Student-Athletes
Mrs. Harguess is our NCAA counselor. She will help guide you throughout your time here at OHHS. For any questions or concerns, please reach out to Mrs. Harguess.
NCAA Division 1
Among the three NCAA divisions, Division I schools generally have the biggest student bodies, manage the largest athletics budgets and offer the most generous number of scholarships.
With nearly 350 colleges and universities in its membership, Division I schools field more than 6,000 athletic teams, providing opportunities for more than 170,000 student-athletes to compete in NCAA sports each year.
Division I is subdivided based on football sponsorship. Schools that participate in bowl games belong to the Football Bowl Subdivision. Those that participate in the NCAA-run football championship belong to the Football Championship Subdivision. A third group doesn’t sponsor football at all. The subdivisions apply only to football; all other sports are considered simply Division I.
NCAA member schools have adopted rules to create an equitable recruiting environment that promotes student-athlete well-being. The rules define who may be involved in the recruiting process, when recruiting may occur and the conditions under which recruiting may be conducted. Recruiting rules seek, as much as possible, to control intrusions into the lives of student-athletes.
The NCAA defines recruiting as “any solicitation of prospective student-athletes or their parents by an institutional staff member or by a representative of the institution’s athletics interests for the purpose of securing a prospective student-athlete’s enrollment and ultimate participation in the institution’s intercollegiate athletics program.”
Division I schools, on average, enroll more students, manage larger athletics budgets, offer a wider array of academic programs and provide more athletics scholarships than schools in Division II and Division III.
To support these schools as they help prepare student-athletes for a lifetime of opportunity, the NCAA offers financial resources. More information related to these resources are below as well as instructions, guides and videos. Conferences and institutions have an obligation to uphold the integrity of data submission and Division I revenue distributions while adhering to the Agreed Upon Procedures (AUP).
NCAA Division II
NCAA member schools have adopted rules to create an equitable recruiting environment that promotes student-athlete well-being. The rules define who may be involved in the recruiting process, when recruiting may occur and the conditions under which recruiting may be conducted. Recruiting rules seek, as much as possible, to control intrusions into the lives of student-athletes.
The NCAA defines recruiting as “any solicitation of prospective student-athletes or their parents by an institutional staff member or by a representative of the institution’s athletics interests for the purpose of securing a prospective student-athlete’s enrollment and ultimate participation in the institution’s intercollegiate athletics program.”
Division II is a collection of more than 300 NCAA colleges and universities that provide thousands of student-athletes the opportunity to compete at a high level of scholarship athletics while excelling in the classroom and fully engaging in the broader campus experience.
All three NCAA divisions emphasize athletics and academic excellence for their student-athletes; after all, the NCAA’s overall mission is to make athletics an integral part of the educational experience at all member schools. The differences among the divisions emerge primarily in how schools choose to fund their athletics programs and in the national attention they command.
Division II student-athletes are just as competitive and in many cases just as skilled as their Division I counterparts, but institutions in Division II generally don’t have the financial resources to devote to their athletics programs or choose not to place such a heavy financial emphasis on them.
Most NCAA revenue returns to the membership in the form of direct distributions and services for the membership. Division II annually receives 4.37 percent of all NCAA revenue, as guaranteed by the NCAA constitution.
About 60 percent of the Division II budget is devoted to support the division’s 25 national championships and other allocations go directly to member schools and conferences through the Division II Enhancement Fund and the Conference Grant Program.
The Conference Grant Program helps support national and conference strategic-planning efforts. Conferences annually are required to complete a grant application noting how the conference will spend dollars consistent with the goals in the Division II strategic plan. Each conference is allotted $90,000 for its first five members. A $12,000 premium is paid for a sixth member, with an additional $4,000 premium paid for members up to 18.
NCAA Division III
Division III is the largest division in terms of number of institutions and number of participants in the NCAA. Division III is unique in not awarding athletic scholarships due to its unwavering commitment to the academic success of every student-athlete. The opportunity to play sports in college is a privilege, but we often forget taking part in collegiate athletics is also a choice. When high school seniors decide to be Division III student-athletes, their choice illustrates their passion for the sport and pursuit of an education. Division III student-athletes compete not for financial reward, but quite simply, for the love of the game.
As a non-profit organization, the NCAA puts its money where our mission is: equipping student-athletes to succeed on the playing field, in the classroom and throughout life. Television and marketing rights fees, primarily from the Division I men’s basketball championship, generate the majority of the Association’s revenue. Most NCAA revenue returns to the membership in the form of direct distributions and services for the membership. Division III annually receives 3.18 percent of NCAA revenues, as guaranteed by the NCAA Constitution.
NCAA member schools have adopted rules to create an equitable recruiting environment that promotes student-athlete well-being. The rules define who may be involved in the recruiting process, when recruiting may occur and the conditions under which recruiting may be conducted. Recruiting rules seek, as much as possible, to control intrusions into the lives of student-athletes.
The NCAA defines recruiting as “any solicitation of prospective student-athletes or their parents by an institutional staff member or by a representative of the institution’s athletics interests for the purpose of securing a prospective student-athlete’s enrollment and ultimate participation in the institution’s intercollegiate athletics program.”
NAIA
