For a headcount sport, each athlete on scholarship counts toward the maximum headcount the school can have on scholarship, so whether a player is given a full athletic scholarship or given only one dollar, s/he is counted toward the headcount for that sport. Since a men’s basketball team can only have thirteen scholarship athletes in their headcount, a school might as well offer thirteen full scholarships so it can attract the thirteen best players possible. For headcount sports, full scholarships are more common. The list is not long. Men’s headcount sports are basketball and football, and women’s headcount sports are basketball, gymnastics, tennis, and volleyball.
For an equivalency sport, coaches have a certain total dollar amount in the “scholarship pot,” but can split it up among multiple athletes in any proportions they want. They can carry more athletes on partial scholarships and this provides the opportunity to develop more players. It is harder to get a full scholarship in an equivalency sport because it is in the coach’s best interest to use the allotment of scholarship money to get as many high potential athletes on the team as possible. Every other sport offered at the collegiate level not mentioned above as a headcount sport is an equivalency sport. Look back at the chart for a minute. You will notice that D-I men’s soccer allows 9.9 scholarships and D-I men’s volleyball allows 4.5. With eleven soccer players on the field at a time, and six volleyball players on a court, even all of the first string players can’t be awarded full scholarships. And don’t forget all the other players waiting on the sidelines. For most sports, partial-scholarship athletes, walk-ons, and non-scholarship athletes are an important part of the mix.
Why do equivalency sports not have the ability to combine a partial scholarship and financial aid without effecting the sports "pot" of money? An athlete with a partial scholarship cannot receive fin aid and therefore the burden of paying for the balance of the tuition and fees falls on the family. You can combine athletic and academic money, but not financial aid and athletic. How does this make sense, and how does the middle to lower income athlete afford to go to college?
ReplyDeleteThe Great thing is that the student athlete reading this article can now adjust their behavior/strategy since they know the rules.
ReplyDeleteWork harder in the classroom to become the highly sought after academic student. If the NCAA tells you in advance that the rules suggest that the athlete become a better student then let's become the better academic student and rely less on family income to justify additional aide and loans. Channel some of the athletic energy to academic energy.