Need to Know Athletic Scholarship Tips & Reminders

Here are some tips and reminders for athletes who have already signed with a college sports program for the upcoming year, as well as for those who may currently be in the recruiting process.

NCAA DI

• Coaches can offer one-year renewable athletic scholarships, or multi-year scholarships which are specifically written to cover multiple academic years. Be sure to note which type of offer your athlete is signing – especially if in their recruiting pitch they are saying that “your scholarship will not be reduced or cancelled as long as you maintain academic eligibility and don’t violate team rules or misconduct policies.” Too many coaches don’t honor their word.
• For athletes who are in the position of having multiple colleges recruiting them and can “negotiate” a scholarship offer, a multi-year scholarship offer is obviously an advantage, but especially so at Division I universities that are NOT in one of the “Power Five” conferences.
• A scholarship can only be reduced or cancelled “during the period of the award” under specific NCAA guidelines.
• Athletes who were on an athletic scholarship the preceding academic year must be notified in writing not later than July 1 regarding the status of their scholarship for the following year.
• A National Letter of Intent is not the same thing as a scholarship agreement issued by a university.

NCAA Division II

• Coaches are not permitted to offer an athletic scholarship for more than one year at a time. They may say that the scholarship will be renewed each year, but there is no requirement that they do so since the rules specifically limit an athletic scholarship to no more than one year.
• A scholarship can only be reduced or cancelled “during the period of the award” under specific NCAA guidelines.
• Athletes who were on an athletic scholarship the preceding academic year must be notified in writing not later than July 1 regarding the status of their scholarship for the following year.
• A National Letter of Intent is not the same thing as a scholarship agreement issued by a university.

NAIA

• All forms of institutional financial aid received by a student-athlete count against the maximum team limit in their sport. However, aid provided to athletes with strong academic standing may be exempt from counting against team scholarship limits based on their academic performance. Those criteria vary between entering freshman and currently-enrolled athletes.

NJCAA

• An NJCAA Letter of Intent is the same thing as a scholarship agreement IF a scholarship is offered.
• An NJCAA Letter of Intent can be issued without an athletic scholarship.
• A Letter of Intent from an NJCAA college is in effect from August 1 to July 31.
• Renewal of a Letter of Intent for the following year must be given in the form of a new NJCAA Letter on or before June 15.
• An athlete not given a second-year Letter of Intent by June 15 becomes recruitable by other NJCAA colleges on June 16.

If You Have Questions

For specific scholarship questions, schedule a confidential scholarship strategies consult online, send an email to us at rick@informedathlete.com or call us at 913-766-1235.