Many student athletes may now be able to qualify for scholarships they were denied in the past, according to new NCAA rules.

The new regulations will let high schools, rather than the NCAA, decide whether athletes have fulfilled high school course requirements for eligibility.

A high school athlete who is applying to play college sports must have completed 13 core classes in addition to earning a GPA of 2.5, an SAT score of 820 and a high school diploma, Athletic Director Jack Kvancz said.

According to the new rules, students must still have the 13 core courses, but the criteria have been made less stringent.

We’ve become more generic in defining those academic criteria, said Bob Oliver, director of NCAA Membership Services, in an Associated Press article.

The NCAA will accept a principal’s certification that a course satisfies the requirement in most cases.

For (GW) it really isn’t going to make any difference, Kvancz said. It might streamline the process.

It also may help walk-on college athletes, who decide to play a sport when they get to college, Kvancz said.

-Phil Longo