University at Buffalo Division of Athletics Walk-on procedures and criteria
Want to tryout for a UB varsity Division I athletic team?
- Contact the UB coaching staff to determine when and if the team will be conducting walk-on tryouts. *Teams are not required to conduct tryouts and not every team will have open tryouts each year. Tryouts for most sports are done the first week of fall classes, so be sure to contact the coaches as soon as school starts.
- Sign up with the UB coaching staff with your name, person number, and contact information. The UB Compliance Office will then evaluate your academic history and determine if you may walk on to a UB team. The UB Compliance Office will notify the coaches as to which walk-ons have been cleared academically for tryouts.
- You will need to provide 1) a sickle cell test result 2) a current sports physical within the last six months, conducted by a physician, clearing you for athletic participation. You will also sign off on a liability waiver in order to participate in a tryout.
- **You must meet ALL academic criteria and have Division I eligibility remaining in order to attend this meeting. See academic criteria below.
If you make the team, you will then need to attend a Compliance meeting where you will fill out NCAA mandated forms via our online system called ARMS. You will also then get a physical from the UB team doctors. *These both must be done before further practice.
UB Athletics reserves the right to restrict anyone, based on past disciplinary issues, academic history and performance and/or athletic history and performance, from trying out for a varsity athletic team.
UB Athletics minimum academic criteria for walk-ons:
- Freshmen--You MUST be an NCAA Division I qualifier—you must have registered and been certified by the NCAA Eligibility Center. www.eligibilitycenter.org
- Continuing UB students--You MUST meet all NCAA continuing eligibility rules. You must have at least a 2.8 cumulative gpa overall at UB and at least 12 hours of credit for every full time semester. If you do not meet NCAA eligibility rules, you cannot tryout for a varsity team.
- Transfers from 4 year schools—minimum of a 2.8 cumulative gpa for all collegiate attendance and a minimum of 24 credit hours for every academic year you’ve been enrolled full time at any college/university. Your name must be on the NCAA transfer portal [Division I or II] or a transfer tracer on file with the UB Compliance Office from your previous school [DIII/NAIA]. You must meet all NCAA transfer regulations.
- Junior college transfers—you MUST have an associate’s degree, a minimum 2.5 gpa for all collegiate attendance, and you must have at least 24 credit hours for every academic year you’ve been enrolled full time at any college/university. You must meet all NCAA 2 year college transfer regulations.
- UB Athletics reserves the right to make exceptions to these criteria, at the discretion of the Athletic Director, when the student meets all NCAA eligibility criteria and presents an athletic resume that meets the UB coach's standards for his/her team.
Questions? Contact the UB Compliance Office at ath-compliance@buffalo.edu
