Scholarships/DIII/Etc.

[OLE'BULL]

It has been 10+ years since I have been around the recruiting scene and have always been unfamiliar with how the DIII type schools do their recruiting. It seems to me that if you are a starter and are decent, there is probably somewhere in the country you can play, probably right here in Texas if you want to. I have been approached by a couple of realistic Dads asking about recruiting processes. They know their sons are not D-I prospects, but they have mentioned that they might want to play at the next level. How do DIII schools find their prospects? What kind of scholarship percentage are we talking? What is the process? These are both average to slightly above average players. One is too small for the position he plays, and the other just hasn't had enough snaps at the Varsity level until this year. I know some of the DIII schools are pretty competitive, but are their any out there that are looking for decent athletes that are getting overlooked? Any that have a good academic program, and a sub-par football program? Just trying to help these guys out if possible. Thanks!

[Rattler]

D3 schools in the south: http://d3football.com/teams/south

Myth: All colleges offer athletic scholarships.
Reality: Only Division 1 & 2 colleges can offer athletic scholarships (plus Junior Colleges and NAIA schools). Division 3 Programs can only offer financial aid and academic grant money for top students. While D1 and D2 colleges can offer athletic scholarships, after football and basketball there are many programs that may only have 1 or 2 scholarships for their entire team and they will divide that money up to several players. See next myth. NOTE: Athletic scholarships are not offered at the Ivy League which also competes at the D1 level, although most Ivy programs have attractive financial aid and grant packages should you wish to attend one of the Ivy schools!

Myth: Most athletes get a full scholarship or no scholarship.
Reality: Full scholarships are very rare and most coaches divide scholarship money up between several players. The only guaranteed full scholarships are for D1 basketball and D1 football. Each program is fully funded and offers the maximum amount of scholarships allowed by the NCAA, 13 for men's hoops, 85 for football, and 15 for women's hoops. Every other sport and team divides money up to many players and no other team or program is guaranteed to be fully funded. Please note: There are several sports called head-count sports in which money can only be allotted to a specific number of players. For example - In D1 women’s tennis, a coach is allowed a maximum of 8 scholarships per team, but since tennis isn’t a revenue generating sport, rarely will you find all D1 programs offering 8 tennis scholarships (aside of the top schools with lots of money). If a D1 tennis coach has 2 scholarships for the entire team, they can divide that money up to a maximum of 8 players, but no more than 8 players, and some teams consist of 11 or 12 players and those players will get no athletic aid (or no aid until a player receiving aid graduates). In a non head-count sport like softball, the coach could divide 3 scholarships between 20 players if they so chose as there are no restrictions.

Myth: I shouldn't go to a Division 3 School if I need scholarship money.
Reality: Many D3 schools offer attractive financial aid programs and you should not overlook any school, even if they do not offer athletic scholarships. We have met parents that are basically sending their kids to school for free because their sons and daughters had strong academic backgrounds and coupled that with athletics to make themselves an attractive student and recruit for a certain school. What would you rather have, $3,000 in scholarship money at a D1 school or $20,000 in academic money at a D3 school, while still getting the chance to play athletics at the college level?

[OLE'BULL]

D3 schools in the south: http://d3football.com/teams/south

Myth: All colleges offer athletic scholarships.
Reality: Only Division 1 & 2 colleges can offer athletic scholarships (plus Junior Colleges and NAIA schools). Division 3 Programs can only offer financial aid and academic grant money for top students. While D1 and D2 colleges can offer athletic scholarships, after football and basketball there are many programs that may only have 1 or 2 scholarships for their entire team and they will divide that money up to several players. See next myth. NOTE: Athletic scholarships are not offered at the Ivy League which also competes at the D1 level, although most Ivy programs have attractive financial aid and grant packages should you wish to attend one of the Ivy schools!

Myth: Most athletes get a full scholarship or no scholarship.
Reality: Full scholarships are very rare and most coaches divide scholarship money up between several players. The only guaranteed full scholarships are for D1 basketball and D1 football. Each program is fully funded and offers the maximum amount of scholarships allowed by the NCAA, 13 for men's hoops, 85 for football, and 15 for women's hoops. Every other sport and team divides money up to many players and no other team or program is guaranteed to be fully funded. Please note: There are several sports called head-count sports in which money can only be allotted to a specific number of players. For example - In D1 women’s tennis, a coach is allowed a maximum of 8 scholarships per team, but since tennis isn’t a revenue generating sport, rarely will you find all D1 programs offering 8 tennis scholarships (aside of the top schools with lots of money). If a D1 tennis coach has 2 scholarships for the entire team, they can divide that money up to a maximum of 8 players, but no more than 8 players, and some teams consist of 11 or 12 players and those players will get no athletic aid (or no aid until a player receiving aid graduates). In a non head-count sport like softball, the coach could divide 3 scholarships between 20 players if they so chose as there are no restrictions.

