Monday, October 19, 2009

Why should I sign up for the NCAA Clearinghouse?

By Coach Chris Berg

The best time to sign up for the NCAA Clearinghouse is at the end of your academic Junior year. The Clearinghouse is imperative if you are going to compete at the D I or D II level.

Many people ask me, "What exactly is the NCAA Clearinghouse?" I simply direct them to the definition on the NCAA website:

NCAA Clearinghouse is for students planning to compete at the either the Division I or Division II level during their freshman year. If you are going to compete as a freshman, then you must be registered with the NCAA Clearinghouse during your senior year in high school. The registration simply certifies that you, the student-athlete, are academically eligible to compete under NCAA regulations and guidelines so you can receive athletic based financial aid.

Essentially, as you can read from the information above, the Clearinghouse is a simple way for NCAA D1 and D2 coaches to KNOW that you are academically eligible to play for them next season. It is a way for the NCAA to put a universal stamp approval on you so college coaches can easily and quickly know if you are academically eligible to play at their University.

To sign up for the NCAA Clearinghouse go to: www.ncaaclearinghouse.net

REAL CLEARINGHOUSE STORY

A high school coach told me about one of his players that had a full-ride scholarship to a school in Northern California to play basketball. The college is a good academic school, and the student-athlete was coming from a prestigious high school. The college coach assumed the athlete was cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse. Well, when the athlete got up to college, and the coach found out the student-athlete had not registered for the Clearinghouse, the student almost lost his scholarship...even though he was an academic qualifier.

If you want to play your freshman year, it is critical that you are registered with the Clearinghouse. There is typically a fee involved, and there are ways you can get it subsidized.

As you can see, it is very important to get yourself registered with the NCAA Clearinghouse at the end of your Junior year. Study hard and keep your grades up...that is the KEY!

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