Student-Athlete Eligibility & Compliance
Rebecka Vessey, Director of Athletic Compliance
Welcome to Columbia International University's Athletic Compliance Webpage. CIU Athletics is committed to our core values of 1) Spiritual Growth, 2) Servant Leadership, 3) Academic Achievement and 4) Competitive Excellence. In order to produce great student athletes one must abide by CIU and NAIA rules and regulations. Compliance is a shared responsibility and this website is designed as an informational resource to make sure that everyone is on the same page.
New Student-Athletes:
Check out the New Student Checklist FA25AthleteChecklist-Web.pdf
STEP 1: Register with NAIA Eligibility Center: https://play.mynaia.org
- Register
- Complete your profile
- Pay the fee
- Complete ALL incomplete tasks
- Check your profile regularly!! Notify your CIU coach when a decision has been made
Important Details: This process can take months, so start early!
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If you have completed one or more semesters at CIU, be sure to include CIU in your college experience.
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Be sure to accept the shortlist request so that CIU can view your full determination.
**you do NOT need to be on CIU's shortlist to complete your NAIA eligibility process**
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If you choose to complete a fee waiver request on your PlayNAIA profile, know that your profile cannot advance without a response from your High School.
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Please select ALL sports in which you plan to compete! (Example: add Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, and Cross Country)
STEP 2: Send official documents to NAIA
- Transcripts and test scores must be sent directly to the NAIA
- ALL high school transcripts MUST be sent through the NAIA Portal at the high school
- College or University transcripts can be sent to the NAIA through these options:
- Test Scores: ACT / SAT scores must be sent directly to NAIA using code 9876
- Please note!! CIU can not send any transcripts to the NAIA.
Dual Enrollment / IB scores / AP scores / CLEP scores -- are NOT sent to the NAIA only to CIU --Dual Enrollment credit must come on an official transcript from the college/university where the credit was earned
Step 3. Required Paperwork
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Physical Examination/Sports Physical Form
- All CIU student-athletes must have a current physical exam each year
- The physical examination can not be dated any earlier than May 1st each year
- exams dates earlier than May 1st will be returned, and athletes will not be able to participate in any activities until cleared with a new physical exam
- All physical examinations MUST be completed on CIU forms and signed by a Physician (MD or DO)
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Health Insurance
- International student-athletes - you will be assigned a comprehensive health insurance policy.
- This policy amount will be added to your CIU student bill each semester.
- Exceptions are made on a case by case basis and must go through an appeals process.
- Domestic student-athletes
- You must have primary health insurance that will cover athletically-related injuries in South Carolina with a minimum coverage of up to $35,000. It must cover Prisma Health.
- CIU does not provide secondary insurance coverage for athletic injuries.
- CIU does provide access to NAIA Catastrophic insurance coverage. This kicks in when medical costs exceed $35,000.
- Insurance will be verified and must be valid in South Carolina
- The front and back of your insurance card must be uploaded to your Front Rush account (once activated)
- Columbia International will not be responsible for ANY medically-related bills due to injury or lack of insurance coverage
- It is your responsibility to determine if you can be seen by providers in Columbia, SC
- If you have Tri-Care, out-of-state managed care plans, or Medicaid, you may need to obtain different coverage
- If your plan has a deductible or co-payment, you will be responsible for that payment at the time of service
- Medical sharing plans are acceptable, however you are responsible for all medical costs associated with those plans.
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Health Services Form/Immunization Records
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Front Rush
- All student-athletes will receive a log-in to their personal Front Rush Portal.
- Once the email is sent, it expires 24-hours after send time
- If you attempt to log in and your "email isn't found," please email your CIU head coach for a new Front Rush Activation
- All athletic department policies will be electronically signed in Front Rush -- be sure to read everything carefully!!
- Your completed physical examination will be uploaded into Front Rush
- The front and back of your valid health insurance card will be uploaded into Front Rush
- Your Front Rush activation email will be sent in June; after policies are updated for the new academic year
STEP 4. Eligibility
There are two parts to athletic-academic eligibility
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Initial eligibility determination - this is completed through PlayNAIA (See Step 1 Above)
- First-year students & Transfers: naia_guide_college_bound_student.pdf (mynaia.org)
- Homeschool Students: home-school-guide.pdf
- Must meet one of the following:
- Minimum Score of 18 on ACT
- Minimum Score of 970 on SAT
- Nine (9) credit hours of college work completed with a grade of "C" or higher. (Must be completed prior to the term in which the student wishes to compete).
- Apply for a homeschool waiver if the above are not met.
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Ongoing eligibility
- Must remain in good standing and maintain a 2.0 g.p.a. (This is CIU policy as well as NAIA)
- Meet the 24/36 Hour rule
- Meet the Progress Rule
This example shows a student's eligibility for the Fall 2021 term.
In their last Term of Attendance, this student attempted a full course load, 12 and passed all their hours.
In their term of attendance before that they attempted a full course load, 12, but only passed 9.
So this student took three hours over the summer to make up the difference.
12+9+3=24
STEP 5. Academics, Spiritual Life and Athletics
It is the desire of CIU that athletes are successful in the classroom as well as in their sport and therefore requires the following:
- Maintain a g.p.a of 2.0 or higher in order to participate
- Mandatory study hall for all new incoming students
- Mandatory study hall for all returners with a 3.0 g.p.a. or lower
- Attendance: Students must attend 75% of all classes in order to pass the class. Students who miss more than 25% will fail regardless of letter grade.
- All students are required to attend church and chapel services each week. This is a degree requirement.
- All students are required to complete Christian Service Learning (CSL). This is volunteer work, and it is recommended that athletes do this during their off-season.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What if my high school doesn't have an NAIA portal?
- How do I get an NAIA fee waiver?
- You will request this as part of your NAIA registration process.
- The request will be sent directly to your former high school for approval
- Eligibility is based on receiving free/reduced lunch or SAT/ACT fee waivers
- You will need to check your NAIA portal for approval continually.
- What if I am an international student and need help with NAIA?
- Call the dedicated NAIA help desk for international students: 1-816-595-8390
- All international students must go through InCred
- You will be required to obtain high school information via InCred even if you have already attended college
- What if I already had a sports physical before May 1st?
- You will need to have a physical completed on the CIU paperwork dated after May 1st of the current calendar year.
- What if I already have international insurance (for international students only)
- CIU will supply all international student-athletes with a comprehensive health insurance policy for the school year.
- This policy will be added to your CIU student bill
- What if I have out-of-state insurance (Managed care, Medicaid, etc. ) or insurance that doesn't cover athletic-related injuries with a minimum coverage of $35,000?
- You are required to have primary health insurance that covers athletic-related injuries.
- You are responsible for all out-of-pocket costs (deductibles, co-insurance, co-payments, balances).
- CIU will not pay for any costs associated with injuries not covered by an athlete's primary health insurance.
- NAIA has a catastrophic policy that begins at $35,000 and does have a deductible which is the responsibility of the student-athlete (see NAIA.org)
- All plans will be verified.
- What if I have a cost sharing plan?
- Cost-sharing plans will be considered acceptable coverage as long as the following conditions are met and understood;
- There must be minimum coverage of $35,000 per event and athletic-related injuries can not be an exclusion
- You are responsible for payment at the time of services rendered. It will be your responsibility to set up payment arrangements with the provider.
- You are responsible for any deductible related to your specific plan.
- You will be required to show proof of payment of $35,000 per event, prior to NAIA's Catastrophic plan taking effect
