Athletic or Academic Scholarship...Which Is Better?

Athletic or Academic Scholarship…Which is Better?

 I am a sports junkie.  I was brought up in a family that loved sports.  My dad played college football at Wake Forest and he instilled his love of sports in me and my two brothers (and even my six sisters). My brother, Mark, was the best athlete in the family making All-State in basketball his senior year and receiving 53 full-ride athletic scholarship offers. He also received quite a few full-ride academic scholarship offers having graduated third in his class of over 800 students. He was a true student-athlete. He had the brains and the athleticism. I love it when I see that combination in a student-athlete!

Because of my love for sports my children love sports as well.  Both of my sons played football, basketball, and baseball in high school.  My daughter played basketball and tennis.  None of my children played college sports unless it was intramural.  Though I miss the days of watching my own children compete in sports on the high school level, I am blessed to have a job where I can enjoy watching other high school athletes compete and help to recruit them for our college. Which brings me to the reason for this article.

This past week I attended a high school basketball tournament where I was able to watch several games of high school basketball over three days.  I saw hundreds of players compete in the tournament and talked with many fellow coaches/recruiters who were there scouting players for their respective college teams.  All of the coaches/recruiters that I talked to were from NCAA DIII, NAIA, or NCCAA colleges.  The vast majority of players that I watched over those three days will, like my children, never play intercollegiate athletics.  There were probably 20-30 athletes that I saw play (both guys and girls) who would probably be able to compete at NCAA DIII, NAIA, NJCAA, or NCCAA levels.  None of the players I watched were NCAA DI (probably not even DII) material.  I’m not saying these players were not good basketball players.  Many coaches were there recruiting these players, me included, because they saw something in those players that would be a great fit for their teams.  Just because a player is not NCAA DI material does not mean they cannot play intercollegiate sports!  It just may not be at the DI or DII level.  However, don’t fall prey to the myth that NCAA DI or DII athletics is all there is and if you don’t get a full-ride DI or DII scholarship you’re just not going to play college sports at all.  Competition on the NCAA DIII level, NAIA, NJCAA, and NCCAA is extremely competitive and the vast majority of high school athletes will never even get the thrill of competing on these levels.  So count yourself fortunate if you have a coach from DIII, NAIA, NJCAA, or NCCAA looking at you. 

So, in saying all of that, the odds that an athlete in high school will get a full-ride NCAA D1 scholarship are extremely small.  You can see the odds in this table.

As the table shows, the odds are greater, if you have the talent to play intercollegiate athletics in the NCAA, that you will play NCAA DIII rather than DI or DII in many of the sports.  That’s why it is a good idea to start looking for scholarships not tied to athletics.  Concentrate on the “student” in student-athlete.  The odds of an athlete getting an academic scholarship are greater than an athlete getting a full-ride athletic scholarship.  And if you have the opportunity to receive an academic scholarship which will allow you to achieve your dream of playing intercollegiate athletics, it would be in your best interest to take it. An academic scholarship is just as good and just as real as an athletic scholarship. When I talk with a student-athlete and he/she tells me that their GPA is 3.0 or higher and they have scored high on their ACT/SAT, that is impressive. It tells me that here is a student-athlete who not only has the talent but also the brains and we won’t have to be concerned with giving a roster spot to a player who is going to be ineligible because of academics.

Jason Smith was an NCAA DIII athlete and a college coach at all three divisions.  He is now Director of Recruiting Services at Next College Student Athlete (NCSA) the largest and most successful athletic recruiting network in the country.  Jason writes in this article that even though “it’s true that Division III programs do not offer athletic scholarships,…the athletic department can still play a significant role in your financial aid package.”

He writes, “Division III college coaches leverage other types of aid student-athletes may qualify for, such as merit-based scholarships and grants. With Division III being mostly made up of small private schools, they tend to have these types of funds more readily available.

And these offers can be extremely appealing for families. For example, a Division III college coach may make an academic scholarship offer that relies heavily on grants, so your family isn’t required to pay that money back. In some cases, these offers may be better than a Division I or II partial athletic scholarship, especially if your child has a high GPA and test scores.”

So, which is better…an athletic scholarship or an academic scholarship? They’re both the same if they help you accomplish your dream and goal of playing intercollegiate athletics. So, student-athletes, study hard and get good grades.  And along with that goal, another goal you should have is graduating from college debt free. If you are looking for scholarship help, download The Scholarship File under Resources on this website and get to work.