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Organizations

Institutions, Groups, Web Sites, that play a role in college athletics eligibility, recruiting, scholarships and related topics.

 
 

Organizations

Athletic Organizations

Almost all college athletics is sponsored and organized by associations. Three are most prominent in the United States: National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the National junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)

The NCAA describes itself as "a voluntary association of about 1,200 colleges and universities, athletic conferences and spors organizations devoted to the sound administraion of intercollegiate athletics. Volunteer representative from these schools and conferences establish rules that govern the Association and programs designed to further it's purposes and goals." The NCAA is the best known of the three organizations whose membership includes many of the largest and prestegious public and private colleges and universities. Sports is organized into three divisions and many conferences. The difference between the divisions is basically the number of sports that the college sponsors and the amount of athletically related financial aid a college awards to student-athletes.

For more information see the NCAA web site.

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)

The NAIA is an oranization of colleges and universities that defines itself as "devoted to a 'champions of character' environment in which every NAIA student-athlete, coach, official and spectator is committed to the true spirit of competition on through respect, integrity, responsibility, servant leadership, and sportsmanship."

See The NAIA Option for more on the NAIA.

For more information see the NAIA web site.

The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA)

The NJCAA was organized to promote and supervise a national program of junior college sports and activities consistent with the educational objectives of junior colleges. Its roots go back to 1937 at Fresno California but it wasn't until 1938 that it was officiall organized. Track and field was the first sport sponsored by the NJCAA and the first meet was in Sacramento California in 1939. Today, the NJCAA sponsors many sports throughout the United States.

For more information see the NJCAA web site.

College Web Sites

There are a variety of of web sites on the Internet. The most up-to-date links is through the athletic associations that the colleges hold membership in. All three associations alphabetically list their members and have links to the college general web site and the college athletic web site for each sport.

  • www.ncaa.org - Links to NCAA Colleges. Click on Sports and Championships on left. Click cross country and/or track and field. Click on Member’s Web Sites. Click on arrow for schools.
  • www.naia.org - Links to NAIA Colleges. Scroll down until you find Information on the right column. Click on Listing of NAIA Conferences and School Web Sites.
  • http://www.njcaa.org - Community or Junior Colleges.You can find a community college by name or by sport.

Athletics, Scholarship, Rules and Eligibility

  • NCAA - www.ncaa.org - Primary site about college athletics including rules, and regulat ions and high school entry rules
  • NCAA Clearinghouse - www.ncaaclearinghouse.net - Initial eligibility criteria at NCAA Division I and II member colleges and universities. You may also register online at this site.
  • The Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA) administers the National Letter of Intent Program. The letter of intent is a binding 1 year agreement between the student athlete and the college.
  • Campuschamps - www.campuschamps.com - Help for student athletes to find colleges, apply for admission, get financial aid.

Organizations In Depth

NAIA--The NAIA Option--Room for everyone at these smaller schools
by Donna Dye

As you develop your list of potential college opportunities, don't overlook the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics or the NAIA. There are approximately 300 colleges in the NAIA, most of which offer both academic and athletic scholarships. Many, but not all, are small private institutions with religious affiliation. See the NAIA web site for a listing of the colleges and links to college websites.

Real Benefits!

There is room for everyone at the NAIA from top to average athletes. One of the nice benefits is that it offers opportunities for the average athlete to participate and contribute to the team. Such athletes typically are lost in other programs or not included. And on top of the chance to participate athletically, it also offers the chance to earn scholarships. To add more good news, the NAIA has easier, less restrictive eligibility criteria and the colleges have more open entrance requirements.

From the Coach's Corner

Coach Collins at Lewis-Clark State College, in Idaho, says NAIA colleges offer many opportunities for athletes including: paid college at generally smaller schools; smaller classes with good teachers; national level competitions; and an opportunity to participate regularly on typically small close knit teams. The Lewis-Clark teams are diversified with special education and high academic students participating together.

At the Azusa Pacific University, in Azusa CA, the student to teacher ratio is 17 to 1. Coach Reid feels that the small class size and personal attention generally found at NAIA schools make for quality education and personal attention. Such an academic atmosphere carries over to the athletic programs where you will find a good team though not always great depth.

Good Competition Too
As far as the level of competition at the NAIA, there is agreement among at least three NAIA coaches that the level is somewhat comparable to the Division II in the NCAA. Coach Stoots at the University of Mobile, says "look at the numbers, the times; they tell the story." And the competition is not limited to NAIA colleges. A typical NAIA season includes many other invitationals including NCAA competitions. In fact, Coach Reid at Azusa say that their season generally includes 25% within the NAIA and 75% outside of the NAIA.

Further, Coach Reid says that you can hardly find a better competitive area than Southern California. "We compete with the best. This year Azusa competed at the Stanford Invitational; other years we competed at Mt. SAC and other quality competitive invitationals," he said.

What are the coaches looking for?
From the recruiting corner, Coach Reid says that while an athlete's marks are important, attitude is just as important. "We need athletes that fit the program and attitude and character count. We have a Division I attitude with high goals and expectations…our program is intense…we coach to the Olympic level."

Coach Stoots at the University of Mobile, looks for athletes who "love the sport and have the desire and work ethic to do whatever is necessary to go as far as the athlete can go." In return, Coach Stoots provides individualized workouts to respond to an athlete's needs while at the same time pushing runners to the limits. He welcomes "walk-ons." And while they may not go to every meet, they do participate and receive the individual attention to develop.

Check out the DyeStat College Choices to learn who in the Class of 2002 chose NAIA colleges.

The NAIA publishes a Guide for the College-Bound Athlete to help students understand the eligibility regulations. You can obtain the Guide and a list of the NAIA website. See Eligibility for information on NAIA eligibility.

Scholar-Athlete Guide by Donna Dye

 


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