(Updated for 2019) Imagine choosing between two job offers. (I know, many would be grateful with just one but I did say imagine.) All other things being equal, you would pick the highest paying one, right? So if you’re deciding where to play D1 college baseball, all other things being equal, you would pick the one that spends the most money on the team.
The NCAA is not the only college athletic organization with sports programs. The National Association for intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has over 250 members. Like the NCAA, the NAIA regulates the number of scholarships available and students must register with the NAIA Eligibility Center.
NAIA offers fewer sports than the NCAA but does offer more scholarships in some sports. The maximum number of scholarships allowed in baseball, men’s golf, men’s soccer, and men’s tennis are higher in the NAIA. The NCAA offers more scholarships in women’s sports compared to the NAIA.
ShareTweetFlipEmailPin2626 SharesHow to target colleges was one of the most common questions on our baseball survey. To target colleges, both parents and son need to research colleges. The FACTS method will walk you through to find the colleges where the coaches will recruit you. Click HERE to learn the three biggest questions Parents and Players … Read more
ShareTweetFlipEmailPin1111 SharesThe most common question on our baseball survey was how to get the recruiting process started. Yet, the reality is that there are questions you need to ask before you even start the college baseball recruiting process. Depending on your answers, you can save a lot of money. Click HERE to learn the three … Read more
The NCAA Division 2 is the smallest of the three NCAA Divisions. Division 2 colleges, like Division 1 schools, offer athletic scholarships. However, they do not offer as many scholarships in many sports and are not required to sponsor as many varsity teams as D1 programs. They also tend to offer more partial scholarships. However, since they aren’t required to offer headcount scholarships, you will often find D2 colleges actually sponsor more varsity teams than required.
My son graduated from college in 2015. He quit playing baseball in 2013. Baseball had been such a presence in his life that quitting the team was one of the hardest decisions he had to make. But as I try to decide what to do with the popup net and catchers gear still sitting the garage, I realize how many of the decisions we made because of baseball.
We’ve all seen the pictures in the local paper, high school seniors signing their National Letter of Intent (NLI) to play for a specific university or college. Sometimes there are proud parents in the pictures. Other times, you’ll see team colors or maybe a football. What you won’t see is a coach from the university the student is signing the NLI with.
Why? Because it’s not allowed under the rules.
When high school athletes and their families start looking at colleges, it often comes as a surprise to many that the largest NCAA division, D3, doesn’t offer athletic scholarships. Students may receive academic scholarships and financial aid but no scholarship for participating in collegiate athletics.
Should you play more than one sport in high school if you want to play at the college level? Focusing on a single sport would seem to provide players with the ability to develop advanced skills to stand-out from the competition. However, there are plenty of people out there arguing that playing multiple sports provides athletes with significant benefits, including in the recruiting arena.
