Our Core Guarantees

The NCAA has established core guarantees for college athletes to ensure they have the support they need in academics, athletics and life. Effective Aug. 1, 2024, Division I schools (and Division II and III schools that compete in Division I sports) must meet the following requirements:

• Schools will be required to offer degree completion funds for up to 10 years after a college athlete's eligibility ends. 
• Schools cannot reduce, cancel or fail to renew athletics aid for athletics reasons.
• Schools must provide student-athletes academic services and career counseling. They also must provide life skills training and education in at least nine specified areas:
  • Mental health.
  • Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
  • Sexual violence prevention.
  • Transfer requirements.
  • Strength and conditioning.
  • Nutrition.
  • Financial literacy.
  • Career preparation.
  • Name, image and likeness opportunities.
• Schools will need to be compliant with consensus-based guidance on health, safety and performance support around cardiac care, mental health and concussion safety protocols. 

Also effective Aug. 1, the NCAA will provide student-athletes across all three divisions with access to post-eligibility insurance to cover injuries that occur while playing for their university and require treatment beyond the end of their college experience. 

Modernizing Our Rules

• Division I changed its reinstatement policies for sports betting to require one year of ineligibility instead of a permanent ban.
• Division I student-athletes who meet certain academic eligibility requirements will be immediately eligible at their next school, regardless of whether they transferred previously.
• Effective Aug. 1, 2024, Division I schools will be able to identify name, image and likeness opportunities and facilitate deals between student-athletes and third parties for student-athletes who disclose their NIL agreements.
• Each division has removed cannabinoids from the list of NCAA banned substances, following rationale for the change from the December 2022 Summit on Cannabinoids in College Athletics, which produced the consensus opinion that cannabis is not a performance-enhancing drug and that a harm-reduction approach to cannabis use is best implemented at the school level.

Advancing Gender Equity

• The new media rights agreement with ESPN includes a record 40 NCAA championships, including 21 women, and provides a significant increase in value.
• Building off the success of the new ESPN agreement, Division I is seeking feedback on a women’s basketball performance fund, which would go into effect in 2025-26 based on performance in the 2024-25 Division I Women's Basketball Championship.
• The national office has provided additional staff, funding and resources for championship administration, including equity in staffing for Division I men’s and women’s basketball.

Advocating for College Athletes

• To protect college athletes against the risks of sports betting, the NCAA has partnered with industry experts to enact common sense rule updates, provide education, study and understand harassment on social media with an eye toward prevention, and monitor the integrity of competitions.
• Additionally, the NCAA continues to make significant progress in its work with officials across the country to remove college prop bets from betting markets.
• The NCAA is committed to exhausting every available avenue to modernize college sports, but some critically important topics require other changes to effectively be addressed. This includes working with Congress on reimagining the future of college sports and educating legislators on the importance of affirming that student-athletes can receive greater financial benefits from universities without becoming school employees.