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Understanding the Opportunities
Most players and their parents are very familiar with NCAA Division I high major basketball. The teams are high-profile with televised games and broad media coverage. The highly competitive NCAA Division I high major basketball programs form only a small number of the opportunities that exist for playing college basketball.
Parents should be aware of three separate athletic sanctioning bodies:
- The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) oversees athletic programs at four-year universities in three divisions which have differing scholarship/financial programs. The designation of Division I, Division II or Division III does not reflect in any way on the academic program of the university, but rather refers to the rules of the athletic program that apply to the university. Nearly 1100 universities are governed by the NCAA.
- The NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) similarly oversees athletic programs at four-year universities within two divisions.
- The NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Associations) oversees the athletic programs at 2-year junior colleges (JUCOs) across the nation, again with multiple divisions. Note that, in addition to the NJCAA, individual states have athletic sanctioning bodies that oversee the athletic programs of JUCOs which are not governed by the NJCAA.
NCAA Division I
The NCAA oversees approximately 340 NCAA Division I schools which are allowed to offer a total of 13 full college basketball scholarships to prospective student-athletes. "Full" means that scholarships cannot be shared between players. NCAA basketball scholarships are year-by-year and must be earned each year, so receipt of a scholarship offer does not guarantee scholarship award for a full four years. It is important to note that the Division I designation has nothing to do with the academic standards or reputation of the school.
High Major Programs
NCAA Division I high major is the highest level of college athletics. Division I schools are not determined by school size, but more or less by the size and strength of their athletic program. High major universities have the greatest name recognition for many reasons, including that their basketball games are regularly televised.
Mid-Major Programs
"Mid-Major" does not have a technical definition. It is generally used to refer to Division I conferences that (i) are not high-major and (ii) are nonetheless able to consistently produce quality teams. Some mid-major teams are highly competitive against high-major programs and a team in a mid-major conference may be widely considered a high-major school. This term is used loosely and is often disliked by schools that are tagged as mid-major. Gonzaga University, for example, is a member of a mid-major conference but ranked in the Top 25 throughout the 2010 basketball season.
"Other" or "Low-Major" D1 Programs
A Division I basketball program that is in neither a high major or mid major conference is simply called "Division I - Other" in the GoalTender matrix. Again, remember that these designations have nothing to do with the academic standards of the school.
NCAA Division II
The NCAA oversees approximately 290 NCAA Division II schools which are allowed to offer a total of 10 "equivalency" basketball scholarships. This means that Division II schools can offer full scholarships, or partial scholarships distributed among multiple players.
NCAA Division III
The NCAA oversees approximately 395 Division III men's basketball programs which are not allowed to offer athletic scholarships. Nonetheless, a student-athlete recruited to a Division III program will often be eligible for academic scholarships or need-based financial aid.
NAIA
NAIA schools sponsor basketball on two levels, NAIA Division I and NAIA Division II. Many NAIA schools, but not all, are private schools with strong religious affiliations, and most NAIA schools are located in the middle portion of the United States.
The NAIA oversees 112 Division I schools providing 11 full basketball scholarships, and 148 Division II schools offering 6 basketball scholarships. Like the NCAA Division II schools, the NAIA Division II scholarships are equivalency scholarships which can be divided among multiple players, provided the total amount awarded does not exceed the amount of the full scholarship.
JUCOs - NJCAA
The NJCAA governs roughly 400 schools, which compete at three levels similar to the NCAA. NJCAA Division I schools (approximately 185 schools) can offer up to 15 basketball scholarships, while NJCAA Division II schools (approximately 130 schools) can also offer 15 scholarships but cannot include room and board in the scholarship. NJCAA Division III schools are non-scholarship.
Many junior colleges are not governed by NJCAA but rather by a state athletics governing authority. In general, scholarships are not available, but need-based financial grants can sometimes be obtained.
Prep Schools
Some players consider attending prep schools as a bridge between high school and a four-year university. Often the year at prep school corrects an academic situation where a player is missing one or more core courses required for four-year college admission. Occasionally, a player will choose a year of prep school to further their physical development or to gain a second chance at the basketball recruiting process. Either way, prep schools that run top basketball programs may offer need-based financial aid for desireable student-athletes.
Important Note on Scholarships
Remember that the total number of basketball scholarships are distributed over the four classes at the university. Returning players are offered renewals of scholarships, sometimes leaving only a few available basketball scholarships each year. While universities are allowed to offer the designated number of scholarships, the scholarships are not always funded. It is not unusual that a university has not issued all basketball scholarships allowed.
Nonetheless, don't let the absence of basketball scholarships or high tuitions scare you off without knowing all the facts. In reality, even in the absence of athletic scholarships, universities have any number of legitimate mechanisms -- including academic scholarships and need-based grants -- for helping desireable student-athletes meet the financial demands of university attendance.