Eligibility checklist

• Each term student-athletes must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 credits (general education and major) to be eligible to practice or compete.
• You may only count minor credits if you are REQUIRED to complete a minor as part of your degree plan.
• You must file a degree plan with the Registrar by the beginning of your seventh term to be cleared for competition in your sport.
• All course work from your seventh term and beyond must be part of the degree plan you currently have on file.
• If you plan to do any of the following, you must meet with compliance officer for approval:
  • Drop a course during the term
  • Drop below 12 hours during any regular term
  • Change your major or minor or drop a minor
  • Take a course at another institution (on site or online)

Student-athletes determine their own eligibility via their academic performance. Questions concerning academic eligibility should be directed to Athletic Compliance.

[NOTE: To receive your degree in four years you need to successfully complete an average of 15-credits per academic-year term or 12-credits in all terms including summer.]

Academic class (term of full-time enrollment) and NCAA continuing eligibility requirements:

Sophomore (entering fourth quarter)

• Must have earned at least 36 credits during previous year with at least 27 hours earned during the regular academic year
• Must pass eight credits per term toward degree
• Cumulative GPA requirement of 2.0
• Maximum of six hours of remedial courses may be used in the first year (terms 1-3 and summer)

Junior (entering seventh quarter)

• Must have earned at least 36 credits during previous year with at least 27 credits earned during the regular academic year
• Must have declared a major and filed a degree plan by the beginning of the seventh quarter
• Must pass eight credits per term toward degree
• Cumulative GPA requirement of 2.0

Senior (entering 10th quarter) / Fifth-Year Senior (entering 13th quarter)

• Must have earned at least 36 credits during previous year with at least 27 credits earned during the regular academic year APPLICABLE to degree plan
• Must pass eight credits per term toward degree
• Cumulative GPA requirement of 2.0

NOTE: These are not necessarily the same as the requirements to receive a degree in a particular major or minor, these should be considered minimums and student-athletes (you) should check directly with departments of intended/declared majors for additional requirements to receive your degree.

You are not eligible for participation in a sport if, after initial full-time collegiate enrollment, you have ever:

• Taken pay, or the promise of pay, for competing in that sport;
• Agreed (verbally or in writing) to compete in professional athletics in that sport;
• Played on any professional athletics team as defined by the NCAA in that sport;
• Used your athletic skill for pay in any form in that sport (12.1.4).

You are not eligible in a sport if you ever have accepted money, transportation or other benefits from an agent, or agreed to have an agent market your athletic ability or reputation in that sport (12.3).

You are not eligible in any sport if, after you become a student-athlete, you accept any pay for promoting a commercial product or service or allowed your name or picture to be used for promoting a commercial product or service (12.5.2).

You are not eligible in any sport if, because of your athletic ability, you were paid for work you did not perform, were paid at a rate higher than the going rate, or were paid for the value an employer placed on your reputation (12.4).

Recruits and Host Guidelines

As a student-athlete, you may be asked to host Prospective Student-Athletes (PSA) on their official visits to campus. Please follow these NCAA and university rules while serving as a student host:

• You may be given hosting money in order to entertain a PSA during his or her visit. The money can be used for entertainment purposes except:
  • Souvenirs (t-shirts, stickers, other institutional mementos)
  • Any activity that violates the WOU Student Code of Responsibility (alcohol, drugs, etc.)

Student hosts must follow these additional rules/guidelines:

• You must save and turn in to your coach all receipts used to entertain the PSA.
• If attending an athletic event, you must enter through the pass gate where the PSA must sign in.
• You must stay within a 30-mile radius of campus while hosting the PSA.
• You may not take the PSA to a party, night club, etc.
• As a student host you may receive meals with the PSA (and family) as part of your duties.
• You may provide the PSA with transportation during the official visit.

If you are not sure what you’re allowed to do as a student host, ask your coach or compliance officer.

The NCAA defines an extra benefit as “any special arrangement by an institutional employee or a representative of the institution’s athletics interests to provide a student-athlete or the student-athlete’s relative or friend a benefit not expressly authorized by NCAA legislation.” Therefore, please be aware of the following:

• You cannot accept anything from an employee of the university or an athletics booster (e.g., use of a car, haircut, clothing, gifts, money, tickets for any kind of entertainment).
• You cannot accept free or reduced-cost room or board from any university employee or athletics booster. This includes room or board in your home city or any other location. This precludes you from “house-sitting” without paying rental costs at a comparable rate for similar housing in that locale.
• You may not accept free or reduced-cost storage for personal belongings for the summer months from any university employee or athletics booster.
• You may not accept free or reduced-cost merchandise or services from any merchant unless that free or reduced cost item is available to the general public.
• You may not eat at a restaurant as the guest of a university employee or athletics booster. On infrequent, special occasions (e.g., a birthday, Thanksgiving, etc.), you may accept an invitation to the home of a university employee or an athletics booster for a meal.
• You may not use athletics copy machine. You may not make long-distance phone calls using departmental equipment or use the long-distance access code of any university employee.
• Members of the athletic department are not permitted to type reports, papers, letters or any other written material for you.
• You may not receive a special discount, payment arrangement, or credit on a purchase (e.g., airline ticket, clothing) or service (e.g., laundry, dry cleaning) from a university employee or an athletics booster.
• You may not accept a money loan, bond guarantee or signing or cosigning of a note to facilitate a loan from a university employee or athletics booster.
• University employees are not permitted to use a university vehicle to help you move from one residence to another.
• Charitable organizations often request assistance from student-athletes in fundraising activities. You must obtain permission from the compliance officer to participate in these activities. Any questions about what is permissible should be directed to your coach or to the compliance officer in advance of the activity so that the proper paperwork may be completed to ensure that you do not jeopardize your eligibility.
• You may not miss class to participate in promotional/charitable activities.

