OT: NCAA eligibility question for our rules experts

[Blakeon18]

If you are a D3 JC player you would normally have 2 years of athletic eligibility
left for you after graduation should you transfer to a D1 or D2 school....correct?

We know that the NCAA regards last season as one that simply does not count against a player due to covid.
Is that true for a JC player at a D3 level? Upon graduating after your second JC year would you have 'just' the usual 2 years of playing open for you...or would it be 3?

 

[Centerstream]

Well, if the player chooses the Golden Domers...

 

[Boreifs]

There is no such thing as D3 JC. D3 is a designation used only for 4-year schools that don’t offer athletic scholarships. I’m not even sure if Community Colleges even belong to the NCAA; I believe they have their own organization.

 

[Boreifs]

There is no such thing as D3 JC. D3 is a designation used only for 4-year schools that don’t offer athletic scholarships. I’m not even sure if Community Colleges even belong to the NCAA; I believe they have their own organization.

Just checked. NJCAA is the community college equivalent. The extra year would not apply since the athlete did not play at an NCAA school.

 

[Blakeon18]

Jordy...appreciate the info.

 

[Blakeon18]

Just wondering then: if a JC player graduates from her school in 2 years...and that has nothing to do with the NCAA...does she then have 4 years of D1 or D2 eligibility....hopefully graduating in 2 years but having the opportunity to play 2 more...perhaps going for a Masters?

 

[CocoHusky]

Just wondering then: if a JC player graduates from her school in 2 years...and that has nothing to do with the NCAA...does she then have 4 years of D1 or D2 eligibility....hopefully graduating in 2 years but having the opportunity to play 2 more...perhaps going for a Masters?

No. A degree from a JC is usually an associate degree & the expectation is it can be completed in 2 years. The NCAA designates JC as 2 year schools and everything else (DI-DIII & NAIA) as 4 year schools. Under the old rules if you were coming from a JC a student must graduate from a 2 year school (JC) to be immediately eligible at a 4 year school. Under the new rules and regardless of the COVID year you get 4 years of eligibility total. Rules: 1) For each year you play subtract 1 from 4 to determine you remaining eligibility regardless if you played at 4 year school or 2 year school. 2) If you played during the 20-21 season subtract 0 from 4 to determine remaining eligibility 3) You can only play two year at two year school. 4) Once you get to 0 you are done regardless of how many times you transferred to or from 2 or 4 year schools.

 

[sun]

Just wondering then: if a JC player graduates from her school in 2 years...and that has nothing to do with the NCAA...does she then have 4 years of D1 or D2 eligibility....hopefully graduating in 2 years but having the opportunity to play 2 more...perhaps going for a Masters?

A JUCO student can have 4 years of NCAA eligibility after transferring, but there's academic requirements that must be met that can take time, possibly up to a year before they can start to play.
I can't say for sure about NJCAA but yes, I think so.
There's often rule changes and again there are academic requirements that must be met.

In short, I think that the answer is yes, but it depends on whether the student needs to catch up academically or not.
The student needs to meet certain academic eligibility standards before they transfer and can play sports.
The NCAA has an eligibility center that determines whether a student is qualified or not.
School Athletic Depts. can file the paperwork.

Junior College Transfer Rules

Junior College Transfer Rules. If you're a student athlete seeking to transfer from a junior college to a four-year institution, the constantly changing NCAA rules can look complicated. Fortunately, the eligibility barriers faced by junior college student

education.seattlepi.com

 

[Boreifs]

Just wondering then: if a JC player graduates from her school in 2 years...and that has nothing to do with the NCAA...does she then have 4 years of D1 or D2 eligibility....hopefully graduating in 2 years but having the opportunity to play 2 more...perhaps going for a Masters?

No. The community college years count toward the four.

 

[sun]

Thank you for the correction and the reference link.

 

[stamfordhusky]

A JUCO student can have 4 years of NCAA eligibility after transferring, but there's academic requirements that must be met that can take time, possibly up to a year before they can start to play.
I can't say for sure about NJCAA but yes, I think so.
There's often rule changes and again there are academic requirements that must be met.

In short, I think that the answer is yes, but it depends on whether the student needs to catch up academically or not.
The student needs to meet certain academic eligibility standards before they transfer and can play sports.
The NCAA has an eligibility center that determines whether a student is qualified or not.
School Athletic Depts. can file the paperwork.

Junior College Transfer Rules

Junior College Transfer Rules. If you're a student athlete seeking to transfer from a junior college to a four-year institution, the constantly changing NCAA rules can look complicated. Fortunately, the eligibility barriers faced by junior college student

education.seattlepi.com

The only way a Juco graduate could still have four years of eligibility is if she did not play at all while going to the Juco - or qualified for an injury “redshirt”. Then she theoretically could play for 4 years at a D1 school, although she would need a waiver from the NCAA for the last year.

 

[stamfordhusky]

Under the old rules if you were coming from a JC a student must graduate from a 2 year school (JC) to be immediately eligible at a 4 year school. There are a number of players who have left the GC after one year, or even less, and then immediately played it a four-year school.

Often true, but not always. If a player who is academically qualified chooses to go to a Juco, that player is allowed to transfer at anytime to a four-year school without have a graduated from the Juco. There are a number of players who have left their JC after one year, or even less, and then immediately played at a four-year school.

