MR. ALFRED BOLL: Good morning and good evening to our viewers from around the world. My name is Alfred Boll, and I represent EducationUSA,
and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC.
Today’s Facebook Live event is in honor of the 2018 Paralympic Winter games, which are now underway in South Korea.
We want to congratulate all athletes taking part in the Paralympics, an international multi-sport event
for athletes with disabilities. Our show is aimed at international students who are interested in playing for college sports
teams in the U.S. We will be discussing student athlete recruitment. And we’ll have NCAA representatives Mike DeCesar
go hand in hand. If you have questions you would like them to answer during the program, just post your question in the comment section below.
I’d now like to introduce you to Liam Haycock, who is an international student athlete. Liam is from Great Britain and is a collegiate soccer
player for the University of the District of Columbia. Liam, soccer is a very popular sport overseas.
What attracted you to playing soccer as a student athlete here in the United States? MR. LIAM HAYCOCK: I believe playing here
as a student athlete is a big thing overseas.
It gives you the chance to come here, study, and play the sport you love, really.
It’s an opportunity to get full time education, opportunity to play the sport you want to, and it’s a great experience,
really. It pushes you on to further endeavors, going further on in your career, really.
MR. BOLL: So it was both professional and personal development and enrichment. MR. HAYCOCK: Yeah, certainly.
It’s a breath of fresh air coming from another country, experiencing
what it’s like to be educated, the American system, and also being able to play a sport
in a professional environment, really. It really was a shock for me when I came here,
to realize how seriously competition and the NCAA take college athletics, really.
MR. BOLL: That’s fantastic, thank you. Liam, what piece of advice would you give our international students who
are interested in studying here in the U.S., and on being a student athlete in general? MR. HAYCOCK: The piece of advice I would give
firstly is to make sure it’s certainly something you want to do. Being an international student and coming over
here as a student athlete carries a lot of burdens, really. It’s a big step to make, and it requires
a lot of hard work, preparation, and it’s definitely something
that international students have to be aware of before making the decision to go
into being a college athlete. MR. BOLL: So get the information, find out about what’s on offer, and certainly, you know,
that’s that’s very good advice. What were some resources you found helpful when you started applying to colleges,
and getting the attention of sports recruiters? MR. HAYCOCK: I think for me, I was very lucky to have people around me who
influenced my path coming here. They were always very helpful in telling me that the American College athletics was
a great opportunity for me, myself, to come over here. And I would say to everyone else that the resources I used,
widen them. Don’t you just keep yourself limited to who you talk to.
Obviously you’re going to be talking to coaches, talking to them about prospects of coming here,
and also I spoke to college recruiters who help you along the way to getting where you need to be.
MR. BOLL: So were there– were– did you actually speak to universities and deal with people in the U.S.
at colleges who then could tell you more about their specific programs? MR. HAYCOCK: Certainly, yes.
Obviously my point of reach was the head coach first. And when I talk about head coach in [INAUDIBLE] University
of the District of Columbia, I spoke to the head coach of soccer at UDC,
and he was very informative. With open communication, we were able to talk to each other
about what sort of things needed to be done, and how I go about the process of admitting into the school,
really. MR. BOLL: Got it. So don’t be shy. Reach out. And I assume reach out widely. MR. HAYCOCK: Yeah.
Reach out widely. Make sure you keep your options open. Don’t just limit yourself to one,
because you’re going to need backup plans. And make sure it’s the right choice, the right commitment.
MR. BOLL: Absolutely, absolutely. Liam, thank you for joining us today. If you want to hear more from Liam,
he will be participating in our Facebook chat. Just ask your questions in the discussion section below.
He’ll be online to answer your questions throughout the rest of the program. I would now like to introduce Sarah Turner and Mike DeCe
The NCAA is a member led organization dedicated to the well-being and lifelong success of college
athletes. Sarah works for the NCAA’s Customer Service Center, and Mike is the Associate Director with the Eligibility
Center. Sarah and Mike, thank you so much for joining us today. Can you tell us a little more about the NCAA Eligibility
Center and the work you do with student athletes? MS. SARAH TURNER: Thank you for your interest
and for the opportunity to speak with you today. We are hoping conversations like these will help our students
and their parents start to understand what requirements students will need to play collegiate athletics in America.
While we won’t be able to cover everything you need to know about our process today, we want to make sure you know the resources we
have available. Our websites at ncaa.org can provide a wealth of information
on who we are, our requirements, transfer information, and most importantly, information
specifically tailored for international students. If you need to contact us with questions about your account,
you can find the international contact form at www.ncaa.org/international.
If you plan to register for an NCAA Eligibility Center account, you will need to visit www.eligibilitycenter.org.
One of the things we wanted to point out is the Help button on the top of the screen includes additional resources and links.
We are also active on Twitter and Instagram if you’d like to follow us for updates. If you want to know more about the National Letter of Intent,
please visit their website at nationalletter.org. For more comprehensive information,
please check out the Guide for the College Bound Student Athlete and the International Standards Guide. The links for these two guides can be found
in the comments section below. MR. MIKE DECESARE: The primary function of the NCAA Eligibility Center is
to help ensure students that are coming into NCAA Division I and II schools are academically prepared for college,
and that they meet the NCAA’s definition of amateur athlete. It is important to remember that the certification of athletics
eligibility is separate and distinct from being admitted into a particular college or university.
Just because you are certified to compete in athletics by the Eligibility Center doesn’t mean you have been admitted to the particular school.
And similarly, you may be admitted to a school, but not certified is eligible to compete by the Eligibility
Center. If you’re a transfer student going to a Division I or Division II school, you will still
need to be certified by the Eligibility Center, at least for amateurism. Please check with the compliance office
at the NCAA Division I or Division II school you wish to attend to determine whether you need an academic evaluation as well.
NCAA Division III schools conduct their certifications on campus, so students would not need a certification account
to create a free profile page that would provide us the information needed to send you periodic updates
and reminders. We have touched on some of the differences between the three NCAA divisions already, but the next graphic
does a nice job of showing more detail. As you do your research about what type of college
or university you want to attend, it is important to find a school that fits what you are looking for both athletically
and academically. It’s important to note that fewer than 2% of NCAA student athletes move on to professional athletics
after finishing college, so we encourage you to study hard, research, and find the right fit
for you and your family. MS. TURNER: We’d also like to point out, for Division III, there are no athletic scholarships available.
Students are only eligible for non-athletic aid. MR. BOLL: OK, Sarah and Mike, thank you so much.
We appreciate that that information. I’m sure our viewers are going to have lots of questions.
I understand there are academic and amateurism requirements. Could you tell us a little bit more about both of those?
MS. TURNER: So on the academic side, we require students to complete 16 core courses
in the core subject areas of English and native language, mathematics,
natural and physical science, social science, and additional core courses like philosophy, foreign languages,
and non-denominational religion courses. You can see the breakdown of credits by division in this slide.
We utilize the students’ transc