National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) is an association of 1 , 281 institutions , conferences , organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many college s and universities in the United States and Canada . It is headquartered in Indianapolis , Indiana . In August 1973 , the current three - division setup of Division I , Division II , and Division III was adopted by the NCAA membership in a special convention . Under NCAA rules , Division I and Division II schools can offer scholarship s to athletes for playing a sport . Division III schools may not offer any athletic scholarships . Generally , larger schools compete in Division I and smaller schools in II and III . Division I football was further divided into I - A and I - AA in 1978 . Subsequently the term " Division I - AAA " was briefly added to delineate Division I schools which do not field a football program at all , but that term is no longer officially used by the NCAA . In 2006 , Divisions I - A and I - AA were respectively renamed the Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) and Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ) . History . Inter - collegiate sports in the US began in 1852 when crews from Harvard and Yale met in a challenge race in the sport of rowing . As rowing remained the pre - eminent sport in the country into the late - 1800 ' s , many of the initial debates about collegiate athletic eligibility and purpose were settled through organizations like the Rowing Association of American Colleges and the Intercollegiate Rowing Association . As other sports emerged , notably football and basketball , many of these same concepts and standards were adopted . Football , in particular , began to emerge as a marquee sport , but the rules of the game itself were in constant flux and often had to be adapted for each contest . The NCAA dates its formation to two White House conferences convened by President Theodore Roosevelt to " encourage reforms " to college football practices in the early 20th century , which had resulted in repeated injuries and deaths and " prompted many college and universities to discontinue the sport . " Following those White House meetings , Chancellor Henry MacCracken of New York University organized a meeting of 13 colleges and universities to initiate changes ; at a follow - on meeting , 62 institutions became charter members of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States ( IAAUS ) . The IAAUS was officially established on March 31 , 1906 , and took its present name , the NCAA , in 1910 . Until the 1980s , the association did not offer women ' s athletics . Instead an organization named the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women ( AIAW ) governed women ' s collegiate sports in the United States . By 1982 , however , all divisions of the NCAA offered national championship events for women ' s athletics and most members of the AIAW joined the NCAA . In 2009 , Simon Fraser University in Burnaby , Canada became the NCAA ' s first non - US member institution . Headquarters . The modern era of the NCAA began in July 1952 when its executive director , Kansas City , Missouri native Walter Byers , moved the organization ' s headquarters from the LaSalle Hotel in Chicago ( where its offices were shared by the headquarters of the Big Ten Conference ) to the Fairmount Building at 101 West 11th Street in Downtown Kansas City . The move was intended to separate the NCAA from direct influence of any individual conference and to keep it centrally located . The Fairmount was a block from Municipal Auditorium which had hosted Final Four games in 1940 , 1941 and 1942 . After Byers moved to Kansas City , the championships would be held in Municipal in 1953 , 1954 , 1955 , 1957 , 1961 , 1964 . The Fairmount office consisted of three rooms with no air conditioning . Byers ' staff consisted of four people ( an assistant , two secretaries and a bookkeeper ) . In 1964 it moved three blocks away to offices in the Midland Theatre . In 1973 it moved to 6299 Nall at Shawnee Mission Parkway in suburban Mission , Kansas in a $ 1 . 2 million building on . In 1989 it moved six miles ( 10 km ) further south into the suburbs to 6201 College Boulevard in Overland Park , Kansas . The new building was on and had of space . The NCAA was dissatisfied with its Johnson County , Kansas suburban location noting that its location on the south edges of the Kansas City suburbs was more than 40 minutes from Kansas City International Airport . They also noted that the suburban location was not drawing visitors to its new visitors ' centre . In 1997 it asked for bids for a new headquarters . Various cities competed for a new headquarters with the two finalists being Kansas City and Indianapolis . Kansas City proposed to relocate the NCAA back downtown near the Crown Center complex and would locate the visitors ' centre in Union Station ( Kansas City ) . However Kansas City ' s main sports venue Kemper Arena was nearly 30 years old . Indianapolis argued that it was in fact more central than Kansas City in that two thirds of the members are east of the Mississippi River . Further the 50 , 000 - seat RCA Dome