Applications are now available for the 2008-09 NCAA Divisions I and II Degree-Completion Awards.

They can be found online for Division I and for Division II. The deadline to apply for the Division I awards is May 23, 2008. The application deadline for the Division II awards is April 8, 2008.

The NCAA Division I Degree-Completion Award program was established in 1989 to assist student-athletes who could not complete their education during their five-year eligibility period. To be eligible to apply for this program, a student-athlete must have competed at a Division I institution, have received athletics-related aid, and be within 30 semester hours (45 quarter hours) of completion of his or her undergraduate degree.

The Division II Degree Completion Award program was established in 2001 to provide deserving student-athletes financial assistance for them to complete their first baccalaureate degree. Candidates are Division II student-athletes who have exhausted their athletics eligibility and who have received athletics financial aid. Applicants must be within 32 semester hours (48 quarter hours) of completion of an undergraduate degree.

For more information regarding these programs and their qualifications, please visit www.ncaa.org. Questions also may be directed to Ellen Summers at esummers@ncaa.org or Karen Cooper (for Division I) at kcooper@ncaa.org and Levida Edwards (for Division II) at ledwards@ncaa.org.