• When am I considered professional in my sport, and will I jeopardize my college eligibility if I am considered professional?
• If I have an agent, will I jeopardize my college eligibility?
• Can I tryout for a professional team and still be eligible for college athletics?
• Can I tryout for a college team?
• If I enter a professional draft, will I lose eligibility?
• If I receive any awards for athletics participation, will that jeopardize my eligibility?

Tryouts With Professional Teams
It is permissible for a prospective student-athlete or a currently enrolled student-athlete to try out with a professional team, provided the following conditions are met:

Prior to collegiate enrollment: A student-athlete remains eligible in a sport even though, prior to enrollment in a collegiate institution, the student-athlete may have tried out with a professional athletics team in a sport or received not more than one expense-paid visit from each professional team (or a combine including that team), provided such a visit did not exceed 48 hours and any payment or compensation in connection with the visit was not in excess of actual and necessary expenses. A self-financed tryout may be for any length of time.

Tryout after collegiate enrollment: A student-athlete shall not try out with a professional athletics team in a sport or permit a professional athletics team to conduct medical examinations during any part of the academic year (i.e., from the beginning of the fall term through completion of the spring term, including any intervening vacation period) while enrolled in a collegiate institution as a regular student in at least a minimum full-time academic load, unless the student-athlete has exhausted eligibility in that sport. The student-athlete may try out with a professional organization in a sport during the summer or during the academic year while not a full-time student, provided the student-athlete does not receive any form of expenses or other compensation from the professional organization. Please note that during a tryout, an individual may not take part in any outside competition (games or scrimmages) as a representative of that professional team.

Please contact the certifying institution or conference for additional information. You also may contact the NCAA membership services staff at 317/917-6222 should you have further questions.

Prospective Student-Athlete Tryouts With an Institution's Team
A Division I or III member institution on its campus or elsewhere, is not permitted to conduct (or have conducted on its behalf) any physical activity (e.g., practice session or test/tryout) at which one or more prospects reveal, demonstrate or display their athletics abilities in any sport. A Division II institution member institution may conduct a tryout of a prospect only on its campus or at a site at which it normally conducts practice or competition and only under the following conditions:

No more than one tryout per prospect per institution is permitted;

The tryout may be conducted only for high-school seniors who are enrolled in a term other than the term in which the traditional season in the sport occurs or who have completed high-school eligibility in the sport and written permission has been obtained from the high school's athletics director; for a two-year college student, after the conclusion of the sport season, and for a four-year college student, after the conclusion of the sport season, provided written permission to contact the prospect has been obtained;

A medical examination of a prospect conducted by an institution's regular team physician or other designated physician shall be permitted as a part of the tryout;

The tryout may include tests to evaluate the prospect's strength, speed, agility and sport skills. Except in the sports of football, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer and wrestling, the tryout may include competition. In the sport of football, the prospects shall not wear helmets or pads;

Competition against the member institution's team is permissible, provided such competition occurs during the academic year and is considered a countable athletically related activity;

The time of the tryout activities (other than the physical examination) is limited to the length of the institution's normal practice period in the sport, but in no event can it be longer than two hours; and

The institution may provide equipment and clothing on an issuance-and-retrieval basis to a prospect during the period of the tryout. Please contact the certifying institution or conference for additional information. You also may contact the NCAA membership services staff at 317/917-6222 should you have further questions.

Professional Draft Inquiry
An individual may inquire of a professional sports organization about eligibility for a professional-league player draft or request information about the individual's market value without affecting his or her amateur status.

Draft List. An individual loses amateur status in a particular sport when the individual asks to be placed on the draft list or supplemental draft list of a professional league in that sport, even though:

The individual asks that his or her name be withdrawn from the draft list before the actual draft;

The individual's name remains on the list but he or she is not drafted; or

The individual is drafted but does not sign an agreement with any professional athletics team. Exception -- Professional Basketball Draft. A student-athlete in the sport of basketball may enter a professional league's draft one time during his or her collegiate career without jeopardizing eligibility in that sport, provided the student-athlete is not drafted by any team in that league and the student-athlete declares his or her intention to resume intercollegiate participation within 30 days after the draft. The student-athlete's declaration of intent must be in writing to the institution's director of athletics.

Negotiations. An individual may request information about professional market value without affecting his or her amateur status. Further, the individual, his or her legal guardians or the institution's professional sports counseling panel may enter into negotiations with a professional sports organization without the loss of the individual's amateur status. An individual who retains an agent will lose amateur status.

Please contact the certifying institution or conference for additional information. You also may contact the NCAA membership services staff at 317/917-6222 should you have further questions.

Awards Prior to Enrollment:
If a student-athlete has never enrolled full-time in any college, he/she may receive awards for athletics participation. The award(s) needs to conform to the rules of the amateur sports organization that governs the competition and cannot include cash. The awards presented to the student-athlete may include gift certificates and items that are not personalized, provided the awards are permitted by the rules of the amateur sports organization.

You may wish to consult with your high-school athletics director to determine exactly what type of award(s) you may receive. Please contact the NCAA membership services staff at 317/917-6222 should you have further questions.

[NOTE: This is not a complete list of NCAA regulations regarding amateurism and tryouts. Please call or write the NCAA or visit the NCAA website if you have specific questions.]

NCAA
Membership Services
P.O. Box 6222
Indianapolis, IN 46206-6222
317/917-6222 (phone)
317/917-6622 (fax)
800/638-3731 (NCAA Hotline)
NCAA Online