Athletic Scholarship Notification Deadline July 1st, 2018

If An NCAA Division I or II student-athlete has been on an athletic scholarship during the 2017-18 year, they must be notified no later than July 1st if their scholarship will be reduced or not renewed for the 2018-19 academic year.
The official notification must come from the university’s financial aid office, and must include information about the opportunity to appeal the reduction or cancellation.

While the rules do give coaches and athletic departments until July 1 to make their final decisions, most coaches will inform student-athletes on athletic scholarships during end-of-the-year or end-of-the-season one-on-one meetings.

If your athlete has been verbally informed by the coach that their athletic scholarship is being reduced or won’t be renewed for next year, I suggest that you request information about the hearing opportunity as soon as possible.
Otherwise, if you wait to receive the official notification from the financial aid office, you could be waiting until near the end of July before a campus committee hears your appeal.

Here’s an example of how much delay could occur if you wait to request a hearing opportunity:

• Student-Athlete is verbally informed by the coach at the end of their season in early May that their athletic scholarship won’t be renewed for next year.

• But, the student-athlete is waiting for the written notification, and assumes that it may come after final exams, so doesn’t act on the word from the coach. The official notice actually isn’t sent until late June.

• When the student-athlete receives the notice, he/she considers it for a couple of days, and now it’s early July when the student-athlete wants to request the appeal, but the campus is closed for the July 4th holiday.

• The university has up to 30 days from receiving the student-athlete’s request for appeal in which to conduct the hearing, so it’s now late July or early August before the hearing takes place and a ruling is determined.

Obviously, not much time to plan for the 2018-19 school year!!!
Contact us at 913-766-1235 or send an email to rick@informedathlete.com if you have questions about scholarship reductions or non-renewals.