5 Scholarship Myths

Five Division I Athletic Scholarship Myths

1.      MYTH:All athletic scholarships are for four years and include tuition, room, board, books, and spending money. FACT: In actuality MOST DI athletic scholarships are for one year. Each year, on July 1, the coach renews in writing the college’s commitment to you. The scholarship can be cancelled, reduced, or in some cases increased by the coach. The NCAA has recently allowed some multi- year scholarships. The average DI scholarship averages about $10,780 for a scholastic year. Football and basketball are “head count” scholarships and do cover full tuition, room, and board.

2.     MYTH:Division I athletic scholarships are easy to get. FACT:

 About 1% of all college students play at the Division I level. Only half of that 1% plays for free.

3.  MYTH: The Ivy League schools and the Military Academies have athletic scholarships.FACT: The Ivy League schools offer no athletic scholarships. The Military Academies give scholarships to ALL their students.

4.  MYTH:All D1 colleges fully fund their athletic scholarship program. FACT:Colleges are not required to fully fund their scholarship quota. In other words, if a D1 college has a men’s soccer program. The NCAA allows the college 9 full scholarships. I call them points. The coach can then divide these scholarships into fractions and spread them out throughout his team. He does not have to give every player on the team athletic scholarship money, and he does not. BUT, the college does not have to provide a total of 9 full scholarships to the men’s soccer program.

5.  MYTH: Academics are not important. FACT: Yes they are. There are 77 times more non athletic scholarships than athletic scholarships. To put it into perspective, 25% of ALL college students get some kind of financial aid. Conversely, only 1% of all student athletes get athletic scholarships. Even in the athletic scholarship arena, colleges have an academic index they must adhere to, and academics do count. College coaches want student athletes because they show the coaches discipline and they are more likely to stay for four years.