NCAA Eligibility Question

There are three issues here:

1) Amateurism

2) Term of eligibility for college athletes-- your a) and c)

3) Transfers

1)  If he plays on a "professional team",  he is no longer eligible for college ball.  12.02 in the Division manuals defines professional, and one criterion is if the team calls itself "professional".  Also, if any player on the team(s) he plays for is paid in excess of actual expenses, your son will become ineligible. (12.2.3.2).  So make sure that no teammates will be paid and that the team doesn't bill itself as professional.

 2) D3 and D2 rules do not limit the number of "years" that a player is eligible.  Instead the player is eligible for up to 4 seasons, limited to 10 semesters of full time enrollment.  D1 allows 4 seasons but has a 5 year clock from the date of first enrollment in college.  See section 14.2.  Note that in D3, a player uses a season by "participating" in a sport, while in D2 and D1, only seasons in which the player competes are counted.  See 14.2.4.1 in the D3 manual.  So if he doesn't play or participate in college baseball next year, he will still have 2 seasons of eligibility remaining.

3) In D3 and D2, as long as his academics are in good shape, he will be eligible immediately after transferring.  If he transfers to a D1, he would have to sit out a year unless he wasn't recruited to his present school.  If he were to sit out a year, he would only have one season before the D1 5 year clock expired.

Division Manuals

Thank You very much. I will be sure to have him ask detailed questions before proceeding. I knew that you would have the answers, and be able to synthesize it down to something that is more understandable.

a) After a cursory look at the websites for the club & league where he may be traveling, it does appear to be an Amateur league, where the Club is only covering some team expenses (much like our larger sports clubs do here in the US). My son has a small import/distribution business, and one of the vendors for his small business is a supporter/member of the club. My son has other vendors in the area as well. The thinking is for him to go to work with/for them for the year, so he can better learn the businesses, and build stronger bonds ... the baseball opportunity is a bonus, as long as it does not hurt him when he returns home.

Your 2) ... So, if I understand correctly, even though his school has some Fall practices, as a D3 player, only the actual Spring Season counts against his eligibility? So, if he were to be a full-time student through the fall, and practice with the team; but were to head overseas at the end of the semester; if he is not "participating" in the Spring, he does not lose that Season of eligibility?  Also, if plans were to change, and he wound up staying in school as a full-time student, but did not participate in the Spring season, he would not lose a Season of eligibility? Or, if he were to remain as a part-time student (taking 1 or 2 online classes while overseas), he would not lose that Season of eligibility?

Transfers ... He is considering a potential transfer in search of a more precisely fitting academic program (entrepreneurship). As a D3 athlete, he was not "recruited" in the form of signing any commitment letters or receiving any scholarships/grants. The extend of the recruiting was that the previous Coach (who resigned before son arrived on campus) used to "recruit" 60+ kids a year by reaching out with an inquiry letter, player survey, and invitation to visit the school (non-subsidized). When the kids arrived on campus in the fall, they understood there would be 60-80 other players competing to earn a spot on the 35-40 man roster -- no guarantees or legal consideration given. When the new Coach came on board, he held a 2-3 day try-out with the mass of kids he inherited, before cutting the team down to size. My son was able to compete and earn a spot on the roster. That was the extent of the "recruitment".

There were a couple of D1 & D2 schools he was considering for their entrepreneurship programs, before choosing the school closer to home (and his home-based business). So, if he were to take this travel opportunity, and not compete for his current school next year, he will have used 2 Seasons of eligibility, and 3 years of clock time. If he were to transfer to another D3, he still has 2 more Seasons of eligibility, irrespective of the calendar. If he were to transfer to one of those D1 or D2 schools, and be able to earn a spot on the roster; his academic year away would count as his sitting out year; and he would have 2 more calendar years in which he could play 2 more Seasons. Am I getting this right?

I will dig through the manuals further, but I really appreciate how you can bring the legalese down to human form.  Thank You!

In D3, a player uses a season of participation if he competes against other collegiate teams in the fall, or if he practices/competes in the spring.  He does not use a season of participation if he only practices in the fall. It doesn't matter if he is attending classes or not.

If he a) didn't take an official visit to the D3 college, b) didn't have an off-campus, in person contact with the coach,  c) the coach didn't make more than one telephone call to the player/parents, and d) didn't receive athletic money, then he wasn't recruited (13.02.13.1 in the D1 Manual).  Sounds like your son wasn't recruited.

Your second to last paragraph isn't quite correct regarding D2 or D1.  If he transfers to a D2 school, he will have two more seasons of eligibility, just like he would if he transferred to a D3.  If he transfers to a D1, he doesn't have to sit out a year because he wasn't recruited to his original college.(14.5.5.2.10.2 ) He still has two season of competition left at the D1, but if for some reason (injury, etc) he couldn't play in one of the next two calendar years, his 5 year clock would expire before he could use both seasons.  ( As an aside, if he had been recruited to his original college, the year spent away from school would not count as the sit out year.  The actual requirement is to spend an academic year in residence after enrolling at the new school.)   

Thank You for the clarity. This will help a great deal. MY son has some great options in front of him, and this is one a many variables in the equation ... but a most confusing one. I really appreciate your time and insights.