Athletic Scholarships

An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based mainly on his or her ability to play in a sport.   Individual institutions, specifically Division I and II schools, award athletic scholarships based on their membership to the NCAA. NCAA members give more than $1.5 billion in athletics scholarships annually. Conversely, Division III schools offer academic scholarships only. When it comes to athletic scholarships and college sports recruiting, it is important to become familiar with the rules and regulations surrounding the various college associations, conferences, and divisions. Thus, this paper discusses rules, regulations, and education of athletes.
In 1973, the NCAA split its membership into three divisions: Division I, Division II, and Division III.   This division was due to increase division in school sizes and financial aid availability and accessibility between schools. The goal of the separation was to increase the competition between schools due to difference in size and program regulations. Football, being one of the largest regulated sports, was further divided into two more categories. Division I football is further separated into the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS, formerly I-A) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS, formerly I-AA). The two differ in several ways on which they can award scholarships:
• Number of football scholarships: FBS schools are allowed 85 players receiving athletic aid, while FCS schools are allowed 63 scholarships.
• Awarding of partial scholarships: Because each player receiving athletic aid for football counts fully against an FBS team's scholarship limit, this means that all players awarded football scholarships at FBS schools receive full scholarships. While FCS schools are allowed to divide their 63 scholarships among no more than 85 individual players.
(Wikipedia)

Some schools or leagues permitted by the NCAA to award athletic scholarships...