Average per Athlete 2020

US Colleges awarded over $ 4 billion in Athletic Scholarships during 2019-20:

There are over 2,000 US Colleges (2 & 4 year) with varsity athletic programs. Collectively these schools awarded over  $ 4.2 billion in athletic scholarships during their 2019-20 fiscal years. NCAA Division I Schools account for almost 2/3 of every athletic scholarship dollar awarded. NCAA III schools have the most participating athletes but do not award scholarships based on athletic ability. However NCAA III as well as all other schools grant forms of non-athletically based financial assistance that all students – including student athletes – may qualify for. Scholarship averages above are adjusted for  multi-sport athletes.

*  Average Athletic Scholarship is the average per athlete for ALL varsity sports sponsored by the school.  Some athletes receive full awards, some receive partial and many receive none. Additionally some sports within a school may be fully funded, some partially and some sports provide no athletically based student aid. 

Schools with the highest average athletic scholarships – 2020:

NCAA I  schools are the big dogs in available athletic scholarship money but also have the steepest odds in making a roster. Ivy league schools are all NCAA I members but do not appear on this list as they technically do not award  athletic scholarships. However Ivy League as well as all other schools also award non-athletically based forms of financial assistance that all students – including  athletes – may qualify for.

Athletic Scholarship Averages for NCAA I teams by Sport:

Schools do not publicly report scholarship averages by sport. However we independently conducted a survey of NCAA I public schools in 2016 to get some of this data. The following tables summarize the average athletic scholarship and the average number of awards by team. Additionally the tables report the low and high range of scholarships awarded by responding schools:

Athletics Scholarships NCAA I Men's teams:	Team Limit		Average Scholarship		Lowest Team Avr		Highest Team Avr		Avr # Awarded		Low Range		High Range
Baseball	11.7		$       13,220		$         6,298		$       25,934		26		14		30
Basketball	13		$       38,246		$       26,896		$       53,075		13		11		15
Football - FBS	85		$       36,070		$       25,237		$       42,443		88		82		95
Football - FCS	63		$       20,706		$       14,474		$       30,505		81		72		85
Golf	4.5		$       12,066		$         4,050		$       24,018		10		6		16
Gymnastics	6.3		$       18,190		$       12,882		$       31,573		16		14		19
Ice Hockey	18		$       31,756		$       19,934		$       35,986		22		16		25
Lacrosse	12.6		$       12,303		$         8,078		$       17,483		36		29		43
Skiing	6.3		$       20,275		$       15,478		$       24,636		11		10		11
Soccer	9.9		$       15,008		$         5,809		$       31,062		21		12		30
Swimming & Diving	9.9		$       16,695		$         3,112		$       28,651		22		12		36
Tennis	4.5		$       18,379		$         6,104		$       42,373		9		6		13
Track/Cross Country	12.6		$       11,260		$         2,957		$       24,059		29		9		59
Wrestling	9.9		$       12,551		$         5,249		$       33,596		23		14		31

Team scholarship limits are set by the NCAA. Why do most team averages of scholarships awarded exceed the NCAA limit per team? This is because most sports are equivalency sports so partial awards can be made as long as the total equivalent awards don’t exceed the NCAA team limit. For example a school can award 9 male tennis players each a 1/2 equivalent scholarship and not exceed the NCAA maximum of 4.5 per team.

Men’s Basketball and FBS football are headcount sports so the number of players under scholarship cannot exceed the NCAA limit per team with a few exceptions. Headcount sports teams tend to award substantially more full scholarships than equivalency sports teams. Here are our survey results for Women’s sports:

Athletic Scholarships NCAA I Women's teams:	Team Limit		Average Scholarship		Lowest Team Avr		Highest Team Avr		Avr # Awarded		Low Range		High Range
Basketball	15		$       36,758		$       21,955		$       53,185		14		10		16
Equestrian	15		$       10,462		$         5,677		$       17,196		41		36		47
Field Hockey	12		$       18,331		$       10,325		$       30,012		20		17		24
Golf	6		$       21,866		$         8,870		$       39,100		8		6		10
Gymnastics	12		$       40,172		$       23,482		$       63,337		14		12		16
Ice Hockey	18		$       41,693		$       41,208		$       42,179		20		20		20
Lacrosse	12		$       12,884		$         3,394		$       22,842		31		23		38
Rowing	20		$       21,053		$       11,507		$       31,771		39		19		51
Skiing	7		$       19,084		$       15,337		$       23,855		12		11		14
Soccer	14		$       17,766		$         6,220		$       31,363		25		17		33
Softball	12		$       20,715		$         7,281		$       47,624		19		13		24
Swimming & Diving	14		$       18,794		$         4,552		$       34,850		25		8		35
Tennis	8		$       32,630		$       13,457		$       58,735		8		7		10
Track/Cross Country	18		$       14,574		$         2,938		$       26,308		32		16		61
Volleyball	12		$       31,138		$       12,837		$       63,281		13		11		16

Women’s Basketball, Gymnastics, Tennis and Volleyball are all headcount sports and award a higher percentage of full scholarships.  All other women’s NCAA I sports are equivalency sports and award a much higher percentage of partial scholarships.

For both Men’s and Women’s sports, the NCAA limits are maximums – schools can elect to fully fund a sport, partially fund or award no athletic scholarships (e.g. Ivy League Schools). The results show there are significant differences between NCAA I schools in the number and dollar amount of athletic scholarships they award even for teams competing in the same sport.

College Sports with most participating athletes:

Football has the most athletes participating due to the large roster sizes (average is over 100 players per team). Basketball has the most schools participating – almost every college with a varsity sports program sponsors basketball. Total participants above include multi-sport athletes.

Total Athletic Scholarships Available – NCAA & NAIA Teams:

Available scholarship totals are maximums. Schools can fully fund, partially fund, or not provide any athletic scholarships. The majority of  NCAA I teams are fully funded, but there are MANY exceptions including Ivy League schools which do not award athletic scholarships in any sport. Most NCAA II sports are not fully funded, and most scholarships awarded in all sports are partial awards. Full scholarships are rare except for NCAA I headcount sports.

Average Athletic Scholarship by School:

The table below reports the average athletic scholarship awarded by NCAA I, NCAA II & NAIA schools.  The average scholarship reported is the average per athlete for ALL varsity sports sponsored by the school.  Some athletes receive full awards, some receive partial and many receive none. Additionally some sports within a school may be fully funded, some partially and some sports provide no athletically based student aid.  Average scholarship awards for all schools can be accessed on our individual sports pages.