A Parent’s Guide to College Scholarships and Funding Opportunities for Student-Athletes

Today, we continue our series of college sports prep articles by covering a subject that concerns many families—finance. For many families, the idea of a child getting to play college sports is a dream come true, even if the financial reality can be more than a bit overwhelming. These days, with the ever-rising cost of tuition and the cost of living, parents often wonder whether or not they can even consider college sports as an option. And even if they do, they wonder whether their child’s athletic talent can help offset the exorbitant cost they may wind up paying for school.

The answer to these questions is complicated, to be sure, but there are many options available to parents with an eye towards collegiate sports. The long and short of it is that athletic scholarships abound, even if they are just one piece of a much larger puzzle. Indeed, funding opportunities for children who are interested in college sports come in many forms, including athletic awards, academic scholarships, private programs, and need-based aid. The key to achieving any of these often involves the parents taking time to understand the vagaries of collegiate funding.

In this article, we will endeavor to help parents navigate these strange waters. We will discuss the many college scholarships and funding opportunities available for young athletes, offering parents practical advice, real-world examples, and tips for making the most of every one of them.

The Rising Cost of College

Right from the start, we feel it’s important that parents get a lay of the land when it comes to collegiate costs. Knowing what the average yearly costs, four-year totals, and the reality of college debt as it exists today, will help parents understand why scholarships and funding opportunities have become so crucial.

• Average costs: According to the College Board, the average tuition and fees for the 2024–2025 school year came to around $11,500 per year. This figure is for in-state students at public universities. For private universities, the cost is far more, coming in at an average of $42,000 per year. Note that these figures represent only tuition, they do not include room, board, books, and travel—all figures which may be much higher this year than they were previously, thanks to the continually-rising cost of living.
• Four-year totals: Taking these numbers into account, it is reasonable to assume that the total cost of college for a public college can easily reach $100,000 and upwards of $200,000 for private institutions.
• Debt reality: These days, the average U.S. student borrower leaves college with about $30,000 in student loan debt, but for more specialized, higher-paying career options, that number can be even higher.

If those seem like sobering numbers to you, you aren’t alone. The good news is that, daunting as they may seem, the options to reduce those costs are myriad.

The Basics Behind Athletic Scholarships

Athletic scholarships are the first thing that comes to mind when parents begin to think about sending their young athletes off to college. The thing is, few parents understand how these scholarships really work. Indeed, even if those parents had their own scholarships when attending college, the changing nature of the economy and higher education is such that, things may be a bit different this time around.

NCAA Scholarships

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is the largest governing body of college sports in the United States. This program has three divisions, each with its own scholarship programs and requirements.

• Division I (DI): This program is known for the most competitive athletics and therefore, the biggest scholarships. However, it should be noted that not all sports are considered “full-ride” sports. Football, basketball, and volleyball often offer full scholarships, whereas sports like baseball or track may only provide partial awards to students.
• Division II (DII): Division II offers partial athletic scholarships, not full. DII schools tend to balance athletics with academics and often combine sports scholarships with other forms of student financial aid.
• Division III (DIII): If your child is in a DIII school, scholarships might be off the table. This program does not allow athletic scholarships. However, Division III schools often offer generous academic and need-based aid packages. These might not constitute a full ride, but they can certainly pad the cost of things.

Other College Sports Organizations

While the NCAA is the best known, it’s not the only path for young athletes to find financial assistance:

• NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics): Colleges in this grouping tend to be smaller, though they do compete at a fairly high level. They also offer scholarships to worthy recipients, awarding over $800 million in scholarships annually. Even more importantly, these schools often have fewer recruiting restrictions than Division-centric NCAA schools.
• NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association): The NJCAA schools tend to be comprised mostly of two-year community colleges, albeit ones with strong athletic programs. Many athletes use the junior college scholarships these schools offer as a stepping stone to transfer to four-year schools and give them more clout towards achieving scholarships in those higher-level programs.

