Advantages of Playing NCAA I Sports

Every year millions of high school student-athletes are jockeying to put themselves in the position to be competitive for a coveted Division I NCAA scholarship. The reason for this intense competition can be traced back to the many advantages that come with being offered a scholarship by one of the 347 Division I schools. In addition to being able to continue competing in the sport that you love, there is a bevy of inherent advantages that come with continuing your athletic career at the college level. Here are just a few of the benefits that come with playing sports at the Division I level:

Free or Reduced Cost College Education - The biggest benefit of being awarded an NCAA Division I scholarship is the opportunity that it affords to receive a college education at little to no cost. There are varying levels of scholarships ranging from full rides to partial amounts, making it important that you understand what kind of scholarship you have been offered.

Access to Academic Services - Student-athletes who have received athletic scholarships to NCAA Division I schools are automatically at an advantage when it comes to academic opportunities. Many schools offer a wide array of services designed to help their student-athletes succeed in the classroom. Examples of these services include private tutoring, study hall access, and visits with guidance counselors.

Chance to Travel - One of the most appreciated benefits offered to student-athletes at the NCAA Division I level is the chance to travel around the country and sometimes even the world. You will go where the competition is, allowing you to see a host of diverse places along the way. While most of the travel is not glamorous, many teams try to work in time to sight-see while on their trips.

Lasting Relationships - Competing with the same group people year in and year out naturally means that you will begin to develop lasting bonds. The relationships that you build with your teammates, coaches, and administrators will stay with you for a lifetime. Learning to deal with different personality types in a close setting will also provide you with invaluable life skills as you progress through your adult relationships.

Future Job Prospects Increased - Competing at the NCAA Division I level looks great on a college resume. Business leaders have high respect for student-athletes who have demonstrated that they can successfully balance the rigors of their studies with their team commitments. Being involved in college athletics will also provide you with connections and networking opportunities that may prove useful as you advance through your career.

Because of the late timing of the playing season as compared to other college sports, baseball recruiting is in a unique position because college coaches must really look ahead to fill out their roster. Unlike many other sports, high school baseball is played during the spring season. This means that by the time the student-athlete is a senior, the college coaches have most likely offered all of their available scholarships.

High-profile schools such as those in the Power 5 conferences may even have their recruiting classes set by the high school sophomore year, making the freshman year an imperative season for many top-notch recruits. Many college baseball coaches take verbal commitments from athletes as young as sophomores.

For most high school baseball athletes, the senior year is way too late to start the recruiting process. If your goal is to play college baseball, you will need to submit your college applications prior to the start of your senior season. Because of the time-sensitive nature of baseball recruiting, it is important to use the results of your freshman season to generate your target list for scholarship offers, regardless of whether you have college scouts and recruiters at your games.

You should definitely go if you know how can you get a chance to swim on the collegiate level.

If you know you’re strong enough to qualify for an college swimming & diving athletic scholarship offer from a number of swim teams, then you should go for it. The point is to identify in which team you’re interested in. Also, to get an understanding of which universities actually do award athletic scholarships.

Now let me tell you the types of Scholarships college offers.

There are 6 large divisions in college swimming:

• NCAA D1
• NCAA D2
• NCAA D3
• NAIA
• NJCAA D1
• NJCAA D3

Note that NCAA D3 schools and NJCAA D3 schools don't have any sports scholarships available!
Swimming is similar sport. Apart from headcount sports (e.g. women's tennis), coaches may disseminate their available scholarship budget. They can allocate the scholarship to as many players as they like. We will have a detailed look at what that means in a little bit.

Scholarship Limits in College Swimming & Diving

It is clear from the above-mentioned statement that how much scholarship money may be made available by the athletic program to the different recruits. You can take the idea about the maximum number of scholarships from the graph given below, a swim coach could have to work with. Make sure that the athletic department could also opt to offer the coaching staff less budget than the maximum allowable amount. If that is the case, this is often part of the reason why certain universities are able to attract stronger athletes, compared to other colleges:

• NCAA D1- men's swimming permits a limit of 9.9 scholarships per team.
• NCAA D1- women's swimming permits a limit of 14 scholarships per team.
• NCAA D2 – permits a limit of 8.1 scholarships per team (Men’s/women's swimming)
• NAIA – permits a limit of 8 scholarships per team (Men’s/women's swimming)
• NJCAA D1- permits a maximum limit of 15 scholarships (Men’s/women's swimming)

What if you are offered a scholarship, which enfolds approx 50% of the cost of attendance? Will you get other forms of financial aid from the university?

Of course, You’ll get it. If you attain the school's criteria, such as being a strong student (GPA, SAT, ACT).

What Is An Athletic Scholarship Worth?

What's the value of a scholarship and what does it cover?

The scholarship attains a number of various costs, however, the definition varies somewhat between the different governing associations.

According to NCAA rules, a full scholarship enfolds "tuition & fees, room & board and course-related books".

According to NAIA rules, a full scholarship enfolds tuition, mandatory fees, books & supplies need for courses in which the student-athlete is registered, and room & board.

According to NJCAA rules, a full scholarship enfolds tuition & fees, room & board and course-related books.To conclude, if you are a full scholarship holder in swimming, your total costs of attendance are covered by the school. But don't get too excited. Usually, this is very rare because only a few percentages of athletes get such a large scholarship offer.

Key Things to Remember - College Swimming & Diving

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Domestic Students & International Students

There is an important difference based upon where are you from, even for American students. Schools' tuition fees vary for US students. It doesn’t matter where they study. Whether they study at a college within their state of residency or in another state - and international students. The economical option is to register at college in the state of residency.

Scholarship Agreement

Well, scholarships are only given for one academic year. However, scholarship agreements are usually extended year after year at the end of the season. It covers the full four years of the students' eligibility. Having said that, it's not unexceptional that you may "get" more scholarship money if you do well in the team.

Scholarship Availability

Keep in mind that college swim teams comprise of many athletes. Mostly the team would comprise roughly 25% freshmen, 25% sophomores, 25% juniors and 25% seniors. As a result, there is so much scholarship money available for the coach to give away. And, this totally depends on the age structure of the team.