Student Athlete Information
Please explore the links to the left if you are a student athlete seeking eligibility for college athletics. It is important to remember that you are a student first and an athlete second. Colleges will not admit students to play any sport unless they are in good academic standing and meet the college entrance requirements. In addition to meeting college entrance requirements, students seeking to play NCAA Division 1 or 2 athletics and/or NAIA Division 1 or 2 athletics must also meet eligibility requirements of those organizations. Details on the eligibility requirements can be found at the links to the left.
Student athletes must accept responsibility for maintaining their academics and working towards meeting requirements. Students should be aware of their own credits and grades. Counselors, parents, and coaches should be consulted regularly throughout the high school years for guidance. However, the ultimate responsibility rests with the student.
Before you approach college coaches concerning their teams and athletic grant-in-aid possibilities, learn about the rules governing the recruitment process. Even as freshmen and sophomores, it is beneficial to understand the process. You must let your guidance counselor and coach know of your interest in college athletics early in your high school career (freshmen year is ideal.) Your counselor will work with you to ensure you are taking the correct classes for eligibility as well as to prepare for college entrance requirements. Your coach can help you prepare your recruitment video and resume.
If you are interested in a specific college, do not wait for them to contact you. The chances of being recruited are marginal for most students; only a small percent of the most accomplished student-athletes are recruited. It is the responsibility of the student-athletes to make their face, name and talents known to various colleges. Please utilize the links to the left to help you with this process.
Food for Thought
- There are more than 4,300 public and private high schools in Pennsylvania
- There are roughly 27,400 high schools in the United States
- There are 7 million participants in high school athletics
- Only 2 % of these are contacted by a college coach
- Only 5 % of these participants actually play a college sport
- Less than 1/2 of 1% of athletes receive some form of aid
- Most high schools never have a full-scholarship Division 1 athlete
There are 1 million high school football players, almost 500,000 boys play high school basketball, and about 400,000 play baseball. Only about 11,000 altogether participate in college football, baseball, and basketball.There are 32 teams in the NFL with 53 players on each team. During the NFL draft each team gets 7 picks. Only 234 college players are drafted each year out of about 15,000 eligible players. Of the 234 drafted, approximately 160 actually make NFL teams.
There are 30 teams in the NBA and each team carries 12 players. In the United States, there are more than 553,000 boys who participate in high school basketball. Only about 11,550 of these high school players go on to play college basketball at the 730 colleges with basketball teams. These colleges range from junior colleges to major universities. More than 90 percent of the NBA players come from large universities that are classified as Division 1 schools. In Division 1 schools, there are 1,320 starting players. The NBA drafts only 60 players each year, and not all of these players actually make an NBA team.
There are 1,200 players on the 30 major league teams. Baseball is somewhat different from other professional sports because of its extensive minor league program. Each year, the major league draft selects players for the 26 teams. A player who is drafted very rarely goes directly to the majors. There are more than 4,000 players on 164 teams in the minor league program, and it usually takes several years at the minor league level to tell if a player has the skills to play in the majors
Only one out of every 12,000 high school athletes will become a pro