Athletic Scholarships – Know The Numbers!

Athletic scholarships at the NCAA Division I and Division II levels are a huge draw for players and families. At their core level, scholarships are compensation received to offset the cost of tuition.

Keep in mind that for NCAA Division III and select Division I schools (notably those competing in the Ivy and Patriot Leagues – Harvard, Yale, Bucknell, Lehigh, etc.), there are no athletic scholarships.

While many think scholarship numbers and probabilities are high, in actually there is a very small possibility that a student-athlete will get a “full-ride” or anywhere near that.

Consider these numbers from the NCAA.

NCAA DIVISION, ODDS OF ATHLETIC AID

Division I, 53%*
Division II, 56%*
Division III, N/A

*Some level of athletic aid

While just over half of the participants in Divisions I and II are receiving some form of aid, remember this does not mean a full ride – or anything close. That is due in large part to how a sport is classified.

“Equivalency” vs. “Headcount” Sports

An NCAA “equivalency” sport (e.g., lacrosse, soccer) simply means scholarship money can be spread among players, unlike non-equivalency sports (or “headcount” sports) like volleyball, basketball or football, where a certain number of players only may receive money.

A simple way to think of this principle is to consider scholarships in total monetary terms vs. individual scholarship numbers. For example, if an equivalency sport team has $100 in scholarships and 10 players, it can provide every player $10, or some other combination of their choosing. Conversely, in a headcount sport, a team must give that $100 to a specified number of players only – say 5 of the 10 team members.

In NCAA equivalency sports, the allocation of athletic scholarship money is spread across the entire team regardless of class year. This means that money is spread from seniors to freshman on a year-to-year basis and is not by calculated by grade.

As such, the concept of a “full-ride” in equivalency sports is not common.
Look into things like financial aid (for those who qualify), grants, academic scholarships and other avenues through your high school during your recruiting process.

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