Your Path to College Athletics
National College Athletics Association -- NCAA
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 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. This balance, in which student-athletes are recognized for their academic success, athletics contributions and campus/community involvement, is at the heart of the Division II philosophy.
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.Division III student-athletes compete not for financial reward, but quite simply, for the love of the game.
High_School_Timeline.pdfDivision I
Division II
NCAA Resources:
NCAA Clearinghouse -- Students must register junior year of high school
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)
The NAIA is a governing body of small athletics programs that are dedicated to character-driven intercollegiate athletics. Since 1937, the NAIA has administered programs dedicated to championships in balance with the overall college educational experience. Each year more than 77,000 NAIA student-athletes have the opportunity to play college sports, earn over $800 million in scholarships, and compete for a chance to participate in 27 national championships.
PlayNAIA.org helps future student-athletes discover and connect with NAIA schools, coaches and athletic scholarships. PlayNAIA is also the official clearinghouse for NAIA eligibility. Every student-athlete must register with the NAIA Eligibility Center to play sports at an NAIA college or university.
California Community College Athletic Association - CCCAA
The California Community College Athletic Associaion is an integral part of California's extensive community college system. As authorized by the State Legislature, the Education Code provides the CCCAA the opportunity and authority to establish the rules and regulations to administer the athletic activities of the nearly 25,000 men and women student athletes in the state.
Consider using the college search tool within CA for schools with athletic programs using CaliforniaCollege.edu -- sort by sport, school size, school type, etc
This video was recorded May 2020 for NJUHSD students and families. Narrated by NJUHSD counselor Nicole Scott