Do I need to be on an IRL (Institutional Request List)?
Yes. The only way the NCAA Eligibility Center will determine an athlete’s final eligibility status is if a division 1 or division 2 university requests an athlete’s final status. The NCAA will not clear you if you are not being recruited by a college program. Schools request the status of an athlete they are recruiting using what is called an Intent to Request List or an IRL.
The only way to end up on an IRL is to have a college coach request your status from their athletic department. The athletic department then submits your name and NCAA ID number along with all of the other athletes they are recruiting to the NCAA. This means you need to register with the NCAA and complete the necessary steps in order to get an NCAA ID before you can be placed on an IRL.
You have be getting actively recruited by this coach to get on an IRL.
Being placed on an IRL is one of the final steps in order to be cleared by the NCAA. Before you are placed on an IRL you need to have your final transcripts sent to the NCAA, your test scores sent from the testing center, pay the NCAA fee or get the fee waiver and check your account as complete.
Each year over 180,000 athletes create accounts and register with the NCAA but only 74,000 are cleared. I estimate roughly only 80-90,000 athletes a year end up on an IRL, meaning the rest were never being seriously recruited, if recruited at all. Before you register with the NCAA, you need to be sure you are being recruited by an NCAA DI or DII program.