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RECRUITING BLOG: WHAT ARE YOUR ODDS OF EARNING AN ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP?
By Gary Silvers
What’s more difficult than earning a spot on a college sports team?
Earning an athletic scholarship.
Only 2 percent of high school athletes receive athletic scholarships – full or partial. The other 4 percent of high school athletes who go on to play in college can be eligible for academic scholarships or grants. Some receive a combination of scholarships and/or grants. Others must pay to play.
NCAA Division I and II schools offer athletic scholarships. So do NAIA and NJCAA schools. However, NCAA Division III schools do not. Neither do the prestigious Ivy League schools, which don’t offer athletic or academic scholarships.
Due to Title IX, the landmark legislation that put women and men on an equal playing field for athletic scholarships, there are more athletic scholarships available to women than men in virtually every college sport but football.
Division I men’s sports with the most athletic scholarships (not including football) are: 1. Ice Hockey (18); 2. Basketball (13); 3. (tie) Lacrosse and Track/Cross Country (12.6); 5. Baseball (11.7).
Division I women’s sports with the most athletic scholarships are: 1. (tie) Rowing and Track/Cross Country (20); 3. Ice Hockey (18); 4. Basketball (15); 5. (tie) Gymnastics, Soccer and Swimming (14).
Division I men’s sports with the fewest athletic scholarships are: 1. Rifle (3.6); 2. (tie) Fencing, Golf, Tennis, Volleyball and Water Polo (4.5).
Division I women’s sports with the fewest athletic scholarships are: 1. (tie) Archery, Bowling, Fencing and Synchronized Swimming (5); 5. Golf (6).
According to the NCAA, the average athletic scholarship is valued at $10,409.
If you’re looking for the sport that offers the highest average athletic scholarship, I suggest you learn how to skate. Yes, the average men’s and women’s ice hockey scholarships are valued at more than $20,000.
The second-highest paying men’s sport is basketball with an average scholarship of $16,698 followed by gymnastics ($13,351), football ($12,980) and fencing ($10,814).
Gymnastics is the No. 2 women’s sport ($16,478), followed by basketball ($15,459), volleyball ($12,726), tennis ($12,629) and fencing ($12,040).
The lowest-paying men’s sports are rifle ($3,608), baseball ($5,806), golf ($6,338), volleyball ($6,360), track/cross country ($6,491) and wrestling ($6,703).
Women’s sports that pay the least are bowling ($4,899), rifle ($6,292), water polo ($7,793), track/cross country ($8,105) softball ($8,255) and soccer ($8,404).
The way to receive the most athletic scholarship money is to create competition among college coaches.
You see, college sports are a business – a big business. Like any business managers, college coaches want to pay the least amount of money they can, so they can stretch their athletic budgets as far as possible.
If you receive a scholarship offer, you have two choices: take it or leave it. However, if you receive multiple offers, then the (pardon the pun) ball is in your court. You can play one school against another, resulting in the most scholarship money.
How do you create that competition?
Stay tuned…
Gary Silvers, Area Director of College Scouting for National Scouting Report, writes a weekly recruiting blog for SuburbanOneSports.com. He can be reached at (215) 480-8764 or gsilvers@nsr-inc.com.