far eclipsed the 17 , 000 - seat Kemper . In 1999 the NCAA moved its 300 member staff to its new headquarters in the White River State Park in a four - story , facility on the west edge of downtown Indianapolis , Indiana . Adjacent to the headquarters is the NCAA Hall of Champions . Structure . The NCAA ' s legislative structure is broken down into cabinets and committees , consisting of various representatives of its member schools . These may be broken down further into sub - committees . Legislation is then passed on , which oversees all the cabinets and committees , and also includes representatives from the schools , such as athletic directors and faculty advisors . Management Council legislation goes on to the Board of Directors , which consists of school presidents , for final approval . The NCAA staff provides support , acting as guides , liaison , research and public and media relations . The NCAA stands for the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Sports sanctioned by the NCAA include the following : basketball , baseball ( men ) , softball ( women ) , football ( men ) , cross country , field hockey ( women ) , bowling ( women ) , golf , fencing ( coeducational ) , lacrosse , soccer , gymnastics , rowing ( women only ) , volleyball , ice hockey , water polo , rifle ( coeducational ) , tennis , skiing ( coeducational ) , track and field , swimming and diving , and wrestling ( men ) . Presidents of NCAA . The NCAA had no full - time administrator until 1951 , when Walter Byers was appointed executive director . In 1998 , the title was changed to President . Championships . All sports . The NCAA awards championships in in the following sports : The NCAA has never sanctioned an official championship in the highest level of football , now known as Division I FBS . Instead , several outside bodies award their own titles ; see below . As of December 2011 , UCLA , Stanford , and University of Southern California have the most NCAA championships ; UCLA holds the most , winning a combined 108 team championships in men ' s and women ' s sports , with Stanford second , with 103 , University of Southern California third with 95 , Abilene Christian with 55 , and then Oklahoma State with 50 . During the 2008 - 09 school year , the Pac - 10 conference captured 11 NCAA titles , outperforming any other conference . It was followed by the ACC and Big Ten with five championships , and by the Big 12 and SEC conferences with four each . The NCAA currently awards 87 national championships yearly ; 44 women ' s , 40 men ' s , and coed championships for fencing , rifle , and skiing . For every NCAA sanctioned sport other than Division I FBS football , the NCAA awards trophies with gold , silver , and bronze plating for the first , second , and third place teams respectively . In the case of the NCAA basketball tournaments , both semifinalists who did not make the championship game receive bronze plated trophies for third place ( prior to 1982 the teams played a " consolation " game to determine third place ) . Similar trophies are awarded to both semifinalists in the NCAA football tournaments ( which are conducted in Division I FCS and both lower divisions ) , which have never had a third - place game . Winning teams maintain permanent possession of these trophies unless it is later found that they were won via serious rules violations . Starting with the 2001 season , and again in 2008 , the trophies were changed . Starting in the 2007 basketball season , teams that make the Final Four in the Division I tournament receive bronze plated " regional championship " trophies upon winning their Regional Championship . The teams that make the National Championship game receive an additional trophy that is gold plated for the winner and silver plated for the runner - up . Starting in the mid - 1990s , the National Champions in men ' s and women ' s basketball receive a very elaborate trophy sponsored by Siemens with a black marble base and crystal " neck " with a removable crystal basketball following the presentation of the standard NCAA Championship trophy . Football Bowl Subdivision . The NCAA does not hold a championship tournament for Division I FBS football . In the past , the " national championship " went to teams that placed first in any of a number of season - ending media polls , most notable the AP Poll of writers and the Coaches Poll . Currently , the Bowl Championship Series — an association of the conferences and independent schools that compete in Division I FBS and four bowl game s — has arranged to place the top two teams ( based on a formula blending human polls and computer rankings ) into a national title game . The winner of the BCS title game must be ranked first in the final Coaches ' Poll and receives the AFCA Coaches ' Trophy ( presently sponsored by Dr Pepper ) ; since the NCAA awards no national championship for Division I FBS football , this trophy does not say " NCAA " as other NCAA college sports national championship trophies do . The AP and other organizations are still free to name as national champions other teams than the one that won the BCS championship , although all conferences ( and by extension their teams ) are