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Amateurism
Amateur competition is a bedrock principle of college athletics and the NCAA. Maintaining amateurism is crucial to preserving an academic environment in which acquiring a quality education is the first priority. In the collegiate model of sports, the young men and women competing on the field or court are students first, athletes second.
The NCAA membership has adopted amateurism rules to ensure the students’ priority remains on obtaining a quality educational experience and that all of student-athletes are competing equitably.
All incoming student-athletes must be certified as amateurs. With global recruiting becoming more common, determining the amateur status of prospective student-athletes can be challenging. All student-athletes, including international students, are required to adhere to NCAA amateurism requirements to remain eligible for intercollegiate competition.
In general, amateurism requirements do not allow:
- Contracts with professional teams
- Salary for participating in athletics
- Prize money above actual and necessary expenses
- Play with professionals
- Tryouts, practice or competition with a professional team
- Benefits from an agent or prospective agent
- Agreement to be represented by an agent
- Delayed initial full-time collegiate enrollment to participate in organized sports competition
Additional information regarding NCAA amateurism rules is available on the
NCAA Eligibility Center’s website by clicking on the “Resources” link at the top of the page. Another resource is the
Guide for the College Bound Student-Athlete.
