NCAA Division I, II, and III Membership Criteria The NCAA is an organization that was established in 1906 to administer intercollegiate athletics. It enforces the rules for various sports and the eligibility criteria for athletes. The NCAA supervises athletic contests for about 80 national championships in about 20 sports per year. The NCAA has gone through some structural changes throughout the years. When the organization first started it had every team and conference on equal levels. It took …showed first 75 words of 716 total…

…showed last 75 words of 716 total…win a championship. The separate divisions have created a major increase in intercollegiate sports. This has allowed for athletes of all kinds to find a place to continue their dream. As of Nov. of 2000 there was a total of 146,064 athletes participating in Division I sports, 78,050 competing in Division II, and 135.961 in Division III. These numbers bringing a total of 360,075 athletes competing in intercollegiate sports. These are very impressive numbers, which shows no signs of decline.