Colgate University Athletics

 

While you are a student-athlete at Colgate University, you are expected to abide by all NCAA, Patriot League, ECAC Hockey, and University rules and regulations in order to remain eligible to participate in intercollegiate athletics. The Athletic Compliance Office aims to educate all student-athletes on these rules throughout their enrollment period and remains ready to assist you by answering any questions you may have and helping you navigate any situations related to your participation. The information below is intended to serve as a guide to foundational NCAA regulations, and is not all-encompassing. Please be sure to contact the Athletics Compliance Office with any questions.  

Click HERE to access ARMS Software. 

NCAA & PATL ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION 

NCAA FIVE YEAR CLOCK & SEASONS OF COMPETITION 

NCAA regulations allow student-athletes five calendar years to complete four years of competition in a sport. A student-athlete's five-year clock begins when they initially enroll full-time at any collegiate institution and the years run continuous – regardless of actual enrollment during that time. Clock extension waivers may be approved through the NCAA-waiver process in situations where a student-athlete has missed at least two seasons of competition for reasons outside of their control.  (Examples include: medical hardship or other incapacitating injury or illness; severe illness or injury of an immediate family member; extreme financial hardship due to a specific event; natural disaster; etc.)  Colgate student-athletes must first meet institutional academic expectations and Patriot League regulations in order to compete at Colgate University beyond their initial four years of undergraduate enrollment, and thus may be more likely pursue this type of extension when exploring post-graduate opportunities at transfer institutions.

PATRIOT LEAGUE 8 SEMESTER RULE/NORMAL YEARS OF ELIGIBILITY 
Pursuant to Patriot League policy and regulations, a student-athlete shall complete their seasons of participation within the first four years of enrollment (i.e. 8 full-time semesters). "Athletic Redshirting" – i.e. holding a student out of competition as an underclassman for the express purpose of saving a year of NCAA eligibility for a fifth year of enrollment – is prohibited per Patriot League policy.  Patriot League policies apply to all league and non-league competition. In limited circumstances, an additional term(s) may be granted to a student-athlete, provided they has a qualifying missed season of competition and has sound academic rationale for doing so.  All eligibility extension requests must be approved through Colgate's PATL Policy Committee representative or through the PATL Policy Committee.
 
All potential requests for extensions to the Patriot League eligibility rules should first start with a student-athlete's Head Coach, and then to the Athletics Compliance Office who will assist in facilitating the request.  More information on pursuing such a waiver can be found in the Eligibility Extension Guide for Colgate Athletics.

NCAA PROGRESS-TOWARDS-DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
In addition to maintaining good academic and disciplinary standing with the University, the following minimum academic benchmarks must be achieved each academic term in order maintain continuing eligibility. Although a student-athlete may continue to be eligible to compete while on "Academic Warning," with the University, repeated instances are likely to result in loss of eligibility and/or University sanctioning. 

Per Colgate University requirements, a term GPA below a 2.0 will result in Academic Warming. A second consecutive term GPA below 2.0 -OR- a term GPA of below 1.33 will subject the individual to Academic Suspension. More information on University academic policies can be found in the University Catalog.
 

Academic Requirements	Prior to the Second Year of Enrollment	Prior to the Third Year of Enrollment	Prior to the Fourth Year of Enrollment	Prior to the Fifth Year of Enrollment
Regular Academic Term	1.5 Colgate course units	1.5 Colgate course units	1.5 Colgate course units	1.5 Colgate course units
Regular Academic Year	4.5 Colgate course units	4.5 Colgate course units	4.5 Colgate course units	4.5 Colgate course units
Degree Credit	Credits may apply towards any degree offered at the institution	Credits must apply to a designated degree program	Credits must apply to a designated degree program	Credits must apply to a designated degree program
Annual/Percentage-of-Degree	Complete a total of 6 Colgate course units	Complete a minimum of 40% of degree requirements	Complete a minimum of 60% of degree requirements	Complete a minimum of 80% of degree requirements
Grade-Point Average	Minimum 1.800 cumulative GPA	Minimum 1.900 cumulative GPA	Minimum 2.000 cumulative GPA	Minimum 2.000 cumulative GPA