contractually agreed to the BCS formula and champion the USA Today Coaches ' poll is required to vote the winner of the “ BCS National Championship Game ” the # 1 team in the nation in the final poll . All conferences have sanctioned this practice and championship ( with various changes to the present form seen today ) for the several contractual periods since 1998 . Awards . The NCAA presents a number of different individual awards , including : In previous years , the NCAA has presented the following awards at its NCAA Honors event : Astronaut Salute , Business Leader Salute , Congressional Medal of Honor Salute , Governor Salute , Olympians Salute , Performing Arts Salute , Presidents Cabinet Salute , Prominent National Media Salute , Special Recognition Awards , U . S . House of Representatives Salute , U . S . Senate Salute . Media . The NCAA has current media rights contracts with CBS Sports , CBS College Sports Network , ESPN , ESPN Plus , and Turner Sports for coverage of its 88 championships . According to the official NCAA website , ESPN and its associated networks have rights to 21 championships , CBS to 67 , and Turner Sports to one . The following are the most prominent championships and rightsholders : Westwood One has exclusive radio rights to the men ' s and women ' s basketball Final Fours to the men ' s College World Series ( baseball ) . DirecTV has an exclusive package expanding CBS ' coverage of the men ' s basketball tournament . Video games based on popular NCAA sports such as football and basketball are licensed by Electronic Arts . Football television controversy . In the late 1940s there were only two colleges in the country with a national TV contract , a considerable source of revenue . In 1951 , the NCAA voted to prohibit any live TV broadcast of college football games during the season . No sooner had the NCAA voted to ban television than public outcry forced it to retreat . Instead , the NCAA voted to restrict the number of televised games for each team to stop the slide in gate attendance . Harold Stassen , president of the University of Pennsylvania ( Penn ) , defied the monopoly and signed a $ 200 , 000 contract with ABC . Eventually , Penn was forced to back down when the NCAA threatened to expel the Quakers from the association . By the 1980s , televised college football had become a much larger source of income for the NCAA . If the television contracts the NCAA had with ABC , CBS , and ESPN had remained in effect for the 1984 season , they would have generated US $ 73 . 6 million for the Association and its members . In September 1981 , the Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma and the University of Georgia Athletic Association filed suit against the NCAA in district court in Oklahoma . The plaintiffs stated that the NCAA ' s football television plan constituted price fixing , output restraints , boycott , and monopolizing , all of which were illegal under the Sherman Act . The NCAA argued that its pro - competitive and non - commercial justifications for the plan — - protection of live gate , maintenance of competitive balance among NCAA member institutions and creation of a more attractive " product " to compete with other forms of entertainment — - combined to make the plan reasonable . In September 1982 , the district court found in favor of the plaintiffs , ruling that the plan violated antitrust laws . It enjoined the Association from enforcing the contract . The NCAA appealed all the way to the United States Supreme Court , but lost in 1984 in the 7 - 2 ruling NCAA v . Board of Regents of Univ . of Oklahoma . Eligibility . To participate in college athletics in the freshmen year the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) states that students must meet three requirements ; graduate from high school , complete the minimum required academic courses , and have qualifying grade - point average ( GPA ) and SAT or ACT scores . The 16 academic credits are four courses in English , two courses in math , two classes in social science , two in natural or physical science , and one additional course in English , math , natural or physical science , or another academic course such as foreign language . To meet the requirements for grade point average and SAT scores students the lowest possible GPA a student may be eligible with is a 1 . 700 with an SAT score of 1400 . The lowest SAT score a student may be eligible with is 700 with a GPA of 2 . 