ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS
NCAA Eligibility
Like any player with a goal to play NCAA Division I or II basketball, Australian’s must meet specific academic requirements. These requirements include:
Completing a specific number of core courses
Graduating from high school
Being accepted to a DI or DII school
As part of the academic certification process, all prospective student-athletes must submit the following academic information:
Your academic records for years nine and up
Graduation credentials - check the Australian International Guide for state-specific acceptable forms of proof
For information on these specific academic requirements, see the following resources:
Play Division I Sports—refer to the Division I Academic Eligibility section.
Play Division II Sports—refer to the Division II Academic Eligibility section.
Download the Australian International Guide for state-specific academic conversions.
NAIA ELIGIBILITY
If you are considering an NAIA college, you will need to ensure you register with the NAIA Eligibility Centre. Note: If you are considering both NCAA and NAIA you must register for each, as they are separate organisations.
Australian students should register immediately after graduating or at the end of the academic term/year. If you are planning to enrol at the start of the year (August) at an NAIA school, you should have all required academic records submitted to the NAIA Eligibility Center at least two months prior to the start date of the term. Don’t leave it late, as this could impact your scholarship opportunities and delay your determination.
If you have never gone to university, the Freshman NAIA eligibility requires you to meet two of the following:
Achieve a minimum of 18 on the ACT or 970 on the SAT
Achieve a minimum overall high school GPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale
Graduate in the top half of your high school class
If you have attended university in any capacity, there are different requirements you must meet that are outlined on pg. 5 of the NAIA International Guide.
Note: As of January 15, 2021, international students will be required to purchase an InCred evaluation for eligibility decisions.
All prospecting students should read this document to understand costs, eligibility, where to send documents and other intricacies.
NJCAA Eligibility
For players who are concerned they might not meet the academic requirements of the NCAA or NAIA, should consider Junior College (JUCO). Junior colleges simply require that a player be a high school graduate, earning an approved standard academic diploma (HSC/VCE etc). Players can also be eligible if they’ve completed an approved high school equivalency test, like the GED.
Many athletes who aren’t able to meet the NCAA or NAIA eligibility requirements will gain eligibility by competing at a junior college for two years. Or, sometimes, athletes who are unsure of their major, will attend a junior college while they decide what their four-year course of study will be.
Why you should consider Junior College
Already graduated? Grades a little low? Not confident in getting a scholarship for NCAA?
Though much of the attention directed towards collegiate sports is at the NCAA and NAIA levels, it’s important not to forget the largest group of men’s basketball programs in the country—JUCOs with basketball teams. While JUCO can often be overlooked in the athletic recruiting process, men’s basketball players interested in competing at the college level are increasingly turning to junior colleges before moving on to four-year colleges.
One of the main benefits of playing JUCO basketball is getting a sense of what college athletics are like. Some students may want to develop athletically or academically for a year or two before moving on to an NCAA or NAIA school. Likewise, for students who are undecided about their major or general course of study, it makes more sense from a financial standpoint to knock out some prerequisite courses for a fraction of the cost compared to a four-year private or public college.
For student-athletes wondering how competitive JUCO basketball is, the answer is simple: very. According to an NCAA study, 14.8% of all JUCO basketball players transferred to a four-year NCAA Division 1 college program in 2018—compared to 1% of high-school basketball players who went on to play D1 basketball immediately following their senior year. Some elite JUCO basketball programs, especially those at the NJCAA D1 and D2 levels, are scouted by college coaches recruiting for NCAA D1 basketball programs. College basketball coaches often turn to junior colleges to meet their recruiting needs even before reaching out to high-school athletes. Their reason? Recruiting at the junior college level is a safer bet—coaches know they’re recruiting players who can already balance academics and athletics at the college level and are more developed athletically than their high school peers.
One of the biggest misconceptions about junior colleges is that they do not give out athletic scholarships. Fortunately, there are athletic scholarship opportunities available at several men’s NJCAA basketball colleges.
Some players who went through JUCO: Jimmy Butler. Jae Crowder. Carl Landry.
Terminology
Grade Point Average (GPA) is a statistic summary that represents a student’s performance over a stated period of time. Typically, it is calculated by adding all the numbered grades you have received and dividing them by the number of credits you have taken. In high school, it is simply a matter of tallying your grades and dividing that total by the number of classes. GPA is usually given on a scale from 0 (an F) to 4.0 (an A), though sometimes it goes higher than that, accounting for a grade of A+.
Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) is a standardised test widely used for college admissions in the USA. Since it was debuted by the College Board in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times, but is now commonly known as SAT.
American College Testing (ACT) is a standardised test used for college admission in the UAS. The ACT test covers four academic skills areas: English, mathematics, reading and science reasoning. It also offers an optional direct writing test. It is accepted by all four-year colleges and universities in the USA, as well as more than 225 universities outside of the USA.