EXPLORING TRANSFER OPPORTUNITIES 
Per NCAA rules, a student-athlete is not permitted to have direct or indirect (i.e. through a third party) contact with a staff member of another NCAA or NAIA four-year institution without first providing Colgate University with their official written notification of intent to transfer.  Per institutional policies, this official notification must be provided through the Declaration of Intent to Transfer workflow, accessible via ARMS Software.  Subsequent to the receipt of this notification, the Athletics Compliance Office will enter the individual's name into the NCAA Transfer Portal within two (2) business days. Immediate eligibility at the transfer institution is not guaranteed by the submission of this form and/or by entering the NCAA Transfer Portal. In order to potentially qualify for immediate eligibility upon transfer to another four-year NCAA institution, student-athletes must provide their official notification of transfer by the following dates:  (Note: NCAA transfer regulations remain subject to change through NCAA governance procedures.)

• For those seeking post-graduate opportunities (i.e. after they have earned their Colgate degree): Provide notification no later than
  • Fall & Winter Sports: May 1st; or
  • Spring Sports: July 1st (for Spring Sports).
• For those seeking undergraduate opportunities: Provide notification within their sport's designated transfer windows. Designate windows for the 2022-23 year can be found HERE. 

Although not required, it is encouraged that student-athletes looking to potentially explore transfer options speak with their head coach, Sport Administrator, and/or Athletics Compliance Office in order to understand all potential implications of providing notification of transfer.  Pursuant with NCAA regulations, a student-athlete's athletics scholarship may be canceled or reduced at the conclusion of the academic term in which notification of transfer is provided.  After notification of transfer is provided to the institution, the student-athlete's status on their team is no longer guaranteed and will be determined in coordination with the coaching staff and sport administration.  Additionally, access to services and amenities (i.e. academic support, sports medicine, facilities, etc.) provided by the Athletics Department specific to student-athletes may be removed, primarily dependent on their continuing status with the program.


PLAYING & PRACTICE SEASON REGULATIONS 

What is a 'countable athletically-related activity," i.e. CARA?
This includes any REQUIRED activity with an athletics purpose involving student-athletes, at the direction of, or supervised/observed by, one or more of the coaching staff (which may include Strength & Conditioning coaches). CARA hours are subject to daily and weekly limitations, and include activities such as:

• Practice;
• Competition;
• Weight lifting and conditioning sessions;
• Skill instruction;
• Sport-related walkthroughs (e.g. setting up offensive/defensive alignments);
• Review of game film or chalk talks;
• Athletic meetings initiated or required by a coaching staff member; and 
• Visiting the competition site in the sports of Cross Country and Golf. 

What are the limitations on CARA hours?
CARA is limited depending on whether your sport is considered "in-season" or "out-of-season." Most sports are permitted to split their "in-season" time into multiple segments, and thus teams may be considered "in-season" during both their championship and non-championship practices. For example, Softball is in-season for a period of "fall ball" competition, and again in the spring during their championship season. 

• While a team is IN-SEASON, CARA is limited to:
  • A maximum of 4 hours/day;
  • A maximum of 20 hours/week; and 
  • One day off/week must be provided.
• While a team is OUT-OF-SEASON, CARA is limited to:
  • A maximum of 8 hours/week, with activities limited to weight training, conditioning and skill instruction (including film review and team meetings); 
  • No more than 4 of those 8 hours may be devoted to skill instruction;
  • In the sport of Football, skill instruction in not permitted, but up to 2 hours may be spent on film review and walkthroughs; and 
  • Two days off/week must be provided.
  • CARA is PROHIBITED one week ahead of final exams and through the final examination period if your sport is out-of-season. Further, no CARA is permitted during official vacation periods when a sport is out-of-season, except for summer exceptions in the sports of Basketball and Football.