NAIA Eligibility

As a student-athlete, the primary purpose for attending SUNY Delhi is to obtain a quality education. The Athletic Department staff will assist in achieving academic goals and help with any problems that may be encountered, but ultimately the student-athlete must take direct responsibility for their academic progress. Student-athletes should advise their coach and academic adviser as soon as possible if they have any questions or are having difficulty.

Student-athletes will be required to comply with all the policies, rules and regulations applicable to all members of the SUNY Delhi student body as well as NAIA academic standards. The overall experience of the student-athlete at SUNY Delhi is of great importance to the coaches, staff, and administration of the SUNY Delhi Athletic Department.

SUNY Delhi NAIA Sports:

Men's and Women's Golf
Men's and Women's Tennis (as of Fall 2016)
Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving (as of Fall 2016)
Men's Lacrosse (as of Fall 2016)

NAIA Academic Eligibility Requirements

Student's interested in participating in an NAIA sport at SUNY Delhi MUST register with the NAIA Eligibility Center. The NAIA Eligibility Center will make an early determination of eligibility. The early determination of eligibility shall be the center's only determination. It is the responsibility of SUNY Delhi to verify that an entering freshman has graduated from an accredited high school or has been accepted as a regular student in good standing as defined by SUNY Delhi and has met all other NAIA, conference and institutional requirements prior to representing SUNY Delhi in any manner against outside competition.

For a student to be eligible for any NAIA recognized intercollegiate competition, SUNY Delhi must ensure that the student conforms to the following regulations:

Initial Eligibility

• An entering freshman student must be a graduate of an accredited high school or be accepted as a regular student in good standing as defined by SUNY Delhi.
• An entering freshman student must meet two of the three entry level requirements below. Students not meeting at least two of the three standards shall be denied athletics participation at the member institution for the first full year of attendance.
  1. A minimum score of 18 on the ACT or 860 on the SAT (for tests taken on or after April 1, 1995);
  2. An overall high school grade point average of 2.00 or higher on a 4.00 scale;
  3. Graduate in the upper half of the student's high school graduating class. The class rank must appear on the student's transcript, leaving certificate or other academic document. If the student's class rank does not appear on the above mentioned documents, a letter from the student's principle or headmaster, written on the school's letterhead and with the school's official seal, stating that the student meets the class rank requirement can be accepted.
• The student must be continually enrolled in a minimum of 12 institutional credit hours at the time of competition.
• The student must have accumulated a minimum of nine institutional credit hours prior to identification for the second term of attendance. For example, a freshman who starts college at SUNY Delhi in the fall, but does not play on the golf team during the fall semester must pass nine credit hours in the fall semester to be eligible to play in the spring semester.
• After completion of a second semester of attendance and from then on, a student must have accumulated a minimum of 24 institutional credit hours in the two immediately previous terms of attendance. This applies to initial eligibility only.

Continuing Eligibility / Transfers

• The student must be making normal progress toward a recognized baccalaureate degree and maintain a grade point average of at least 2.00 on a 4.00 scale.
• The student must be continually enrolled in a minimum of 12 institutional credit hours at the time of competition. If at any time the student drops below 12 institutional credit hours, he/she becomes immediately ineligible for competition.
  • Only academic credit hours count toward the 12 credit hour requirement. A maximum of one repeat course per term previously passed with a "D" may be counted toward the 12 credit hour requirement.
• To participate in a second season of a sport, all students must have accumulated at least 24 institutional credit hours.
• To participate in a third season of a sport, all students must have accumulated at least 48 institutional credit hours.
• To participate in a fourth season of a sport, all students must have accumulated at least 72 institutional credit hours.
• Transfer students shall use institutional credit hours as certified by the previous institution(s) to meet this requirement ONLY for the first term of attendance at SUNY Delhi. Thereafter, only institutional credit hours recognized by SUNY Delhi and submitted to the registrar for posting on the transcript will apply.
• A student may participate in four seasons in one sport in 10 semesters of attendance if otherwise eligible. The 10 semesters need not be consecutive. During the ninth or tenth semester, the student may participate in any sport which he/she has not already used four seasons of competition.

Physicals

All student-athletes must have a current physical on file in Health Services and that physical must have been conducted within the calendar year. The physical expires 1 year after it was conducted. If that date falls before or during a student-athletes playing season, the student-athlete will become ineligible on that date.

To avoid issues with a physical expiring mid-season, the ideal time for student-athletes to have their physical is between May 15 and August 15. Physicals may be conducted on campus by Health Services. Student-athletes are responsible for scheduling on-campus physicals and pay a $40 physical fee. Please note that in the first few weeks of the semester, it may be more difficult to get a timely appointment.

To be eligible to participate with a varsity athletic team, student-athletes must meet the following requirements:

• All student-athletes must have a current physical on file with health services. This physical must have been completed within the previous 13 months and must remain current through the entirety of the athletic season.
• All student-athletes must be compliant with all college health requirements which include, but are not limited to a complete vaccination record and completion of the health history form.

The following will be accepted as documentation of a physical by health services. The athletic trainer does not have the authority to determine the validity of a physical.

• Part C of the health history form - completed and signed by the student-athletes physician
• A Copy of the physical with findings and the physicians signature from the student-athletes medical record.
  *Note: Due to HIPPA laws, physicians may require that the student-athlete sign a release of information form if you are requesting that they send (via mail or fax) to SUNY Delhi.
• A Note, on letterhead or prescription pad, stating with all of the following:
  • The student-athletes name and date of birth
  • That the physican conducted a physical examination and the date the physical was conducted
  • That the student-athlete was found to be physically fit to participate in athletics without restrictions
  • The physicians signature and the date