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PlayNAIA System Performance
As you may have experienced, PlayNAIA has had intermittent outages over the past two days (September 4-5). The eligibility center and IT staff have been working with the programming vendor to implement fixes. We apologize for the disruption these outages are causing you and your student-athletes. The eligibility center continues to process student eligibility as quickly as possible. Please contact us with any questions.
October 1 Cancellations
Beginning October 1, annual cancellations will begin for students with fall 2024 applications for fall sports. Cancellations will only affect students who are registered for fall sports and have taken no action (paid and/or completed a current task) in PlayNAIA since September 1.
October 1 also marks when the systematic term for determination changes to spring 2025. If students have not yet paid for their fall 2024 application or if their application is canceled and they reapply, their student type and fee may change. Please encourage your recruits to register and pay immediately to avoid higher fees.
Campus Steps Following an EC Determination
Do you have a student-athlete whose PlayNAIA determination is complete, and you’re thinking, “Now what?” You have five possible next steps:
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Certify: Most commonly, your student-student athlete is eligible, and you move to certification via ECP. Learn more about ECP here.
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Updated Determination: The second most common need is for students who received a not eligible fall 2024 determination but completed new summer coursework that was previously in progress, or a new SAT/ACT score is submitted that will result in an updated determination for the same term. When students submit new documents or test scores after receiving an EC determination, PlayNAIA notifies EC staff. We will then update the determination within three business days, as needed, with no further action required by you or the student.
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EC Appellate Request: Athletic directors, faculty athletics representatives, or athletics compliance administrators may submit an appellate request via PlayNAIA within 45 days of the student’s determination if the grounds outlined in CFAR policy are met. These include:
- Changes to previously received official transcripts (e.g., grade changes, withdraws, degrees earned).
- New information about competitive experience that would affect seasons of competition charged.
You can find information about what constitutes an EC appellate request here.
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NEC Appeals or Exceptions: If an NAIA institution believes additional steps are necessary to reconsider a decision, it can explore appeal and exception options through the NEC. Learn more about the appeals and exceptions processes here.
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Reapplication: Sometimes, students will need a new determination for a term after their original determination (e.g., not eligible for fall 2024 and reapply for spring 2025). In these instances, you will start a new application on behalf of the student.
Passport to Play
The international eligibility team will begin reviewing eligibility and issuing decisions for winter and spring sports athletes starting October 1. Our goal is to complete an international student’s eligibility review in 20 business days or less. To date, we have completed 88.64% of fall sport international student reviews within that goal. For winter and spring sports recruits, we want to share some tips on how to help make the process as quick and smooth as possible:
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Have your recruits register early for both PlayNAIA and InCred. You can share this step-by-step video on registering for PlayNAIA with them.
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Encourage your recruits to list all post-secondary enrollment and competitive experience on their profile. Even if a student doesn’t think it’s relevant, having all this information is crucial to completing the eligibility review.
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After one of your recruits completes their profile, add them to your shortlist and encourage them to approve your access.
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When your recruit’s eligibility review begins, make sure they are checking their PlayNAIA profile for any new tasks they need to complete. If a recruit has given you access to their profile, you can see if any new tasks have been added.
Good luck on the recruiting trail for this upcoming season.
Member Phone Line
As a reminder, the NAIA Membership Phone Line (816-595-8304) is a dedicated phone line intended only for NAIA members. This ensures members can reach an eligibility center, legislative services, or InCred staff person as quickly as possible. While the phone line has been an excellent option for members, we have recently experienced an increase in students attempting to contact us via the member line.
Please share the main call center number (816-595-8300) with those outside of membership (i.e., student-athletes, parents, high school contacts) rather than the member phone line to preserve its benefits exclusively for members.
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