What to Know about Athletic Scholarships

If one is merely decent at a sport they are not likely to be considered for an athletic scholarship. It takes more than just wanting someone to pay for an individual's college needs because they may do something pretty well. The individual must earn the scholarship through athletic excellence. Athletic scholarships are very competitive as well as extremely influenced by other factors. Although hard to get, there are many athletic scholarships offered at smaller colleges. It might not be the same as playing for UCLA or Notre Dame, but it might just pay for one's education.

There are three major players when it comes to athletic scholarships. They are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). Although the NCAA is by far the most popular organization when it comes to promoting athletes, the NAIA and the NJCAA tend to offer more opportunities as far as scholarships go, they just tend to be a little less noticed than the NCAA.

If an individual has any chance at all to achieve a scholarship for any of the three divisions listed above, that individual needs to do their homework on each organization. I'm sure everyone has dreams of being discovered and carried off by adoring fans and promoters, but it's just that; a dream. Only rarely does one get recognized for their talent and lives out the Cinderella fantasy. Everyone else has to work for it. Each organizations web site has a list of eligibility rules and some even have a registering system. Ignorance is not an excuse with these people, if one wants the scholarship they will do what it takes to qualify for it.
 

The different organizations offer different options to the aspiring athlete. The NCAA is the largest in the division and represents over 1000 schools within their division. The NAIA represents a smaller number in schools ranging at about 300 or so. The NJCAA represents schools that are two year colleges instead of the traditional four year institutions. There are also many scholarships offered for sports that don't rank up there with the traditional football, baseball, and basketball. Since they are not as common it might be easier to snag if one has the skills required.

Once an individual earns a scholarship from one of these organizations it needs to be realized that there are two kinds of scholarships offered. One is a full scholarship which can pay for pretty much all college expenses such as tuition, books, and boarding expenses; the other is a partial scholarship which only covers partial expenses Obviously a full scholarship is desired, but anything helps when it comes to paying those nasty college expenses.