ALL ABOUT THE NCAA SYSTEM

THE National Collegiate Athletic Association is a non-profit organisation that regulates athletes of 1281 institutions and conferences.

It also organises the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the US and Canada, and helps more than 480,000 college studentathletes who compete annually in college sports.

The NCAA has 90 national championships each year – 46 women’s and 41 men’s. The main sports sanctioned by the NCAA include the following: basketball, baseball (men), softball (women), football (men), cross country, field hockey (women), soccer, gymnastics, volleyball, tennis, track and field, swimming and diving.

The newest sport to be officially sanctioned is beach volleyball, which held its first championship in the 2015–16 school year.

Carter Jensen (left) and in action for Iowa Wesleyan University (above). He also plays gridiron and studies criminal justice and pre-law.