For those asking why an academically qualified player would choose to go the JC route, it is usually because they have had no scholarship offers and are trying to boost their stock at a JC. Plus if you don’t have a scholarship, the cost of the JC may be much less.

 

[Plebe]

There is no such thing as D3 JC. D3 is a designation used only for 4-year schools that don’t offer athletic scholarships. I’m not even sure if Community Colleges even belong to the NCAA; I believe they have their own organization.

The first sentence is not accurate. The NJCAA (junior college equivalent of the NCAA) includes three divisions, just as NCAA does. See, e.g., the current NJCAA WBB rankings:

NJCAA Women's Basketball Rankings

NJCAA Women's Basketball Rankings

www.njcaa.org

 

[SARG 2011]

Have there been any JUCO players at UCONN besides Rita Williams

 

[amb3096]

Have there been any JUCO players at UCONN besides Rita Williams

Rashidat Sadiq - 2004/2005. Played one season before transferring.

 

[Boreifs]

The first sentence is not accurate. The NJCAA (junior college equivalent of the NCAA) includes three divisions, just as NCAA does. See, e.g., the current NJCAA WBB rankings:

NJCAA Women's Basketball Rankings

NJCAA Women's Basketball Rankings

www.njcaa.org

Thanks for the correction.

 

[Boreifs]

Often true, but not always. If a player who is academically qualified chooses to go to a Juco, that player is allowed to transfer at anytime to a four-year school without have a graduated from the Juco. There are a number of players who have left their JC after one year, or even less, and then immediately played at a four-year school.

For those asking why an academically qualified player would choose to go the JC route, it is usually because they have had no scholarship offers and are trying to boost their stock at a JC. Plus if you don’t have a scholarship, the cost of the JC may be much less.

In baseball, players often go the Comminity College route to become eligible for the draft earlier. Several players at my school did that.

 

[CocoHusky]

Often true, but not always. If a player who is academically qualified chooses to go to a Juco, that player is allowed to transfer at anytime to a four-year school without have a graduated from the Juco. There are a number of players who have left their JC after one year, or even less, and then immediately played at a four-year school.

For those asking why an academically qualified player would choose to go the JC route, it is usually because they have had no scholarship offers and are trying to boost their stock at a JC. Plus if you don’t have a scholarship, the cost of the JC may be much less.

This is not my understanding. Certainly players can transfer at anytime from a 2 year college to a 4 year college.

If you graduate from a JC with AA you are generally considered qualified and immediately eligible to play upon transfer to DI institution. Qualified students who have not graduated from a JC have these additional requirements/restrictions for immediate eligibility to compete in your first year at a DI institution.

• Attend the two-year college full-time for at least one semester or quarter
• Achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of at least 2.000; and
• Complete an average of at least 12 transferable credit hours per full-time term at the two-year college.
• Cannot transfer during the middle of the year from a two-year college and play that same year.

A non-qualifier is a student athlete who is attempting to transfer before completing their general education/associates degree. In Division I, if you are transferring from a two-year college and have never been certified as a final academic qualifier, the requirements to compete, practice, and receive an athletic scholarship in your first year are:

• Attend the two-year college full-time for at least three semesters or four quarters;
• Achieve a cumulative GPA of at least 2.000;
• Graduate from the two-year college; and
• Have at least 48 transferable credit hours at a semester school or 72 transferable credit hours at a quarter school, including six semester hours or eight quarter hours of English and three semester hours or four quarter hours of math.

Junior College Transfer. Community College Transfer. 2-4 Transfer.

If you are attempting to transfer from a junior college or community college to a four year school this guide explains everything you need to do in order to

www.athleticscholarships.net

 

[Blakeon18]

Well...I am a little [very little] sorry I asked. All the info provided has only tended to confuse me....no surprise there.
BTW: this has nothing to do with UConn specifically...just an issue with a local player where I live.

BTW: Somewhere above there is a mention of the situation surrounding Rita Williams back in the day.
She was NCAA qualified coming out of high school. Geno had concerns about her academics and recommended she attend a JC...she did..Mitchell JC in Ct. She went there for one year....only one. She performed satisfactorily and joined UConn in her soph year. She was in the same high school class as Nykesha Sales. I think she did not play much her first year but upped her game considerably and was a key starter later in her career....played 3 years in Storrs.

 

[CocoHusky]

Well...I am a little [very little] sorry I asked. All the info provided has only tended to confuse me....no surprise there.
BTW: this has nothing to do with UConn specifically...just an issue with a local player where I live.

BTW: Somewhere above there is a mention of the situation surrounding Rita Williams back in the day.
She was NCAA qualified coming out of high school. Geno had concerns about her academics and recommended she attend a JC...she did.. Mitchell JC in Ct. She went there for one year....only one. She performed satisfactorily and joined UConn in her soph year. She was in the same high school class as Nykesha Sales. I think she did not play much her first year but upped her game considerably and was a key starter later in her career....played 3 years in Storrs.

Blake, unfortunately the NCAA rules and individual circumstances are as complex as the many answers you are be receiving here here. There is no uniform standard for NCAA "initial eligibility". That standard varies by Division I-II and III & JC. For example a 2.0 HS GPA makes you "initially" eligible to practice (not play) for Division I-II but "might" make you immediately eligible for JC. I would advise this player to contact the compliance staff at their current school & admissions department at the school they are interested in and they can quickly determine if the student first even qualifies for admission.