Myth-Busting Athletic Scholarships

There are some common misconceptions when it comes to scholarships. First, parents should understand that full rides are quite rare. Most, if not all, athletes only receive partial scholarships. Such scholarships only cover a portion of that student’s tuition. In many cases, grades still matter. This means that student athlete’s need to be as diligent in their studies as they do on the sports field and must maintain a certain GPA in order to keep their scholarships. Finally, it should be said that recruitment into college athletics programs is a complex process with all manner of ins, outs, ups, and downs. Coaches who head up the recruitment process are looking for athletes who can contribute to their teams, yes, but they also seek out students who show dedication, character, and potential to succeed in academic pursuits as well as athletic.

The Advantage of Academic Scholarships

Athletic scholarships might be the main draw for some parents, but academic scholarships are equally—if not more—important for many families looking for college financial assistance. The best thing about these academic scholarships is that they offer young athletes a measure of flexibility when it comes to their college careers. Say the student suffers and injury and cannot compete, an academic award already achieved can ensure that some of their college funding is still in place. It should also be noted that many schools weigh academics just as highly as a coach’s assertion of a student’s athletic prowess. In many cases, a recruiting coach might even seek out a better student over a middling one, just because they know the admissions office will be more in line with that student’s application.

Types of Academic Scholarships

• Merit-based awards: These types of awards are typically given to students with high GPAs or strong standardized test scores (SAT/ACT).
• Honors program scholarships: Many honors programs offer qualifying students certain scholarships, as long as the student is already enrolled in such a program. Note that these programs can also come with perks like early class registration.
• Departmental scholarships: Departmental scholarships tend to be awarded by individual academic departments (e.g., engineering, education, or business) for those students whose grades and accomplishments meet their individual requirements.
• Combination awards: There are schools out there that allow students to stack academic and athletic scholarships together; granting them additional opportunities for funding.

Need-Based Financial Aid

Even if a student does not get a full scholarship, there are many families out there that qualify for need-based aid. This type of government funding can make an enormous difference in mitigating college tuition for many students.

FAFSA: The Starting Point

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the key to unlocking the most prevalent, need-based aid. Families who intend on having their child attend college should fill out as soon as possible, as it determines a number of different financial aid programs, including:

• Federal Pell Grants (which do not need to be repaid)
• Federal work-study programs
• Federal student loans at lower interest rates

Applications open on October 1, each year and can be found on the FAFSA website, linked in the texted above. Parents should also be aware that many colleges also use FAFSA information to award their own forms of student aid. This Institutional aid is often available from private colleges, which tend to come with their own higher tuition costs. That said, these institutions can also have large endowments, which students can financially benefit from.

How It All Adds Up

As we begin to close out our discussion, we wanted to prevent parents with a potential, real-world example of what it would look like for a student athlete to attend college under the current circumstances. The athlete in this case is named Emily and she plays soccer. She gets good grades and has an average GPA of 3.8. Because of her skill and her diligence, Emily receives a partial athletic scholarship covering $12,000, a merit scholarship for $6,000, and a state grant of $4,000. This all in addition to the two small private scholarships she earns totaling $2,000. Altogether, her $24,000 in aid brings down the cost of her $40,000 tuition bill to just $16,000 per year; which is still a lot, mind you, but not insurmountable. The point is, over the course of four years, Emily and her family can save nearly $100,000 on schooling!

Cultured Athlete Says…

As you can see, though college can feel financially intimidating for parents and young athletes alike, there are numerous funding opportunities available. These scholarships and financial aid programs provide real hope and by combining athletic awards, academic scholarships, need-based aid, and creative funding strategies, families can often piece together a package that makes higher education far more manageable. Moreover, the right combination of these things might also help them avoid accruing overwhelming debt.

The key to all of this is for parents to start the process early, stay organized throughout, and keep their options open. Pigeon-holing yourself into any offer or funding option will only serve to make things more complex down the line. The earlier you begin, the more time you will have to research and make the right choices.