Tom Starr, Vice-President, of the student-athlete recruiting service College Prospects of America, who I've worked with previously in assisting Canadian student-athletes (particularly Manitoba and Saskatchewan based) get quality sports and educational experiences, advised me yesterday that the NCAA has announced significant changes regarding the Clearinghouse. Most are effective immediately.

Firstly, the fee for Clearinghouse registration has been raised dramatically (Tom's words) to $75.00 effective September 1, 2005. Presently it is at $50.00 U.S. Anyone who sent the old processing fee to the Clearinghouse after that date will receive notification that the fee has changed and they must pay the new one.

Next, the paper Student Release Form that has been provided to international students for many years has changed. The NCAA is now using one universal form with a "check-box" for the student to mark whether they are a US student or an International student. Student-athletes and parents can register and pay the fee by credit card online at www.ncaaclearinghouse.net.

From that homepage, click on "Prospective Student Athletes" and the user will have an option to complete the domestic or foreign Release form online. The trend for the Clearinghouse, like most other bureaucracies, is going "paperless". They would prefer the Release Form be completed online but they will still accept the paper form. .

Lastly, all student-athletes, US and International, who register with the Clearinghouse beginning in the spring of 2006 (exact date has not yet been announced) and who graduate from high school in the year 2007 or after, will be required to answer questions about their Amateur status. At the 2006 National Convention in January, NCAA Division I and II will formally adopt legislation to create an "Amateurism Clearinghouse" to determine if student-athletes have held onto their Amateur standing before being certified to compete as a student-athlete at a Division I or II school.

This creates a new bureaucracy to potentially investigate each student, which explains why the Clearinghouse fee has risen so dramatically says Starr.

Starr explains how he sees the new Amateurism Clearinghouse operating. When a student registers for the the Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse (the one in use now), and if they do so online, they will be directed to complete a questionnaire on the Clearinghouse Website that will ask if they have signed contracts with professional teams, accepted prize money above actual and necessary expenses, and other questions that could put them at risk as an Amateur. This questionnaire will then be submitted at the same time as the Student Release Form that they complete for the "current" Clearinghouse that deals with their academics.

If an athlete does not register for the Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse online but rather uses the paper form, we have been told they will be e-mailed and informed that they must go to the Clearinghouse Website to complete the Amateurism Questionnaire online. They will need to remember the 4-digit PIN (Personal Identification Number) that they write down on the paper form to access their record on the database, so it's a good idea to copy the paper form and keep it somewhere safe, it appears to me.

The new NCAA Guidebook reads on page 5 that the Amateurism Questionnaire must be completed by anyone who enrolls at an NCAA Division I or II school in the fall of 2006, but the NCAA has just announced that has changed and they will begin certifying on Amateurism issues for those who enroll in the fall of 2007.

Email us with your questions or comments. As well I would note if you interested in more information about athletic recruiting and the scholarship process that there are several online videos at one of our websites, produced by the CPOA organization, which you can view at your convenience.