The Elite 90 Award or more formally The Elite 90 Academic Recognition Award Program, originally the Elite 88 Award and later the Elite 89 Award, is an award by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recognizing the student athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average who has reached the competition at the finals site for each of the NCAA's 90 men's and women's championships across its three divisions (Division I, Division II, Division III).[1]
Students are eligible if they have achieved at least a sophomore in academic and athletic standing and if they are in at least the second year of competition (in any sport) at their current institution. A student in the first season of play at a new institution is eligible for the award if they sat out the previous season due to NCAA transfer rules while enrolled continuously at the current institution. The student athlete must be on the active roster, and in sports that have limits on squad size, they must be a member of the designated squad size at the championship site.[1] Grade point averages are determined using a straight grading scale to ensure consistency among institutions. Additionally, only credits earned at the student's current institution are counted towards determining GPA; transfer and AP credits are specifically excluded. Graduate students who still have athletic eligibility may receive the award, but only undergraduate GPAs are considered. In the event of a tie, completed credits are the official tiebreaker.[2] In sports such as golf and cross country running an individual who qualifies for the individual championship although their team is not competing will be eligible for the award.[3] Multi-sport athletes are only allowed to win one award per academic year, even if they qualify for the award in more than one sport.[1]
Two groups of NCAA student-athletes are not eligible for the Elite 90 Award:
Participants in what the NCAA classifies as "emerging sports" for women, currently equestrianism, rugby union, and triathlon.[7] These sports are recognized by the NCAA, but do not yet have fully sanctioned status. Beach volleyball had been an "emerging sport" before becoming a fully sanctioned championship sport in 2015–16.
"National Collegiate" is the official NCAA designation for championships that are open to schools from multiple NCAA divisions. In most cases, the National Collegiate Championship is the only championship awarded in that sport. However, two sports—women's ice hockey and men's volleyball—have National Collegiate and Division III championships. By contrast, the men's ice hockey championships are designated as "Division I" and "Division III", although Division II schools can and do compete in that sport's Division I championship as Division I members.
The list includes only championships in fully sanctioned NCAA sports.
