Division I

NCAA Division I Athletics

NCAA Division I

Division I is the largest of the three divisions in terms of money while also being the highest level of collegiate competition. Division I has over 6,000 athletic teams and almost 170,000 athletes. Generally, the reason Division I is the biggest of the three divisions is because they have the biggest schools. This allows them to have the biggest student bodies which gives them a higher spending budget. Not only does the big student bodies bring in money but the division I also has their own television contracts. Many of these contracts are in the millions which gives the athletic programs an exorbitant amount of money to spend. This allows the programs to buy extremely large gyms that can hold thousands of people, expensive uniforms and shoes, five star hotels and food, and also top of the line transportation. Division I offers the most scholarship money and financial aid out of the three divisions. In order to compete in Division I athletics, an athlete must hold a minimum of a 2.0 GPA and must take at least 16 required credits each semester. The NCAA places a special emphasis on academics, it doesn't matter how good an athlete is, if they don't have the grades they don't play. Division I athletes are the best of the best. They are playing at the highest level of amateur sports in the country, if not the world. The NCAA holds its institutions to a very high standard in making sure that amateurism is still a part of the college sports experience.

“Division I About,” NCAA, Accessed Dec. 1st, 2017,

http://www.ncaa.org/about?/division=d1