Myth: I shouldn't go to a Division 3 School if I need scholarship money.
Reality: Many D3 schools offer attractive financial aid programs and you should not overlook any school, even if they do not offer athletic scholarships. We have met parents that are basically sending their kids to school for free because their sons and daughters had strong academic backgrounds and coupled that with athletics to make themselves an attractive student and recruit for a certain school. What would you rather have, $3,000 in scholarship money at a D1 school or $20,000 in academic money at a D3 school, while still getting the chance to play athletics at the college level?

Awesome! Thank you, that is very helpful. Fortunately for these to kids, money is not really the issue. They might be better off working the walk on system at a bigger university if they are OK with probably never playing. If they want to play, I guess they could "walk on" a DIII program if no money is available for them. They would both qualify for an academic aid that is offered though. This is a good start, thanks again Rattler!

[refereedoc]

Very well stated Rattler. One thing I would add is there are no guaranteed 4 year full rides. After the 1st year NLI ( national letter of intent) all scholarships are semester to semester. Most coaches will honor the so called "4 year fullride " as long as the student takes care of business but some will not.

[Pudlugger]

To play at the DIII level at most Texas schools you should be an above average player or better especially if you are coming from a smaller division in hs. For example Trinity University in SA has a strong football program with a new young coach Jerome Urban who graduated from Trinity All American in 2002 and played for the Seahawks and Cardinals as a WR. He caught a td pass in the Superbowl a few years ago when they lost to Pittsburg. To get accepted at Trinity you need to be a top student as there average SAT Scores were 1200 (old scale of 1600 possible) on the team. To start there you need to be a top player but not judged to be big enough or fast enough to play at the higher levels although many are good enough imo. Academic scholarships and loans are available and given based on merit and need. Mary Hardin Baylor is less academically competitive but they are kicking everyone's butt in DIII the past 10 years. Texas Lutheran is less competetive but a good program and there's Austin College, Sul Ross, Hardin-Simmons, East Texas Baptist and others. If he wants to play at this level he should visit several schools talk with coaches and decide which program is best for him. I recommend Trinity especially with the new coach.

[FB-fanatic]

If a player has a good skill level, he should hear from DII and DIII coaches, including some hs campus visits at the appropriate time. This does not mean if a player has not been contacted that he will never play Colllege ball. He still can make DII and DIII visits on his own. Phone the coach and ask for 30 minutes of his time. Some things we did find about DIII:
*Technically, they can only offer academic scholarships, and are forbidden from allowing athletic abilities to affect the amount of these scholarships
*They can tell any athlete "you are the man", you will start for us, etc. Without the commitment of athletic scholarships, they will tell anyone to come out in the fall, whether or not they think you can make the team or not. It doesn't cost them anything. If they have 500 kids out in the fall, they will still evaluate everyone, and select the best 40 (or whatever the magic number is) to make the squad. The rest will be told "tough luck". I've seen some players not get recruited, but told by a DIII coach after a visit, to come out in the fall. But there are no real commitments.
DII is different. They can offer limited scholarships, but very seldom 100%. Our experience was 60% for an out of state DII.
DIII players are free to transfer without sitting out time. So they have the ability to impress DII teams, and immediately transfer if offered. My son evaluated DIII and DII offers at small campuses, and opted to follow big brother to a major DI campus academically.

[Manso/V8]

Average to just above average players at school like Bellville can probably get the opportunity to be on a D3 team in Texas.......but they may not get to play. I don't think they are limits to how many kids can be in the program like you find at D1 schools. They will recruit players they want, and allow others to come out in the fall. Alot of schools will start out with up to 200 freshman n the fall, and by mid-season, that number is down by two thirds for various reasons.....kids soon realize it is tougher and more competitive than they thought, , get injured, and/or find it is less glamorous than their high school experience. Schools like TLU have a JV squad to get them some playing time, but those games are few and it seems more like a scrimmage. More folks are showing up at the Pasture of Pain to watch a game than show up to watch a D3 game. It is an opportunity to play at the next level, and get a taste, but many don't stick around for four years. Look at the rosters and they tend to be heavily weighted toward younger players with fewer upperclassmen. That being said, it is an opportunity to play at the next level, and if these kids have the desire, they should give it a try.

Most D3 schools in Texas are private, and the tuition is higher than state schools. So, even with academic scholarships, they can be a bit pricey.My guess is they actually make money from football because of the large number of freshman that go there to give football a try.

There are also NAIA schools which do give athletic scholarships, but typically there is a big step change in size and athleticism between most D3 teams and NAIA.

D2 schools in Texas are pretty competive and a further step change from NAIA.

There is usually a recruiting showcase held in Houston after football season where in state/out of state D3 and NAIA schools come to recruit. Google around or ask the coaches about it.

[Rabid Cougar]

And unfortunately there is the old saying that my oldest son used to tell me when we would watch the big bowl games during the Holidays..... "Should have played better on Friday nights".

LOTS of DII and DIII schools out there. If you look out of state like east of the Mississippi they are everywhere.

My oldest son now coaches at University of North Carolina at Pemboke. In Pembroke, North Carolina. A DII school who plays in a conference that all the schools are a 1 1/2 hour bus ride from each other. Town is the size of Cameron, Tx and the school has 6,000 students. He says it is like watching a better than average 5/6A Texas high school football game.