Considering playing a sport at the college level? Not sure where to start?
The NCAA and NAIA are two organizations that govern college athletic programs. They are voluntary organizations that provide a framework for colleges to determine athletic and scholastic eligibility. Both the NCAA and NAIA have similar goals but their eligibility requirements differ significantly. We encourage students and families to consider both options -- there is bound to be an experience that's right for you!
Students who are planning on participating in Division I or II athletics in college need to register and be certified with the NCAA Eligibility Center. It is recommended to complete the registration process as early as sophomore year. An account must be created to make official visits to Division I and II schools and to sign a National Letter of Intent. Once you create an account, NCAA will guide you through the rest of the process.
**Fee Waivers are available for students on Free/Reduced Lunch. Please reach out to Ms. Console at rconsole@cps.edu.
A high school transcript must be received by NCAA as part of the requirements. Lane will send transcripts at the end of every semester for all students who have registered with the NCAA.
The Eligibility Center also needs to receive your ACT and/or SAT scores sent directly from the testing agency in which you would request. All test scores are required to be sent and NCAA does superscore. It is best for students to list the NCAA Eligibility Center as a score recipient at the time of exam registration to avoid additional fees to send later.
For more information about NCAA eligibility, please contact Ms. Console at rconsole@cps.edu.
Helpful Links:
If you are an athlete who has shown interest in playing at the NCAA level, then you will find the NAIA Clearinghouse to be very similar to the NCAA Clearinghouse. The NAIA requires athletes to submit transcripts and test scores to their eligibility center and maintain similar academic requirements. To be deemed eligible for participation in NAIA sports, an athlete must achieve a minimum score of 860 on the SAT, a minimum of 18 on the ACT, finish in the top half of his graduating class, and maintain a GPA of 2.00.
NAIA Website: http://naia.org/
NAIA Guide for the Student Athlete
If you have any questions about the courses you have taken and whether or not you are eligible to consider athletics at a college level, please be sure to schedule a time to meet with your counselor and coach!
Honest Game is a new service for all CPS students and is sponsored by CPS and IHSA. This program empowers your families to manage their College Athletic Pathway with the help of Honest Game’s software and educational resources across FIVE college athletic pathways. Our comprehensive system blends educational resources with cutting-edge software, and support to manage your school's NCAA Eligibility Center portal.
For those families whose students are in club sports year round, you are often on the receiving end of costly recruitment software and services. Honest Game is quite similar to this and FREE to CPS students. It provides email templates for reaching out to college coaches, and helps families track NCAA eligibility and academic goals for college admission.
Here is how to sign up:
LANE TECH HS and Honest Game have partnered to provide students and families with a comprehensive system to navigate the College Athletic Pathway like experts.
Log in to check if your academic status is Green, Yellow or Red. Your personalized Honest Game report will help you plan and track your academic progress across FIVE college athletic opportunities (NCAA DI, DII, DIII, NAIA, and Junior College). Check out Recruit Assist to kick start your recruiting process!
Watch this 3-minute intro video on how to read your report!
To get started, log in at Honest Game:
Students: Sign in with GOOGLE Single Sign On, Clever, ClassLink, or with your SCHOOL EMAIL as the username → click “Forgot My Password” to set up your Honest Game password.
Parents: Sign in with the email you use for school communications → click “Forgot My Password” to set up your Honest Game password.
You will receive an email that looks like the attached image. If you did not receive an email, please check your spam or junk folder.