Student-athletes may not participate in CARA for more than:

• In season: 4 hours per day; 20 hours per week
• Out of season (during the academic year): 8 hours per week
• The daily and weekly hour limitations DO NOT apply to the following:
  • Preseason practice prior to the first day of classes or the first scheduled contest, whichever is earlier;
  • Official vacation periods on the institution’s academic calendar (e.g., Thanksgiving, spring break); or
  • Between terms during the academic year when classes are not in session.
  • NOTE: During the academic year, you are required to be given an “off day.” No practice, conditioning, meetings etc. Your off day may be a travel day. You get one “off day” during your season, and two “off days” in your non-competitive terms. 

 In season (20 hours per week/4 hours per day)

• In-season time is the period between the team’s first officially recognized practice session and the last practice session or competition, whichever occurs later.
  • Sports other than football and basketball may have their seasons separated into two distinct segments: championship and non-championship.
• Multi-sport athletes are bound by the daily and weekly limitations.

 Out of season (eight hours per week)

• Out of season time includes the remainder of the academic year not included in the in-season period.
• Sports other than football: Outside the playing season, from the university’s first day of classes until one week prior to the beginning of the final exam period, only a student-athlete’s participation in required weight-training, conditioning and individual skill instruction is permitted.
  • This participation is limited to eight hours per week with not more than four hours per week spent on individual skill workouts or team activities.
  • All athletics-related activities outside the playing season are prohibited one week prior to the beginning of the final examination period through the conclusion of each student-athlete’s final exams.

Time spent outside of practice limitations specified above must be voluntary activity.

To be considered voluntary, the following conditions must be met:

• The student-athlete must not be required to report back to a coach or other athletics staff member;
• The activity must be initiated and requested solely by a student-athlete;
• The student-athlete’s attendance and participation in the activity (or lack thereof) may not be recorded for the purpose of reporting to coaching staff members or other student-athletes; and
• The student-athlete may not be subjected to penalty if he or she elects not to participate in the activity.

• A student-athlete who participates during the academic year as a member of any outside team in any non-collegiate, amateur competition immediately becomes ineligible for intercollegiate competition; however, a student-athlete may practice with an outside team.
• During the summer, current student-athletes and recruited prospective student-athletes cannot participate jointly in recreational activities at the direction of, organized by, or observed by a coaching staff member.
• During the summer, as a general rule, a member of the athletic department (e.g., coach, official, player, etc.) may not be involved in any way with any outside team that a student-athlete participates on.
• You may not receive any pay for athletic participation. “Pay” includes any type of salary or compensation (including cash prizes). You may receive actual and necessary travel, room/board expenses, and apparel and equipment for practice and competition. These expenses may only be received from someone upon whom you are naturally or legally dependent, a non-university team, and amateur organization, or a local sports club.
• Student-athletes in individual sports are allowed to accept prize money based on place finish or performance in an open event if the event is outside the declared playing and practice season or during the summer vacation period and the benefits do not exceed actual and necessary expenses and are only provided by the event sponsor. To avoid jeopardizing your eligibility, any questions about permissible prizes should be directed to your coach in advance of the competition.
• Basketball student-athletes may compete on only one team in one approved summer league between June 15 and the start of classes.
  • You must play only in a league approved by the NCAA. Be sure to ask your coach about this before you participate in a summer league.
  • You must have written permission from Athletics.
  • You cannot play in any type of “all-star” game.
  • No more than two players with eligibility remaining from any single two- or four-year college may play on the same league team.
  • The league must be within 100 air miles of the city limits of your official residence at the end of the previous academic year or the university’s campus. If no leagues exist within these limits, you can only play in the league nearest to your official residence.
  • You may not receive any type of payment or expenses for participation.

If you wish to transfer to another institution, you should first approach your head coach and ask for permission to speak to other institutions. Your coach will tell you if he or she intends to support your release and will notify the compliance officer. Upon approval, you should visit the compliance officer to discuss the remaining steps to be granted permission to be placed on the NCAA transfer portal.

Should you be denied permission to speak to another institution or a transfer release, you will be issued a letter stating that you will be provided an appeal hearing upon your request. The appeal hearing is conducted by a university committee outside of Athletics.