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Eligibility Requirements

General Rules

One of the core eligibility requirements for each NAIA student-athlete is that after the completion of the second semester or third quarter term of attendance and for the remainder of the student’s eligibility, a student must earn a minimum of 24 credits in the two immediate previous semesters or 36 credits in the three immediate previous quarters.  

Known as the 24/36-Hour Rule, this progress rule requires that students pass a certain number of institutional credit hours prior to each season of competition. The numbers can be seen here: 

·         Second Season: 24 semester/36 quarter institutional credit hours to participate

·         Third Season: 48 semester/48 quarter institutional credit hours to participate

·         Fourth Season: 72 semester/108 quarter institutional credit hours (48/72 of which must be in general education and/or in the student’s major field of study)  to participate

As shown above, the progress rule dictates that students must accumulate 24 institutional semester credit hours or 36 institutional quarter credit hours in order to be eligible for the second season of competition. 

There is one exception to this specific bylaw which states that  “A freshman who initially becomes identified after the first term in the fall shall meet this requirement by having passed 12 semester or 20 quarter institutional credit hours. This exception shall apply to the second season of competition regulation only.” 

This exception is most commonly used for students who use their first season of competition in their first term of attendance when that term is in the second or third quarter of the academic year or the second semester of the academic year. Understandably, a student would not be able to gain 24 institutional credit hours in just one spring semester, which is the reason behind this exception. The exception is most often used in the subsequent fall term when certifying the student for their second season of competition.

There are three exceptions to the 24/36-Hour Rule: 

1.      A junior college transfer who recently graduated with an associate’s degree and is within the first five semesters/ seven quarters will be exempt from the 24/36-Hour Rule if the student passed all hours for graduation in the term in which they graduated and less than 24/36 hours were required for graduation during the last two semesters/ three quarters. 

2.      If the student is within their first four semesters/ six quarters and has never competed in any sport at the intercollegiate level, the student may be exempt if they have met the freshman eligibility requirements and have an overall GPA of at least a 2.00. 

3.   Per NAIA Bylaws Article V, Section B, Item 8, Note 3, if a student participates in an intercollegiate contest in the fall before school starts he or she will be charged a season of competition and a term of attendance for identifying with an institution.  However, if the student withdraws from the school before school starts (and the transcript does not show 12 institutional credit hours for this term) the student will receive an exception of counting this term toward the 24/36-Hour Rule. 

PlayNAIA Eligibility Center
All first-time athletic participants at the NAIA level must register and receive an ELIGIBLE determination with the PlayNAIA Eligibility Center prior to participating in order to determine initial eligibility. For more information contact the head coach or an appropriate athletics staff member about NAIA Eligibility.

A. GPA Eligibility Rules
1) A student-athlete that is a junior or above (academically and athletically) MUST maintain a 2.0 or higher GPA to be eligible to compete.
2) A student-athlete that is of Freshman/Sophomore status MUST maintain a 1.90 GPA or higher to be eligible to compete.

B. Receiving an eligible status and time frame to get deemed eligible by the NAIA Eligibility Center
1) Ineligible status - once a student starts a semester, they have the semester they started in to get through the NAIA Eligibility Center and receive a determination. If they do not receive a determination their aid will be removed the following semester and they are not eligible to get it back until the beginning of the next semester after they receive an eligibility decision.

Once a student receives an eligible decision, they will need to remain eligible to keep their athletic aid. If they become ineligible, they have 1 semester to get eligibility reinstated.  If they do not become eligible, they will lose their athletic aid.  Aid will not be qualified for reinstatement until the next semester that they are eligible.

2) No student can go more than 2 semesters in a row without being eligible and keep their athletic aid.

You Must Also:

  • Be within your first 10 semesters, 12 trimesters, or 15 quarters of attendance as a regularly enrolled student. A term of attendance is any semester, trimester, or quarter in which you enroll for twelve or more institutional credit hours and attend any class or participate in an intercollegiate contest
  • Have a cumulative grade point average of 2.000 on a 4.000 scale upon reaching junior academic standing. You must also maintain above a 2.000 grade point average throughout your junior and senior seasons in order to stay eligible
  • Be an amateur, as defined by the NAIA, in the sport(s) in which you participate

Transfer Students
Rules and regulations regarding eligibility for transfer students are very detailed. Any prospective transfer student should communicate with an appropriate member of the admissions and athletics staff to properly determine eligibility.