Career choices should be driven by the perfect balance of strengths, interests and market prospects. For many students, the answer to this equation is the field of sports: a pathway which allows them to embark on their professional journey in an area they find genuinely enjoyable and one for which there is growing demand.
Students wanting to pursue a sports-related career can choose college majors that will prepare them for a range of options which include: Athletic Coaching, Sports Analytics, Sports Broadcasting, Sports Communication, Sports Event Coordination, Sports/Fitness Nutrition, Sports Law, Sports Management, Sports Marketing, Sports Medicine, Sports Psychology, Sports and Exercise Science, Sports Technology, Sports Therapy and Sports Writing.
For students wishing to pursue their studies in other disciplines whilst maintaining their sporting interests, universities present an array of extra-curricular activities in which they can engage. Whether it involves playing competitively to represent their institutions or joining a club to maintain their fitness levels, there are many options for students to explore. Sports enthusiasts will, therefore, want to research what opportunities are available at each institution as they conduct their search.
There are two organizations that govern collegiate athletics in the United States and some Canadian universities, which are the NCAA and the NAIA. Of the two organizations, most students will be researching universities associated with the NCAA but some students will explore universities associated with the NAIA. This email focuses on the NCAA. If you are looking into the NAIA, then come to the College Counseling Office for further assistance.
A very small number NCAA DI and DII teams will offer sports related scholarships. Further details about the options for sports scholarships is available at NCAA. Even though a univeristy might not offer you a sports scholarship, there are other financial aid options possible. It can be common for DII athletes to receive other merit scholarships. Review the Financial Aid section for the United States as athletes often receive other types of merit scholarships, etc.
As of January 2023, the NCAA removed the SAT or ACT testing requirement for athletes. Therefore you do not have to submit SAT or ACT scores to the NCAA to be eligible to be recruited.
The first step in preparation for a career as a collegiate athlete is to be training and competing at the highest level possible within your sport. This means participating in opportunities outside of TASIS. During your summers, try to attend training camps where scouts from university teams will be present.
It is then important to understand the academic eligibility NCAA and NAIA requirements, especially the amateurism rules for the NCAA (note the specifics about receiving any type of payment).
Start a sports-specific resume, complete with links to an "online" presence (i.e. videos, any news articles about your playing, etc.).
Next look into the differences between the three divisions, which are briefly summarized within the NCAA recruiting fact sheet. The next step is to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center, which has two sections:
You can make a recruitment profile that markets you to any NCAA Division I, II, or III College/University athletics program.
You must create a certification account that determines your eligibility to play collegiate athletics at the NCAA Division I or Division II level (these are the two levels that offer athletic scholarships).
This NCAA Registration Checklist can walk you through the process of setting up your recruitment profile and a certification account.
Once you set up your NCAA account, you should:
Start exploring a college/university's athletic website to view/utilize any recruitment resources they may have. See further details below about contacting coaches.
There are several "recruitment" websites available but you should never pay for their services. You do not need to pay a fee to be recruited! berecruited.com is a free site to compile videos and your sports-specific resume. You can also contact coaches through this site. Any site is never a substitute for directly contacting coaches and/or the NCAA Eligibility Center.
Target specific coaches / universities with a polished email that includes your “highlights” and the one-page sports resume. Consider including the assistant coach in your email. Target universities by looking at the NCAA ranking for your sport - it's okay to contact some at the top but then contact some if the "middle" and others at the end.
You can also use the NCAA search and/or NAIA search to look for universities by sport and division
Use the NCAA/NAIA tab of the university research spreadsheet to keep track of which universities you are targeting.
Here is a sample email you can use to contact coaches.
NCAA specific:
Guide for College-Bound Athletes (updated each year)
International Student-Athlete Resources, where you can find the guide for Academic standards if you attended a non-American high school prior to starting at TASIS.
Recruitment calendars and guides (by sport)
NAIA specific:
Other useful resources:
NACAC Get In The Game: Tips for Student-Athletes And Their Families
National Junior College Athletic Association (competitive sports at 2-year colleges, which can be a way to advance to NCAA teams)
April 2022 Presentation from University of Wisconsin & Rutgers University
A very small number of Canadian universities are members of the NCAA. However that does not mean that they do not have competitive teams!
Find the team website for each university. You can follow a similar process as mentioned above for NCAA teams where you start with most competitive and move your way further. Some teams might not look at recruitment for the next school year until the spring or summer prior to the academic year. This means that you might first apply for admission at these universities and then go through a recruitment process.
You can also compete for your U.K. university team and/or continuing training alongside your studies. Check with your individual university.
Examples of some universities with sports scholarships:
Complete University Guide section for University Sports Teams & Elite Sports