Athlete Eligibility

Requirements (NCCAA Division II 2025-2026 Eligibility Handbook): 

By meeting the following criteria, student-athletes can ensure their eligibility for competition while balancing their academic responsibilities. 

ENTERING TRANSFER STUDENTS:   Students who have completed at least one term (enrolled in at least 12 credit hours) through a post-secondary institution after completion of high school but prior to enrolling at ABU. 

CONTINUING STUDENTS:   All students who have completed at least one term (enrolled in at least 12 credit hours) through ABU. 

POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTION:   This refers to any accredited college and/or university. 

TERM generally refers to a fall or spring semester in which a student is enrolled in at least 12 credit hours. 

NON-TERM generally refers to a winter or a summer term. 

• Minimum GPA requirement 

• Transfer student athletes, entering ABU for their first semester, must have achieved a minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.00, including all post-secondary schools attended. This GPA is calculated based on the credit hours/grade points from all previously attended post-secondary institutions.  

• Continuing student-athletes must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.00 based upon courses taken through ABU. (NOTE: After the completion of a term at ABU, should a student need additional credit hours for eligibility, these hours may be taken during a non-term through ABU or another post-secondary institution. HOWEVER, if the cumulative GPA of a continuing ABU student needs to be improved, only courses taken through ABU will be used in the calculation of a cumulative GPA.) 

• Entering non-transfer student athletes must meet the academic standards set forth in ABU’s admission requirements. 

• Cumulative Credit Hours: Student athletes should ensure they have met the credit hour requirements outlined by the NCCAA, which vary based on the number of terms they have attended as well as previous seasons. This includes both entering transfer athletes as well as continuing athletes. 

• 12-Hour Rule:   A student-athlete must be identified and enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours with at least 9 of those hours at ABU. 

When a student becomes inactive in at least 12 credit hours, the student is no longer eligible to participate in his/her sport during that term.

• 24-Hour Rule:   A student-athlete must have accumulated a minimum of 24 institutional credit hours in the two terms (full-time enrollment) immediately preceding the term for which the student desires eligibility. These hours are always taken at face value even if an entering transfer is involved and the new institution does not accept all the hours. This means that the hours used for the initial 12/24-hour rule for entering transfers do not have to fit onto a particular degree program UNLESS an entering transfer has previous seasons of participation in the sport for which he/she plans to participate. (See Progression Rule.)  Courses taken in a non-term or summer following one of these last two terms can be used to meet the 24-hour rule. Courses taken during the first term at ABU and all subsequent terms / non-terms / summers must be required courses from the chosen degree program. 

• EXCEPTION (12/24 Rule):   New NON-transfer student-athletes must pass at least 9 credit hours prior to beginning the second term at ABU.  This means the student must take additional hours during the second term or subsequent non-terms (or summer) to achieve the required 24 credit hours prior to beginning their second season of eligibility. 

• EXEMPTION:  An exemption from the 12/24-hour rule can only be applied to student-athletes who have never participated in any collegiate-level sports program. However, the student-athlete must have completed at least 12 credit hours, combining the credit hours from the last two terms (or one if there is only one term) attended at the post-secondary institution immediately prior to enrolling at ABU. (Collegiate-level sports participation normally does not include Club Sports.)  

• Quarter System Transfers:  A student-athlete transferring from the quarter system into an institution with a semester system must have accumulated 24 credit hours in the previous two quarters if a third quarter has not been taken. Upon completion of three quarter-term terms, the athlete must have accumulated 36 credit hours. This student-athlete must accumulate 24 institutional credit hours in the previous two terms after the first term at the new institution (ABU). 

• No more than 12 institutional credit hours earned during summer and/or non-terms may be applied to meet the 12/24/36 institutional credit hour requirement. These credits must be earned after one or both of the two immediate terms.  

• Entering Transfer Student-Athletes: For entering transfer student-athletes, courses from a previous institution with grades of “D” or above can be counted toward the credit hours needed to meet the 12/24-Hour Rule as well as the Progression Rule for eligibility. However, for entering transfers, courses with grades of “D” are not transferable.  

• Continuing Students: All institutional (ABU) credit hours used for eligibility (12/24-Hour and Progression Rule) must show on the ABU transcript as earned in the term prior to the semester the student-athlete is seeking eligibility.  These hours must be courses from the degree program chosen by the student. 

• Remedial / Developmental Courses:   Remedial/developmental courses taken through ABU may count toward satisfying the 12/24-hour rule. (They are required for students with lower SAT/ACT scores, and academic credit for the courses is added to the transcript.)  HOWEVER, remedial/developmental course hours cannot count toward the Progression Rule because they do not count toward graduation. For entering transfer students, remedial/developmental courses may be counted toward the 12/24-hour rule IF the previous school issued credit for those courses as evidenced by the cumulative totals on the student athlete’s transcript. However, these courses cannot count toward the Progression Rule. Student athletes who take or have taken remedial/developmental courses may need to take/pass additional hours prior to beginning their next season of eligibility.  

• Progression Rule:  Not only must student athletes complete at least 12 credit hours before their second term and at least 24 credit hours before their third term at ABU, they must complete 24 credit hours prior to beginning their second season of competition (48 credit hours prior to beginning their third season and 72 credit hours prior to their fourth season). NOTE: The progression rule involves institutional credit recognized by the student’s current institution, with an exception for entering transfer students.  Entering transfer students will use institutional credit hours earned at the previous institution(s) to meet the progression rule at ABU; however, credit hours included cannot be developmental courses or courses that do not fit into any previous or current degree programs.  

Maintain Full-Time Status 

• Student athletes must maintain full-time status when enrolled. Graduate students are considered full-time when enrolled in at least 9 credit hours per semester, whereas undergraduate students must maintain enrollment in a minimum of 12 credit hours. NOTE: Once a student receives a grade of “WP” or “WF” on any course during a term, the student’s active credit hours are reduced by the number of credit hours of the course(s).  If the number drops below 12 credit hours (or below 9 credit hours for graduate students), the student is no longer allowed to participate in games or team practices during that term. 

Continuous Monitoring 

• It is the student-athlete’s responsibility to regularly monitor his/her academic progress to maintain eligibility. This includes maintaining the required cumulative GPA and completing the necessary credit hours each semester. 

Point System 

• Each letter grade corresponds to a certain number of grade points (A = 4.0, B = 3.0, C = 2.0, D = 1.0). Student-athletes need to be mindful of their performance in each course, as higher grades will positively impact their cumulative GPA. 

GPA Calculation 

• For entering transfer athletes, the cumulative GPA is calculated by dividing the total grade points earned by the total credit hours attempted (GPA/Quality Hours) across all post-secondary institutions attended. This includes all grades earned (including grades of "F"), whether they are from courses completed successfully or those from which the student withdrew.  

• Continuing student-athletes’ cumulative GPA is calculated from courses taken through ABU only. 

The Office of the Registrar reviews the NCCAA Official Eligibility Certificate created by the Compliance Officer of ABU, confirming that the student-athletes have met the requirements for eligibility. After verification, the Registrar signs off on the eligibility certificate, indicating all academic and compliance checks have been completed. The Compliance Officer or the Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR) submits the eligibility forms to NCCAA.