Alex SwensonRecruiting Advisor| This is a digital version of Alex

A lot of families think a “good GPA” means their athlete is automatically NCAA eligible.

24 Apr 2026 · 1 min

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1:19

In this video, a former Division I coach warns parents and student‑athletes that a "good GPA" alone does not guarantee NCAA eligibility. He explains the NCAA "10‑7 rule": by the end of a student’s junior year they must have completed ten NCAA‑approved core classes, with at least seven in math, English, or science. He then outlines the minimum core‑class GPA needed for each division—2.3 for Division I, 2.2 for Division II, and a school‑specific standard for Division III. The coach emphasizes that meeting these course and GPA thresholds is essential for recruiting and invites viewers to follow him for further recruiting guidance.

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Parents, athletes, don't miss this NCAA eligibility rule to play at the next level. As a former D1 coach, we would sometimes see horror stories of recruiting great athletes and great families that we wanted to bring into our program, but we couldn't bring them in because they didn't take the right courses or their GPA wasn't to the standards that we needed them to be in those core classes. So I wanted to share this example with you of the 10-7 rule. I had a lot of questions of examples, so I wanted to put this, uh, together for for you guys. So what is the 10-7 rule? So in order to play at the Division I level in particular, you need to take 10 core NCAA-approved classes by the end of your junior year. So freshman, sophomore, and junior year, you need to have all those done, 10 core classes, and 7 of them need to be in either math, English, or science, which this is an example of that. And then from a GPA standpoint, to play at the Division I level, you need to have a 2.3 or above in those core classes. To play at the Division II level, it's a 2.2 GPA. Division III, it's on a school-by-school basis. So make sure that you are taking the right classes and that your GPA is well above that 2.3 or 2.2. If you want more clarity and direction going through this recruiting process so it doesn't feel like you're going blind at it, give me a follow. Good luck.