We hear a lot about college athletes and scholarship opportunities. Hundreds of thousands of students and their families dream (or bank on) getting an athletic scholarship to a four-year college.
Here is the reality:
odds of getting into Stanford = 4%
odds of getting an NCAA athletic scholarship = 1-2%
Not even a full-ride scholarship, ANY athletic scholarship.
According to the NCAA website:
7,200,000 = high school student-athletes in the USA
499,000 go on to play NCAA -DI, II, and III combined
180,000 get DI or DII athletic scholarships ($ to play)
$3.6 billion in scholarships for 180,000 DI and DII athletes sounds like there should be plenty to go around, right?
Let’s do the math:
$3.6 Billion/180,000 = $20,000/student average award
Yes, there are other student-athlete organizations, but NCAA is the largest by far. By comparison, the next largest, NAIA, serves about 60,000 students, and the average award there is $7,000. There are also options to play at 2-year schools which tend to be less expensive and the scholarship amount varies.
The actual number of athletes by division
NCAA DI – 182,681 – about 4% of the student body participates in sports
NCAA DII – 122,722 – about 10% of the student body participate in sports
Combined these two divisions serve 305,403 student-athletes. Only 180,000, or 59%, get athletic any money because of their athletic abilities.
That means 41% of athletes in DI and DII schools play purely for the love of it without financial benefit.
At DIII schools 193,814 students- about 17% of the student body- participate in sports for the joy of playing. No athletic scholarships are offered in DIII.
Are there non-financial benefits? Definitely! Having a coach advocate for you in the admission process can increase your odds, starting college with a team can lead to a sense of belonging and community, and playing a sport you enjoy is fantastic!
But banking on an athletic scholarship to pay for college is a long shot. Go in with your eyes open.
And if you are interested in playing NCAA be sure to register on the NCAA website and check your course eligibility – DO NOT assume anything!
https://web3.ncaa.org/hsportal/exec/hsAction?hsActionSubmit=searchHighSchool