Athletic Scholarships for College
Athletic scholarships are a tremendous opportunity for young athletes who don’t want to quit playing their sport but at the same time want a valuable education. Athletic scholarships cover around: (US$15,000-30,000 average per year)
Note that it is very rare that an athlete is offered a full ride (full athletic scholarship), especially as an incoming freshman. Athletic Scholarships are often offered in percentage where the university pays for some costs and the student have to cover parts of the costs.
What does athletic scholarship cover?
Tuition
Housing
Meals
Books
There are three different college athletic associations who have universities with athletic scholarships:
- NCAA: National College Athletic Association ( Only D-I and D-II are athletic scholarship programs)
- NAIA: National Association Intercollegiate Athletics
- NJCAA: National Junior College Athletic Association
The NCAA (National College Athletic Association) organizes these following sports:
Click on your sport to find out more information on what kind of athletic scholarship your sport have.
College Athletic Scholarships by sport
| Men’s | Women’s | Mixed | ||||||||||||
| I | II | III | Total | I | II | III | Total | I | II | III | Total | |||
| Baseball Scholarships | 286 | 227 | 352 | 865 | ||||||||||
| Basketball Scholarships | 327 | 278 | 390 | 995 | 325 | 276 | 422 | 1023 | ||||||
| Cross Country Scholarships | 306 | 224 | 340 | 870 | 321 | 252 | 367 | 940 | 2 | 2 | ||||
| Fencing Scholarships |
20 | 3 | 13 | 36 | 25 | 3 | 15 | 43 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
| Field Hockey Scholarships | 76 | 26 | 153 | 255 | ||||||||||
| Football Scholarships | 238 | 151 | 229 | 618 | ||||||||||
| Golf Scholarships | 290 | 192 | 263 | 745 | 225 | 99 | 142 | 466 | 3 | 9 | 12 | |||
| Gymnastics Scholarships | 17 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 64 | 6 | 15 | 85 | ||||||
| Ice Hockey Scholarships | 58 | 7 | 69 | 134 | 30 | 2 | 40 | 72 | ||||||
| Lacrosse Scholarships |
54 | 29 | 129 | 212 | 77 | 32 | 149 | 258 | ||||||
| Rifle Scholarships |
4 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 18 | 2 | 6 | 26 | ||
| Rowing | 85 | 16 | 42 | 143 | ||||||||||
| Skiing Scholarships | 14 | 8 | 17 | 39 | 16 | 9 | 18 | 43 | ||||||
| Soccer Scholarships | 199 | 157 | 373 | 729 | 295 | 203 | 398 | 896 | ||||||
| Softball | 265 | 254 | 389 | 908 | ||||||||||
| Swim Scholarships | 143 | 52 | 191 | 386 | 187 | 68 | 232 | 487 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Tennis Scholarships | 269 | 166 | 307 | 742 | 312 | 210 | 357 | 879 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Track and Field | 247 | 106 | 208 | 561 | 289 | 108 | 219 | 616 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
| Track Scholarships | 264 | 151 | 243 | 658 | 294 | 156 | 252 | 702 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
| Volleyball Scholarships | 23 | 15 | 43 | 81 | 312 | 260 | 407 | 979 | ||||||
| Water Polo Scholarships | 21 | 9 | 16 | 46 | 30 | 10 | 18 | 58 | ||||||
| Wrestling Scholarships | 86 | 39 | 98 | 223 | ||||||||||
| Emerging Sports for Women | |||||
| I | II | III | Total | ||
| Archery | 3 | 3 | |||
| Badminton | 3 | 3 | |||
| Bowling | 26 | 14 | 2 | 42 | |
| Equestrian | 13 | 5 | N/A | 18 | |
| Rugby | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| Squash | 8 | 0 | 19 | 27 | |
| Sync. Swimming | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | |
Source: NCAA
