Track and Field Scholarship Guide – Part 1 – The Reality
Getting a Track and Field Scholarship can provide aid in not only paying for college, but also can get you in the door at institutions where you may not have been able to gain admission through the public process. But very few athletes can move on to the college level, and even fewer have the skill to play within this elite group of athletes. To see all the actual percentages of those who go on to participate at the different levels, including professional sports, this is a great chart the NCAA has put together: NCAA Percentage to Professional Sports Chart.
So let’s talk bit about the reality of the whole scholarship process and start with some statistics. The New York Times did a study across all sports, and looked at the number of teens participating in Track and Field, and the number actually receiving financial aid in the form of a Track and Field Scholarship. For boys, approximately 1.18% receive some form of scholarship to participate at the next level. For girls, approximately 1.64% receive athletic money. Now, understand, in Track and Field, there really is no such thing as a “full ride” just in the form of an athletic scholarship. Most full scholarships come in the form of dollars from a variety of financial aid sources. In fact, the average scholarship is 37% for boys and 46% for girls. See the whole study here – Track and Field Scholarship Information Links
Why only partial scholarships? The NCAA rules restrict the number of Track and Field Scholarships for Division I schools to just 12.69 for men, and 18 for women. Division II provides for 12.6 for both men and women. Typically coaches will spread the scholarships across athletes to provide some form of aid to as many as they can.
There are a couple of fantastic articles below that provide an in depth view at how a coach and recruiter view the overall process for Track and Field Scholarship awards and Track and Field Recruiting:
Track and Field Scholarships - Men
Track and Field Scholarships - Women
So, understand that there are several ways to gain a scholarship, and there are a number of opportunities in all types of schools at the college level.
In my next article, I will go over ways to get exposure to coaches, and how to take a proactive approach to gaining an athletic scholarship in Track and Field. Track and Field Scholarship Guide, Part II
Want to gain exposure to coaches through TopHeat? Create a free profile now - Create TopHeat Track and Field Profile
Want to see where you stand? Use our athlete search to find yourself: TopHeat HS Athlete Search
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