The Do-It-Yourself Athletic Scholarship

[Marlow]

I read with interest the home-page-linked article about trying to get a college athletic scholarship. Unfortunately it applies very little to T&F for 2 significant reasons:

1. They are very few scholarships, so you have to be ridiculously good to get a ride.
2. Your numbers say it all. You can have all the talent or the best technique, but if you don't put up list-leading marks, fuggedaboudit. Even 'honors won' pales in significance to a string of superlative marks. It's gotten so bad that many D1 programs have actual 'standards' that look a lot like the USATF Natl Jr Champs standards.

[Bruce Kritzler]

1. 18 scholarships for women's track is 2nd only to football in number of scholarships offered/sport.
2. All schools have standards (published or unpublished) both for scholarship and walk-on level athletes.

[Marlow]

1. 18 scholarships for women's track is 2nd only to football in number of scholarships offered/sport.
2. All schools have standards (published or unpublished) both for scholarship and walk-on level athletes.

1. Yes, but whereas most football scholarships are fully funded, many (most?) women's track scholarships are not.
2. And most standards (for a full ride) are ridiculously high.

My high school football team, which typically finishes below .500 in a weak classification, has 3-4 boys get a full ride every year. Our girls track team, which is one of the strongest in the state, doesn't even average 1 full ride a year.

[polevaultpower]

1. 18 scholarships for women's track is 2nd only to football in number of scholarships offered/sport.
2. All schools have standards (published or unpublished) both for scholarship and walk-on level athletes.

18 scholarships doesn't really compare to 80.

[ponytayne]

80? i thought D1A was 95 and D1AA was 80.

And women's track used to be 14 when i was in college, so that's gone up if it is 18. However, i still think men's track is 13. 13!!! ridiculous.

[Cyril]

Where did these numbers come from?

When you say 18 scholarships total, what specifically are you referring to?

I'm not doubting any of the numbers. I know it is a pipe dream for a kid to realistically expect an athletic ride in most minor sports unless they are remarkably talented.

I would just like a little clarification,

[KevinM]

Where did these numbers come from?

When you say 18 scholarships total, what specifically are you referring to?

I'm not doubting any of the numbers. I know it is a pipe dream for a kid to realistically expect an athletic ride in most minor sports unless they are remarkably talented.

I would just like a little clarification,

18 for women and 12.6 for men are the maximum number of scholarships a DI school can give in track.

[KevinM]

2. All schools have standards (published or unpublished) both for scholarship and walk-on level athletes.

Not from my experience. I know several coaches who keep these standards fluid (or non-existent) so that they can make judgment calls on which athletes to take.

[polevaultpower]

Where did these numbers come from?

When you say 18 scholarships total, what specifically are you referring to?

I'm not doubting any of the numbers. I know it is a pipe dream for a kid to realistically expect an athletic ride in most minor sports unless they are remarkably talented.

I would just like a little clarification,

18 for women and 12.6 for men are the maximum number of scholarships a DI school can give in track.

To add to the confusion a bit: The scholarships can (and nearly always are) split up. It is very difficult to get a full ride. These mostly go to sprinters and distance runners who can score in multiple events and multiple seasons.

Also, many smaller schools are not fully funded, in other words they don't even have the maximum number of scholarships available.

[polevaultpower]

2. All schools have standards (published or unpublished) both for scholarship and walk-on level athletes.

Not from my experience. I know several coaches who keep these standards fluid (or non-existent) so that they can make judgment calls on which athletes to take.

I agree with this. I think what it takes to get money at a given school will vary greatly from year to year depending on the depth that school already has in an event, how many scholarships are available from graduation and the like, how tough the conference is expected to be, etc.

Some schools have specific walk-on standards, but it usually depends a lot on how much potential an athlete has, how well they fit in with teammates, title IX limitations on the men's side, and all of the factors that affect scholarship athletes.