) Passing a minimum of 6 units each semester and a total of 24 units each academic year, of which 18 must be passed during the regular terms (fall and spring).
(c) Making satisfactory progress toward a degree.
    • designate major by the end of second year.
    • complete at least 40%/60%/80% of course requirements for a specific degree program by the beginning of third/fourth/fifth year; and
    • Earn a cumulative minimum GPA of at least 1.8 at the beginning of second year, 1.9 at the beginning of third year, and 2.0 at the beginning of the fourth and fifth years.

At USC, it is the responsibility of the Registrar s Office to certify whether each student-athlete is in compliance with these academic requirements for continuing eligibility.

In addition to these NCAA standards, student-athletes are subject to the same USC rules with respect to probation and academic dismissal as apply to any member of the student body. For example, any student whose cumulative GPA falls below 2.0 is considered to be on academic probation.

Practice Rules

NCAA rules also limit the amount of time that student-athletes may be required to participate in athletic practice activities. The purpose of these rules is to ensure that student-athletes are not subjected to unreasonable time demands made by the athletic staff, and that they have adequate time to devote to academic activities. The basic rules are:
• During the playing season (period from date of initial practice through date of final competition – bowl game or NCAA championship), practice may be required for no more than 4 hours per day, 20 hours per week and 6 days per week.
• Outside of the playing season, only 8 hours of conditioning per week may be required. An exception for football allows 15 practice sessions during a 1-month period in the Spring.
• No class time may be missed for practice activities except those associated with an away contest.

Benefits

The NCAA rules allow each academic institution to provide certain specified benefits to student-athletes. These include financial assistance (tuition, fees, books, room and board), four complimentary admissions to games, competition-related benefits (uniforms, equipment, travel/meals/lodging for away contests), medical treatment related to athletics participation, and academic support services. The NCAA rules prohibit student-athletes from receiving any other benefits from the University unless the benefit is available to all students. This prohibition applies to benefits provided by USC faculty, staff, and administration, and to any individual who supports USC's athletic activities (financially or with goods or services). The NCAA is concerned about big and small "extra benefits." It cares about a free lunch, free cup of coffee or free photocopy as well as a free stereo, an unsecured automobile loan, or free legal services. The basic question for determining whether the extra benefits rule would be violated is: Is this a benefit that I provide to all my students? If the answer is "yes," then providing the benefit to a student-athlete would not violate the NCAA rules. If it is "no," the benefit should not be provided because it would constitute a violation of the NCAA rules.

Recruiting

Although many of the student-athletes who participate in intercollegiate competition come to USC without having had any pre-enrollment contact with the Athletic Department, many student-athletes are recruited actively by USC. Faculty can contribute very positively to recruiting student-athletes, just as they can for all prospective students. The excellence of the USC faculty and academic programs is a major reason that many students choose to attend USC rather than other universities. However, NCAA rules govern the participation of all individuals in the recruitment process. These rules were adopted in part to eliminate or lessen the recruiting advantage of schools with greater economic resources. The rules also limit the number and types of recruiting activities in order to minimize interference with the high school student's academic and personal life.

The basic rules governing recruiting are set out below. They apply to "prospects" – students who have started the 9th grade:
• only designated coaches may have in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts with prospects or their parents or legal guardians.
• there are limits on the number of telephone calls that the institution may make to a prospect each week. These limits do not apply to calls that the prospect initiates.
• a prospect may make only one official (paid) visit to an institution.
• individuals who assist/promote/make financial contributions to the intercollegiate athletic program ("boosters") are prohibited from having in-person, on- or off-campus recruiting contacts, or written or telephonic communications, with prospects or their parents or legal guardians.

What do these rules mean for faculty participation in recruiting student-athletes? They mean that it would be a violation of the NCAA rules for faculty to have in-person, off-campus contacts with a prospect. A contact is considered "recruiting" if it is made to solicit the prospect's enrollment at USC and participation in intercollegiate athletics. Thus, if a faculty member is meeting with a group of high school students and parents off-campus in order to give a general speech about the value of a USC education, it is not a violation for a prospective student-athlete to be in attendance. There also are special guidelines for prospective student-athletes who are long-standing family friends. Check with the Faculty Athletic Representative if this situation arises.

Faculty may have unlimited in-person contacts with a prospect on campus. Often someone from the Athletic Department who is arranging a campus visit for a prospective student-athlete will contact the academic department or school that the prospect has listed as a potential major, in order to include a visit to the academic unit on the prospect's schedule.

Faculty may not write or make telephone calls to football prospects. They may write and make calls to prospects in other sports. However, because there are certain periods when no recruiting calls may be made and periods when the number of calls are limited, faculty should check with the coach involved before calling a prospect who is being recruited by the athletic department, to ensure that the faculty member's call complies with all NCAA rules. This precaution applies even to returning a phone call to an individual known to be a prospect.

Faculty Guidelines · NCAA Rules Relevant to Faculty
2006-2007 Roster · Faculty Athletic Representative
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