Athletics/Activities
High schools shall be members of the Virginia High School League and shall abide by its rules and regulations. In addition to Virginia High School League eligibility requirements, a student who participates in interscholastic competition, practices, or travel must pass three of four subjects and have a 2.00 grade point average in the semester preceding participation, or maintain a 2.00 or better cumulative grade point average. Interscholastic activities approved by the school board shall be available for participation by high school students. Participation in interscholastic activities such as forensics, dramatics, literary competition, and other Virginia High School League is encouraged.
Transportation to and from Virginia High School League activities may be provided by school bus, provided proper arrangements are made and approved by the principal and the superintendent or the superintendent’s designee.
Eighth graders entering the eighth grade for their first semester are automatically eligible for junior varsity athletic activities only. They must be enrolled in four core courses, i.e., math, language arts, science, social studies and at least one exploratory course. To remain eligible for the second semester the student must pass three of four core courses and have an overall grade point average of 2.00 or better.
All eligible students must also comply with the attendance policy and be in good standing thus meeting the bona fide student rule of the VHSL. Any student who is under penalty of suspension or pending disciplinary action, or is under any criminal charges or pending charges is not considered in good standing. A student charged with a felony criminal offense, will be suspended from athletic or any VHSL activities until final court disposition. Once the final disposition has been rendered on the charge(s), the incident will be reviewed by the principal and athletic director. A student convicted of a felony offense, will be immediately suspended from all athletic participation for a minimum of one calendar year. After the calendar year suspension has been served, the student or his/her parent may petition the principal or athletic director for future consideration in extra-curricular activities. The student must inform his/her principal of any criminal charges against them as soon as practicable, but no later than the student’s next practice/game in any athletic activity. Failure to inform the principal of the criminal charges will result in immediate dismissal from any athletic activity for a minimum of one calendar year. Based on the nature of the criminal offense or disciplinary action, principals have the authority to sanction a member of their school’s athletic teams through loss of playing time, temporary removal from participation in practice(s) and or game(s) for a designated period of time, including complete removal from the team.
You can find additional information pertaining to Virginia High School League rules and regulations at https://www.vhsl.org/parents-and-students/.
NCAA Eligibility
Students planning to participate in intercollegiate athletics at an NCAA Division I or II institution must have their academic and amateurism status certified by the NCAA Eligibility Center. Only core courses that appear on the high school’s List of NCAA Courses on the NCAA Eligibility Center’s website will be used to calculate the student’s core-course grade point average (GPA). The web site is www.eligibilitycenter.org. The SAT score used includes only the critical reading and math sections. The ACT score used is a sum of the four sections on the ACT: English, mathematics, reading and science. All SAT and ACT scores must be reported directly to the NCAA Eligibility Center by the testing agency. Test scores that appear on transcripts will not be used. When registering for the SAT or ACT, use the Eligibility Center code of 9999 to make sure the score is reported.
Students planning to participate in intercollegiate athletics at an NCAA Division I or II institution must have their academic and amateurism status certified by the NCAA Eligibility Center. Only core courses that appear on the high school’s List of NCAA Courses on the NCAA Eligibility Center’s website will be used to calculate the student’s core-course grade point average (GPA). The web site is www.eligibilitycenter.org. The SAT score used includes only the critical reading and math sections. The ACT score used is a sum of the four sections on the ACT: English, mathematics, reading and science. All SAT and ACT scores must be reported directly to the NCAA Eligibility Center by the testing agency. Test scores that appear on transcripts will not be used. When registering for the SAT or ACT, use the Eligibility Center code of 9999 to make sure the score is reported.
Division I Information and Core Academic Requirements
NCAA Division I requires 16 core courses. Ten (10) core courses must be completed before the seventh semester; seven (7) of the 10 must be in English, math or natural/physical science. The courses/grades are “locked in” at the start of the seventh semester (cannot be repeated for GPA improvement to meet initial-eligibility requirements for competition). Students who do not meet core-course progression requirements may still be eligible to receive athletics aid and practice in the initial year of enrollment by meeting academic red-shirt requirements. Please visit the eligibility website above for more information. See Appendix D, for the corresponding test score and core-course GPA sliding scale.
• 4 years English
• 3 years mathematics (at Algebra I level or higher)
• 2 years social science
• 2 years natural or physical science (1 year of lab if offered at any high school attended)
• 1 year additional English, mathematics, or natural/physical science
• 4 years of additional courses (from any area above, foreign language or comparative religion/philosophy)
NCAA Division I requires 16 core courses. Ten (10) core courses must be completed before the seventh semester; seven (7) of the 10 must be in English, math or natural/physical science. The courses/grades are “locked in” at the start of the seventh semester (cannot be repeated for GPA improvement to meet initial-eligibility requirements for competition). Students who do not meet core-course progression requirements may still be eligible to receive athletics aid and practice in the initial year of enrollment by meeting academic red-shirt requirements. Please visit the eligibility website above for more information. See Appendix D, for the corresponding test score and core-course GPA sliding scale.
• 4 years English
• 3 years mathematics (at Algebra I level or higher)
• 2 years social science
• 2 years natural or physical science (1 year of lab if offered at any high school attended)
• 1 year additional English, mathematics, or natural/physical science
• 4 years of additional courses (from any area above, foreign language or comparative religion/philosophy)
Division II Information and Core Academic Requirements
Beginning August 1, 2018, to become a full or partial qualifier for Division II, all college-bound student-athletes must complete the 16 core-course requirement. Division II currently requires a minimum SAT score of 820 or an ACT sum of 68. Beginning August 1, 2018, Division II will use a sliding scale to match test scores and core-course GPA. See Appendix E, for the sliding scale requirements.
• 3 years English
• 2 years mathematics (Algebra I or higher)
• 2 years social science
• 2 years natural/physical science (1 year of lab if offered by high school)
• 3 years additional courses in English, mathematics, or natural or physical science
• 4 years of additional courses (from an area above, foreign language or comparative religion/philosophy).
Beginning August 1, 2018, to become a full or partial qualifier for Division II, all college-bound student-athletes must complete the 16 core-course requirement. Division II currently requires a minimum SAT score of 820 or an ACT sum of 68. Beginning August 1, 2018, Division II will use a sliding scale to match test scores and core-course GPA. See Appendix E, for the sliding scale requirements.
• 3 years English
• 2 years mathematics (Algebra I or higher)
• 2 years social science
• 2 years natural/physical science (1 year of lab if offered by high school)
• 3 years additional courses in English, mathematics, or natural or physical science
• 4 years of additional courses (from an area above, foreign language or comparative religion/philosophy).
The NCAA rules are complex, so students should ask coaches, student activities coordinators, and school guidance counselors for help. It is important to let the counselor know if a student plans to seek an athletic scholarship. More detailed information is available on the NCAA website at http://www.ncaa.org/.
Division III does not use the NCAA Eligibility Center. Contact your Division III College regarding policies on amateurism and eligibility requirements for sports.