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Athletic Scholarships

An athletic scholarship is a terminology used for a scholarship to attend a college or university. Athletic scholarships are awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sports. Athletic scholarships are common in the United States American College system, but in many countries they are rare or non-existent.

Athletic Scholarships Explained 


In the United States, athletic scholarships are controlled and regulated by the NCAA, which sets reasonable standards for both the individuals awarded the scholarships (in terms of grades) and for the institutions granting them (in terms of value of the scholarships).
In 1973, the American college system at the time was ruled by the NCAA. They decided to split its sports system into three divisions: Division I, Division II, and Division III. Under NCAA rules, Division I and II participating schools can offer athletic scholarships to athletes for playing a sport. Division III schools may not offer any athletic scholarships but can offer academic scholarships. Normally, larger establishments compete in Division I and smaller schools in II and III.

If you play football then your athletic scholarship can come from two sources. D1 football is divided into the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS, formerly I-A) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS, formerly I-AA). 

  • Postseason system: FBS uses postseason bowl games, while FCS uses a 16 team play off series.
  • Number of football scholarships: FBS schools are allowed 85 players receiving athletic aid, while FCS schools are allowed 63 football scholarships. 
  • Awarding of partial athletic scholarships: Each player receiving athletic aid for football counts fully against an FBS team's scholarship limit, this effectively means that all players awarded football scholarships at FBS schools receive full athletic scholarships. On the other hand, FCS schools are allowed to divide their 63 scholarships among no more than 85 individual players.

If you are a talented sports athlete and wish to rise to the next level then an athletic scholarship to America is a great opportunity for you to achieve this. Athletes USA can assist you in your athletic scholarship search, to date we have helped thousands of athletes gain athletic scholarships to college. In order to start your scholarship campaign join Athletes USA today. 

Ready to gain an Athletic Scholarship? Apply to Athletes USA Today