500 . As of 2011 , a high school student may sign a letter of intent to enter and play football for a college only after the first Wednesday in February . In August 2011 , the NCAA announced plans to raise academic requirements for postseason competition , including its two most prominent competitions , football ' s Bowl Championship Series and the Men ' s Division I Basketball Championship ; the new requirement , which are based on an " academic progress rate " that measures retention and graduation rates , and is calculated on a four - year , rolling basis . The changes raise the rate from 900 to 930 , which represents a 50 % graduation rate . Rules violations . Member schools pledge to follow the rules promulgated by the NCAA . Creation of a mechanism to enforce the NCAA ' s legislation occurred in 1952 after careful consideration by the membership . Allegations of rules violations are referred to the NCAA ' s investigative staff . A preliminary investigation is initiated to determine if an official inquiry is warranted and to categorize any resultant violations as secondary or major . If several violations are found , the NCAA may determine that the school as a whole has exhibited a " lack of institutional control . " The institution involved is notified promptly and may appear in its own behalf before the NCAA Committee on Infractions . Findings of the Committee on Infractions and the resultant sanctions in major cases are reported to the institution . Sanctions will generally include having the institution placed on " probation " for a period of time , in addition to other penalties . The institution may appeal the findings or sanctions to an appeals committee . After considering written reports and oral presentations by representatives of the Committee on Infractions and the institution , the committee acts on the appeal . Action may include accepting the infractions committee ' s findings and penalty , altering either , or making its own findings and imposing an appropriate penalty . The current longest running period of sanctions belongs to the University of Alabama ( at Tuscaloosa ) . Sanctions at Alabama cover all major sports and will expire in June 2012 ( extending the record for 17 years upon being penalized in 1995 ) . In cases of particularly egregious misconduct , the NCAA has the power to ban a school from participating in a particular sport , a penalty known as the " Death Penalty " . Since 1985 , any school that commits major violations during the probationary period can be banned from the sport involved for up to two years . However , when the NCAA opts not to issue a death penalty for a repeat violation , it must explain why it didn ' t do so . This penalty has only been imposed three times in its modern form , most notably when Southern Methodist University ' s football team had its 1987 season canceled due to massive rules violations dating back more than a decade . SMU opted not to field a team in 1988 as well due to the aftershocks from the sanctions , and the program has never recovered ; it has only two winning seasons and one bowl appearance since then . The devastating effect the death penalty had on SMU has reportedly made the NCAA skittish about issuing another one . Since the SMU case , there are only three instances where the NCAA has seriously considered imposing it against a Division I school ; it imposed it against Division II Morehouse College ' s men ' s soccer team in 2003 and Division III MacMurray College ' s men ' s tennis team in 2005 . Additionally , in particularly egregious cases of rules violations , coaches , athletic directors and athletic support staff can be barred from working for any NCAA member school without permission from the NCAA . This procedure is known as a " show - cause penalty " ( not to be confused with an order to show cause in the legal sense ) . Theoretically , a school can hire someone with a " show cause " on their record during the time the show cause order is in effect only with permission from the NCAA Infractions Committee . The school assumes the risks and stigma of hiring such a person . It may then end up being sanctioned by the NCAA and the Infractions Committee for their choice , possibly losing athletic scholarships , revenue from schools who would not want to compete with that other school , and the ability for their games to be televised , along with restrictions on recruitment and practicing times . As a result , a show - cause order usually has the effect of blackballing individuals from being hired for the duration of the order . Division I - FBS institutions on probation . The following Division I Football Bowl Subdivision institutions are currently on probation by the NCAA in one or more sports : Division I - FCS institutions on probation . The following Division I - FCS institutions are currently on probation by the NCAA in one or more sports : Division I non - football institutions on probation . The following Division I non - football institutions are currently on probation by the NCAA in one or more sports : Division II institutions on probation . The following Division II institutions are currently on probation by the NCAA in one or more sports : Division III institutions on probation . The following Division III institutions are currently on probation by the NCAA in one or more sports : Subsidiaries . The NCAA runs the officiating software company ArbiterSports , based in Sandy , Utah , a joint venture between two subsidiaries of the NCAA , Arbiter LLC and eOfficials LLC . The NCAA has said their objective is for the venture to help improve the fairness , quality and consistency of officiating across amateur athletics . Criticisms . Numerous criticisms have been lodged against the NCAA . These include : Other collegiate athletic organizations . The NCAA is the dominant , but not the only , collegiate athletic organization in the United States . Several other such organizations exist .