Dr. Gwen Ramson, Ph.D., Staff Contributor

 

Popular Varsity Athletics Scholarships

While there are plenty of scholarships, the most popular college scholarship is the NCAA Scholarship, as it gets more advertising dollars and scholarship money than any other scholarship.

 

NCAA Undergraduate Athletic Scholarships

NCAA governs most college sports and assures those intercollegiate athletics are integrated into higher education. There are three NCAA divisions I, II, or III depending on how many sports they sponsor. NCAA gives out scholarships to only Division I and Division II schools. Several scholarships are offered by NCAA. While Division I and II scholarships are very competitive students should contact Division III schools as well. Division II relies on a partial-scholarship model to administer athletics-based financial aid. Most Division II student-athletes finance their education through a combination of scholarship money, grants, student loans, and employment earnings. Usually, Division III schools have theirs on sports scholarships.

 

Post Graduate Athletic Scholarships

If you are aspiring to be an athletics administrator, coach, or athletic trainer by joining a post-graduate program then NCAA Ethnic Minority and Women's Scholarship is for you.

 

NJCAA

NJCAA which governs sports at most of the junior colleges has several scholarships for the institutions which do not qualify for Division I and Division II status with NCAA. Most of the colleges supported by NJCAA are two-year institutions such as Community Colleges. This is a great place for students who are planning to attend a two-year college and are seeking an athletic scholarship.

 

NAIA Scholarships

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics offers full-tuition scholarships to students attending colleges in USA and Canada. Students must be attending one of the 300 colleges to get this scholarship. 

 

Qualifications for an Athletic Scholarship

Athletic scholarships are highly competitive, but the good news is that you can qualify for them. 

Applicant criteria for an athletic scholarship:

 

• NCAA, NJCAA, NAIA, or your local scholarship authority must have a scholarship for the sport you play.
• You are a student who has performed consistently well in both academics and athletics.
• If you are granted a scholarship and admission into the institution, you must be willing to play the sport in inter-collegiate competitions.
• You must not be a substance abuser.
• You must have good verbal and written communication skills to apply and interview for the scholarship.

 

If you decide to pay someone to get you a scholarship, you need to beware. FTC has a list of warnings you should carefully consider before paying someone.

 

Applying for an Athletic Scholarship

Applying for an athletic scholarship can be time-consuming, requiring a student to start preparing for it in the junior year of high school. 

 

Before you apply for a scholarship, you need to decide on the institutions you are interested in attending. You can speak to your high school adviser or coach to learn about various colleges and research them. You can usually apply for it during your senior year. After selecting the colleges you are interested in, you can pursue the following options: 

1. Request your high school coach to introduce you to coaches in various universities. Usually, high school coaches have a network of college coaches who work with them to recruit students.
2. If there are alumni from your high school who are playing sports at a college of your choice, they can introduce you to their coach as well.
3. You can also approach the coach at the college or university to discuss your athletic accomplishments.
4. You can also approach the admissions department of the college and university. Private schools are usually more eager to speak to student-athletes than public schools. 
5. Work with the local media to see if they can publish your performance in a local newspaper or talk on a TV channel. It can give you free marketing.
6. Set up a website or blog to talk about your performances.

 

Coparent or Children of Divorced and Separated Parents

While there are no specific athletic scholarships for co-parents returning to school or their children, the personal hardships can give you an upper hand. For example, if you are an athlete and a co-parent, you can demonstrate that you have excelled at academics and athletics while juggling the responsibilities of parenthood. The children of divorced and separated parents can outline how they persisted and excelled in their academics and athletics while bouncing around between the two parents.

 

Related:

• Minority Scholarships

Warning:  This post is neither financial, health, legal, or personal advice nor a substitute for the advice offered by a professional. These are serious matters, and the help of a professional is recommended as it can impact your future.