NCAA Hockey Rules and Your Journey to College Hockey

It seems like every day in the news we are hearing about another NCAA coach who is in hot water regarding NCAA violations. More often, we hear about these violations in sports such as football and basketball and it is almost always regarding recruiting.

The NCAA has specific hockey rules that will affect your journey to college hockey.

In this section you will find the NCAA rules that directly apply to you while your son or daughter is playing hockey and being recruited by NCAA hockey programs.

So, what exactly are the hockey rules? And how does it affect my son or daughter in the sport of hockey?

Your initial eligibility is certified by the NCAA Eligibility Center.

One of the lessons that is often learned too late is that academic performance as early as grade 9 will affect your eligibility. In high school you must complete 16 NCAA core courses and write the SAT and/or ACT. The score you need to be certified depends on your GPA in the core courses. The relationship between your GPA and test score is determined by a sliding scale.

The other area that might affect your son or daughter before they are seriously considering an NCAA hockey opportunity is their amateur status.

This becomes very important when deciding to sign with an agent or attend a Major Junior camp.

There is also NCAA legislation that will affect you during the recruiting process. For the most part, recruiting rules are stricter for Division 1 hockey schools than for Division III programs.

Having a working knowledge of the recruiting rules such as permissable contacts / evaluations and correspondence can make it easier to understand the process.

There are also rules that pertain to campus visits that can greatly impact your pursuit of an NCAA hockey opportunity.

Finally, it will be time to make a decision on where your son or daughter wants to play college hockey. This is where the sport of hockey is unique in the NCAA. You could be offered a verbal commitment and / or sign a National Letter of Intent.

The NCAA has a rules manual that is over 200 pages long and it covers everything from recruiting to eligibility for all sports. There are many similarities between Division I and III, but also some very important differences.

NCAA rules for hockey are vast and in some cases are different than other sports. This page is our attempt to take away the confusion and give you the rules you need to know.

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