UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENT COLLEGE ATHLETIC LEVELS.
“If a window of opportunity appears, don’t pull down the shade.” – Tom Peters
The NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA (Junior Colleges) are three separate college athletic organizations that together service about 650,000 student-athletes per year. The NAIA has one level. The NJCAA has three levels, just like the NCAA.
Most people think that the there NCAA divisions, the NAIA, and NJCAA all exist in their own bucket: NCAA Division I being the “best”, with JUCO being the “worst”. While this may be true for some schools, there is a lot more congruency than you may believe. In actuality, all the levels are overlapped.
There is a little bit of a general misunderstanding with students and families that JUCO athletics is “easy” and there is not a strong competition level. That could not be further from the truth.
As an example: There are NCAA Division I talented players at each of the levels, most assuredly at the JUCO level as well. There are many reasons for athletes playing at any level. It could be because they got overlooked, had low academics, transferred, etc. Each student-athlete’s journey is unique to that athlete and family.
Ultimately though, whatever the reason is that they are where they are, it is irrelevant. End of the day, you make the Big Time where are you.
Outside of the NCAA though, most families are familiar with the JUCO option, but are sometimes unfamiliar with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The truth here: Although there are some great institutions in some great locations, the NAIA as a whole is not always the best at marketing itself / themselves. However, they can offer athletic scholarships and a level of competition that is at-worst a hybrid of D2 and D3, talent wise.
Within the NCAA, there are three distinct levels and each have pro’s and con’s, and differences.
While it's true that Division I schools are stronger than Division II schools, and Division II schools are generally stronger than Division III schools, it is important to understand that a school's decision whether to compete in Division II or Division III (or even to apply for Division I) is of a strategic nature. The school itself decides where they want to be and must apply for membership accordingly.
It is not possible to move up or down the divisions based simply on athletic success and performance, but it is possible to transfer from one division to another, following a transition period, if the school itself makes the strategic decision to apply to do so.
Below is some information on each level / opportunity. Get your ego out of the way. There is a Fit for you and your child that is right. Remember that athletics should be treated as ONE ELEMENT in making your final decision on where to attend college. You should be realistic about your current skill level, your athletic goals, and your true desire to participate and compete.
Sports aren’t fun anymore when you are standing around and never getting an opportunity to compete. Go where you are wanted and where you have a real chance to enjoy what is supposed to be a great time in your life.
NCAA - DIVISION I
These are the big university names you always hear: Southern California, Michigan, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Stanford, Alabama, Duke, etc., etc.
The schools in this division have the largest enrollments, the largest athletic budgets by miles, and the most athletic scholarships. There are about 365 schools that field more than 6,000 teams providing opportunities to 170,000+ student-athletes.
All of the major sports conferences, including the SEC, Big 10, Big XII, and ACC are composed of Division I schools.
Ivy League Institutions, such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc., are Division I athletically, but they do not offer athletic scholarships.
The NCAA sets standards for its member institutions to meet in order for a school to reach or maintain Division I status. These rules are set to help ensure competitive balance and gender equity.
Because football and basketball are the sports that generate the most revenue, they are, in theory, more monitored, with the disparity between the haves and have-nots in those sports can be much greater.
Division I schools must sponsor at least six sports for men and eight sports for women and each playing season (Fall, Winter, and Spring) must be represented by each gender.
NCAA - DIVISION II
There are about 304 schools that are part of Division II and 100,000+ student-athletes. Division II schools still offer athletic scholarships, but there are fewer scholarships than in Division I. Most D2 athletes receive partial athletic scholarships: This is what is called “headcount versus equivalency”. At the D1 level, one scholarship goes to one athlete. At the D2 level however, a scholarship can be split, where one scholarship can now go to two athletes, etc. This helps D2 schools spread aid to several athletes.
The schools and athletic department budgets are often much, much smaller in Division II than in Division I. While D1 schools often travel nationally to compete, regional rivalries dominate the schedules of Division II. At this level, schools are more local and rural, typically.
