College Athletics
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL LEVELS
"This is the top level of college football. These programs have 85 scholarships and all scholarships are full-rides; there are no partial scholarships at this level. Every year a coach can hand out up to 25 new scholarships, not including the scholarships they might take from a current player and give to another. When most people think of college football, they think of the FBS level. However, even with more scholarships than any other division level, 80% of the opportunities to play college football fall outside of the FBS level. It’s always good to pursue the dream of playing for an FBS program but your recruiting efforts should include other division levels as well" (athleticscholarships.net).
"This is the second level of college football, formally known as DI-AA. These programs have 63 scholarships per team and can divide their scholarships up and give partial scholarships. The level of football for FCS schools is still very high. Many times athletes, who could have played at the FBS, chose to play at an FCS school because they could come in a play right away or the school was a better fit for them personally. While not all scholarships are full-rides, the vast majority of the time, coaches give full-ride scholarships to the most important players and positions on the team" (athleticscholarships.net).
"Football programs at this level have 36 scholarships per team. Not all of the scholarships at this level are full-rides and many times coaches divide them up in order to get as many high quality players as possible. NCAA D2 football is still very competitive and increasingly we are seeing athletes from this level go on to careers in football after college" (athleticscholarships.net).
"No school at the NCAA DIII can offer an athletic scholarship. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other forms of financial aid available for athletes. Many times schools have other combinations of financial aid that can often be a larger scholarship then an athletic scholarship you might have received at another division level. This division level can be a great option for athletes looking for a healthy balance of school and sports" (athleticscholarships.net).
"The NAIA is a much smaller association of schools than the NCAA. In fact, if you’re from the East coast, it’s likely you’ve never even heard of it. But the NAIA is a formidable association, including more than 260 colleges and universities and representing 60,000 student-athletes. The NAIA also oversees 23 national championships in 13 different sports. And while the overall level of competition isn’t what you would find at D-I schools from which the majority of pro athletes hail, NAIA sports are generally considered to be on par with NCAA Division II schools. Over 90% of schools in the NAIA offer scholarships, and NAIA athletes receive an average of $7,000 of financial aid" (naia-v-ncaa).
"These schools are known as Junior or Community Colleges. These are two year schools and are most well known because many athletes who are not immediately academically eligible to go to a four year school will play two years at a JC first. There are 85 scholarships per team for a fully funded program. However, most programs are not fully funded and in California, there are no scholarships at all. Playing at this level is best for getting exposure and maturing as a player, not necessarily to get a scholarship right away" (athleticscholarships.net).