The (athletic) scholarship reality
Here’s an interesting story on college athletic scholarships and how the dream of many parents and students doesn’t always match up with athletic scholarship reality. The average athletic scholarship is usually a single-digit percentage of total college cost.
Men received 57 percent of all scholarship money, but in 11 of the 14 sports with men’s and women’s teams, the women’s teams averaged higher amounts per athlete.
On average, the best-paying sport was neither football nor men’s or women’s basketball. It was men’s ice hockey, at $21,755. Next was women’s ice hockey ($20,540).
The lowest overall average scholarship total was in men’s riflery ($3,608), and the lowest for women was in bowling ($4,899). Baseball was the second-lowest men’s sport ($5,806).
If you know parents who are banking on junior’s athletic talent to pay for college, send them the link to this article. Junior may be good, but he may not be that good.




Learn it! Speak it! Live it!
Bring Christmas to a child in need!








Click to Print
Include Comments











back to top6 Comments to “The (athletic) scholarship reality”
The statistic of scholarship atheletes who make it to their senior year is also astounding. It is something like three in every hundred.
My SIL is about to come out with a book–she’s a psychology PhD–on what that kind of one sport obsession does to kids, parents and family dynamics. She and her hubby laugh at themselves now. They have two daughters, one got a full ride soccer scholarship and the other just missed it. But they added up all the costs for club and travel teams and if they had just put that money in savings they could have more easily afforded the girls college tuition.
One telling moment came for them when the daughter who got the scholarship was done with her eligability, but had one semester left to graduate, she told her parents, “College can actually be fun!” The other four years it was her 24/7 job to be a athletic machine.
And when left to follow their own interests they followed in their daddy’s footsteps and both became commercial pilots.
Report comment to moderator
My high school basketball team went to the bidistric championship. We had some really great players yet none were picked up by any of the collegiate basketball powerhouse schools.
Humbling indeed
Report comment to moderator
Colleges have bowling teams?
Report comment to moderator
I thought the same thing, NT, and wondered which schools make up the conference–isn’t there a Bowling Green University in the midwest?
I echo Adios. Two members of our family went to college on athletic scholarships–two kids whose parents had money to pay without the aid.
The training gave them brutal schedules, didn’t allow for one to take any of the “soul-feeding” courses she wanted to take in the afternoon and the other felt very much looked down upon at Cal. He even had a professor in a senior seminar routinely make fun of his intelligence in class.
My daughter played club volleyball last year and I saw a lot of parents hoping for scholarships. We made the same monetary connection as this article. If college is the goal, put the money in the bank and let your child play for enjoyment.
Our daughter burned out on nine straight months of volleyball. She went back in the fall for her school team and this spring is blissfully laughing her way through badminton–”the nerd sport for college aps”–and having a wonderful time. Isn’t that what sports should be about?
Report comment to moderator
adios – please keep us posted on the availability of your SILs book. I’d like to check it out.
I received a $300 scholarship during two semesters in college. But that was only for having a high grade point average and making Deans List. I’m pretty sure that even tetherball players receive more lucrative scholarships than that!
Report comment to moderator
Non-revenue sports don’t typically offer full scholarships. A Div.1 baseball team has a roster of 25-30 players, yet they are allowed to give only 13 (I think) scholarships. Most scholarships are of the partial variety.
Report comment to moderator
back to topJoin The Conversation
You need to be a registered user of WORLDonTheWeb.com to "join the conversation."
If you are not a member yet, what are you waiting for? Register / Login Now!