The requirements to compete in Division II are lower and thus less expensive, such as a school must sponsor at least five men's sports & five women's sports, or four men's sports & six women's sports with two team sports for each gender, and each playing season represented by each gender.
Many Division II and III schools have passionate fan bases, maybe more so than you think, especially in the high-profile sports and for teams that regularly compete for championships.
NCAA - DIVISION III
Division III is the largest of all of the NCAA divisions. At this level, there are roughly 430 institutions and 170,000+ student-athletes. About 80% of the schools are private, and typically have the smallest enrollments. It is a “student first, athlete second” approach.
A key difference in D3 is that there are no athletic scholarships. However, a majority of the athletes are on some form of academic or need-based aid, often making the potential aid scholarship offers from a school more interesting than an athletic offer from another division, which DOES have athletic scholarships to award to students.
Simply put: You could end up going to a D3 for less money than a D2. STAY OBJECTIVE.
Additionally, the time commitment year-round is less, with shorter practice hours and less travel for games in D3. The summer time-commitment in particular could be much less.
The emphasis is on academics and the value of competing in sports to the participant. There is less of a focus on generating revenue or creating events for spectators.
In a feature unique to D3, the total number of required sports varies with each school's full-time undergraduate enrollment. Schools with an enrollment of 1,000 or less must sponsor five men's and five women's sports; those with larger enrollments must sponsor six for each sex/gender.
Many Division II and III schools have passionate fan bases, maybe more so than you think, especially in the high-profile sports and for teams that regularly compete for championships.
NAIA
The NAIA calls itself “The expert in the business of small college athletics” and has about 240 member schools servicing about 80,000+ student-athletes.
NAIA schools are most comparable with NCAA D2 and NCAA D3 schools in terms of size, enrollment numbers, and level of competition, although there are exceptions and some might argue there are a few of the strongest NAIA programs (across sports) competing on a level comparable to some lower NCAA D1 schools. The NAIA annually boasts that students collectively receive about $800 million in scholarships. Unlike D3 schools, NAIA schools DO offer athletic scholarships.
Of note as well: Many of the schools at this level are religious or faith based.
Their marketing is not great. This has led, over the years, to a misconception that this level of competition is lower than D3. That is definitely not the case. Most families are unfamiliar with the names of these schools: don’t let that get in the way of a great academic / athletic opportunity.
NJCAA
The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) governs intercollegiate athletics for community colleges and junior colleges: 2-year colleges which offer associate degrees before a student then transfers to a 4-year university and completes an undergraduate degree. There are about 525 schools and about 70,000 student-athletes.
Competition is set-up in three different divisions, with different implications for the schools as regards athletic financial aid.
NJCAA - Division I
Colleges may grant full athletic scholarships (tuition, books, fees, room & board), up to $250 in course required supplies, and transportation costs one time per academic year to and from the college by direct route. Each sport has limits on the number of scholarships that can be granted.
Note that a school may choose to compete in NJCAA Division I, even if no athletic aid is offered to its student athletes at all.
NJCAA - Division II
Colleges may grant athletic scholarships, but scholarships are limited to tuition, books, fees, and up to $250 in course required supplies. Each sport has limits on the number of scholarships that can be granted.
NJCAA - Division III
May not offer any athletically-related financial aid.
College coaches on the JUCO (Junior College) level are able to provide a great college experience with highly competitive games and tournaments. Because JUCO is a stepping-stone for its athletes, college coaches are instrumental in putting together an attractive schedule to offer athletes the right platform to transfer to another school once they have earned enough college level credits.
Not all JUCO’s are equal, however. But there are some JUCO staffs out there that do an incredible job of placing their athletes into 4-year programs, so make sure you investigate this in advance.
YOU DO NOT NEED FIFTY OFFERS TO PLAY AT THE NEXT LEVEL, YOU NEED THE ONE, CORRECT OFFER FOR YOU, PERSONALLY.
