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Mid-Year Transfer Student Eligibility: Common Scenario & FAQs
Q: A transfer student that is currently at an NAIA school for the fall term and was on the women’s basketball team is looking to transfer to a new NAIA institution for the spring term. The Student-Athlete played in 4 games this fall for the previous NAIA institution. Can the student transfer and compete in the spring…
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Outside Competitive Experience: 2023 Wrestling and Track & Field Bylaw
Bylaw Amendment Effective Date: May 1, 2023 as applied to eligibility decisions for NAIA competition in August 2023 or beyond. In the sports of indoor track and field, outdoor track and field and wrestling, a student-athlete’s participation in a competitive event shall count towards the student’s 20% threshold, regardless of whether the student-athlete officially represents…
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Outside Competitive Experience Review – Update August 2023
OCE Review 2023 Update & Form: The Outside Competitive Experience form is used to determine if any outside competitive experience (OCE) should be charged if the student was not otherwise charged an intercollegiate SOC in the past 12 months. Under the section, “To whom this review does apply,” the first criteria in the section reads,…
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Use of Non-Term Credits – Reliance on Transcript
For the 2021 Convention, the membership passed a bylaw on how to apply inter-term credit earned for eligibility purposes. While this bylaw application is listed under Article V, Section B, Item 10: Definition for Inter-Term, the guidance on how to evaluate inter-term credits covers all non-term credits such as summer courses or online, non-traditional courses.…
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Participation Prior to Enrollment in the Fall
Approved Ruling: When an institution has scheduled an intercollegiate contest prior to the opening of school in the fall, a student shall be allowed to represent the institution although the student is not officially identified at the time of participation. The NAIA Official Eligibility Certificate must be filed with the eligibility chair with the column…
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Prospective Student-Athletes: Tryouts, Camps/Clinics, & Practice During Academic Term
Tryouts Approved Ruling: Tryouts of prospective students, in accordance with NAIA Bylaws, shall not constitute practice per Article I, Section H, Item 6, although institutional team members may be involved. Such activity if conducted outside of the team’s 24-week season will not trigger the 24-week season. Tryouts may occur at any point throughout the calendar…
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Summer Activities with Prospective Student-Athletes
Who is considered a prospective student? Article V, Section B, Item 16: A prospective student is any individual, regardless of age or stated commitment to a school, who has never identified with your institution or whose most recent collegiate identification is with another institution. All incoming freshmen and transfers are considered prospective students until the…
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Summer Participation & Seasons of Competition
Article V, Section B, Item 19 Note 4: Unless specified elsewhere in the NAIA Bylaws (i.e. Article V, Section F, Item 9) no student shall be charged more than one season of competition during any 12-month period. Participation in elite-level competition after May 15 shall be charged within the 12-month period that includes the subsequent…
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Unattached Criteria – As of 2021-2022
Unattached Criteria no longer applicible as of May 1, 2021 The new bylaw amendment that passed in October 2020 removed the blanket exception to the seasons of competition (SOC) ruling, commonly known as the “unattached criteria”. As of May 1, 2021, there will no longer be a way for a student-athlete to get a “free…
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20% Season of Competition Rule
Effective: August 1, 2021 a. Participation in more than 20% of the maximum allowable number of intercollegiate contests or dates (excluding scrimmages) at an NAIA institution, whether in a varsity, junior varsity or freshman program, during the 24-week season. Any participation in NAIA-approved postseason shall result in a season of competition. The NAIA shall count…