NORMAL, Ill. – Potential collegiate student-athletes are encouraged to attend free "Got 16?" NCAA initial-eligibility seminars, as presented by the Illinois State Athletics Compliance Staff.
The seminars will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 6, at Bloomington High School and the following night on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at Glenwood High School in Chatham, Ill. The first session of the week will be hosted in the Bloomington High School cafeteria starting at 5 p.m. and the second session will be held in the Glenwood High School auditorium starting at 6 p.m.
Illinois State Senior Associate Athletics Director for Compliance and Student Services Cindy Harris and her staff are in their 15th year presenting the seminars to Illinois high school students and their families. The seminars have been in high demand in the past, with schools around the state contacting Harris and her staff to conduct the seminars for their student-athletes, coaches, administrators and parents. Harris and staff have already presented seminars this fall at Normal West High School, University High School and Decatur MacArthur High School.
Harris believes the "Got 16?" seminars are critically important for high school-level student-athletes who desire to compete at the NCAA Division I or II level.
"At the seminar, we will detail the many processes and requirements that are mandated by NCAA rules for initial-eligibility," Harris said. "We place an emphasis on the increased academic standards that now apply to student-athletes coming out of high school. Initial-eligibility is tied to the receipt of an athletic scholarship and participating in competition at the Division I and II levels, so it's very important that prospective student-athletes and their parents be aware of this information early in their student's high school career. It is simply never too soon to start to become better versed at all of these requirements; and we are happy to help anyone."
The "Got 16?" seminar is specifically geared toward high school student-athletes, high school and club coaches, parents, athletics directors and guidance counselors; however, it is valuable as well to those as young at 7th and 8th grade. Topics that will be presented include NCAA core courses, test scores (ACT and SAT), registering for the NCAA Eligibility Center, how to calculate your core GPA, official visits, shared strategies and perspectives.
"We'd like to emphasize that the seminars are open to anyone, from any school, in and around the Central Illinois area," Harris said. "We hope everyone who wants or needs this information will come out."
Those wishing to get more information on NCAA eligibility standards can visit the NCAA Eligibility Center's website at www.eligibilitycenter.org or the NCAA's 2.3 or Take a Knee rules education campaign at www.2point3.ncaa.org.
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