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DyeStat Scholar
The Recruiting Game, Part 2
What are the chances for a scholarship in track?
by Donna Dye
Realities - Money - Competition
College athletic scholarships are limited and competition is high.
According to the National Collegiate Athlete Association (NCAA), the number of full time athletic scholarships permitted at one time for track & field (including indoor, outdoor, and cross country) is 12 for men and 18 for women. Using NCAA figures, during the 1998-99 year for Outdoor Track and Field in Divisions I and II, there were 405 programs for men and 369 for women. That would mean a maximum of 4,860 athletic scholarships available for men and 6,642 athletic scholarships available for women. So that is a little more than 11,000 potential college scholarship slots, and there are more than 800,000 athletes on high school track teams -- a 77 to 1 proposition.
Realities
In reality, it is even harder than a 77 to 1 shot to get a "full ride" in track in field, for a number of reasons:
- Partial Scholarships. Partial scholarships come from breaking up full time scholarships; so for example if a scholarship at a given college is worth $12,000, a college could award 12 partial scholarships of $1,000 each.
- Lack of Funds. Colleges don't award the maximums because the college does not have the money to support the entire program.
- "Walk-on" Athletes. These athletes do not receive an athletic scholarship but are on the team. "Walk On" athletes participate in track & field for the love of the sport while paying for college with private funds or other kinds of financial assistance. "Walk On" may sometimes earn a scholarship after the first year.
- Only a fraction of scholarships is available in any given year because many slots are filled by returning athletes.
Money for Athletic Scholarships
Money for college sports, including scholarships, comes from a variety of sources raised by the college and college support groups such as booster clubs and alumni groups. Sports programs within a college compete for the money. Usually, the majority of funds go to such sports as football. The money for a program is also affected by efforts to give equal opportunity to women.
Title IX of the U. S. Civil Rights Act prohibits exclusion from participation in sports based on gender. Efforts to make sure that women have equal opportunity to participate in sports affects the number of scholarships, and the number of sports offered at colleges. To keep the balance between the budget and equity in sports for men and women some colleges:
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Limit the number of scholarships for both men and women�
Limit scholarships for men�
Drop some sports altogether�
Drop a men's program in a sportTitle IX will be a topic later in this series of articles on recruiting.
Competing for an Athletic Scholarship
According to the National Federation of State High School Association, during the 1998-99 high school year, 477,960 boys and 405,163 girls participated in outdoor track & field. If you say that about half of those participating in high school track & field were qualified for and interested in participating in college, there were 238,980 boys that competed for 4,860 athletic scholarships and 202,582 girls that competed for 6,642 athletic scholarships.
These figures show that there are only a small number of scholarships compared to the number of boys and girls interested in competing at the college level as a recruited student athlete. Scholarships go to those who have proven ability, as well as untapped talents. It is important to remain realistic about earning any scholarship, and seek a variety of sources for financing college. It may be possible to earn a partial athletic scholarship and supplement it with other academic, public or private scholarships or financial aid programs.
Students should start early to discuss options with counselors and parents.
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