An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. They are common in the United States, but in many countries they are rare or non-existent. This article is about scholarship (noun) and scholarship as a form of financial aid. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... Representation of a university class, 1350s. ...

United States

In the United States athletic scholarships are largely regulated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which sets minimum standards for both the individuals awarded the scholarships (in terms of GPAs and standardized test scores for recipients) and for the institutions granting them (in terms of the proportion of scholarship recipients who must ultimately earn degrees). The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA, often pronounced N-C-Double-A or N-C-Two-A ) is a voluntary association of about 1,200 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States. ... The initials GPA can refer, among other things, to Grade Point Average; see Grade (education) Guinness Peat Aviation General Practice Australia, a private, independent medical accreditation society Greyhound Pets of America This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same...

In 1973, the NCAA split its membership into three divisions: Division I, Division II, and Division III. Under NCAA rules, Division I and Division II schools can offer scholarships to athletes for playing a sport. Division III schools may not offer any athletic scholarships. Generally, larger schools compete in Division I and smaller schools in II and III. Division I football is further divided into the Bowl Subdivision (formerly I-A) and Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA); the two differ in their postseason system (bowl games in the Bowl Subdivision and a 16-team knockout playoff in the Championship Subdivision) and the number of football scholarships they can offer. Division I (or DI) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States. ... Division II (or DII) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. ... Division III (or DIII) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association of the United States. ... This article is about scholarship (noun) and scholarship as a form of financial aid. ... A bowl game is a post-season college football game, typically at the Division I-A level. ...

Institutions that engage in misconduct may be stripped of the ability to award a certain number of athletic scholarships. The ultimate penalty, the suspension of an entire athletic program for a set period of time, is popularly known as "The Death Penalty"; it has only been levied twice in history. The death penalty refers to the National Collegiate Athletic Associations (NCAA) power to force United States academic institutions not to compete in certain sports. ...

Other countries

In other countries athletic scholarships are far more restricted.

Canada

In Canada, for instance, Canadian Interuniversity Sport rules ban all entrance scholarships for athleticism, and athletes can only get funding once they enter their second year of school. Even then the amount is based on the total team due to Ceiling Rules (Not one student can receive the bulk of the award, it has to be shared among his team members equally). It is not capped as previously mentioned. Ontario, which is home to many of Canada's largest universities, has even stricter rules. Less than a quarter of CIS athletes receive scholarships for their abilities. A major consequence of this is that many of Canada's top young athletes go to a university in the United States, where they can get much larger scholarships. This also may be one reason that two schools in the Vancouver area have attempted to petition to enter the NCAA in recent years. Simon Fraser University unsuccessfully tried to enter the NCAA in 2000, while the University of British Columbia is currently seeking NCAA membership. CIS Logo Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. ... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor James K. Bartleman - Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 106 - Senate seats 24 Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st) Area [1] Ranked... CIS Logo Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. ... Vancouver (pronounced: ) is a city located in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. ... The Simon Fraser Clan are the athletic teams that represent Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Canadian public university with its main campus located at Point Grey in the unincorporated Electoral Area A, immediately west of Vancouver, British Columbia. ... The UBC Thunderbirds are the athletic teams that represent the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. ...

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom entrance scholarships for sport are illegal and therefore non-existent. However sporting ability may be taken into account in admission for places on degrees in subjects such as sports science, and at the discretion of admissions staff sporting achievements may be taken into account on choosing candidates based on their ability to make an all round contribution to the institution in the same way as achievements in any other non-academic area. Students who are elite standard sports competitors are eligible for financial support from bodies such as UK Sport on the same basis as anyone else. Some British students take scholarships at American universities, a trend which is particularly noticeable in golf. Many top British golfers are graduates of American universities including Colin Montgomerie, Luke Donald and Paul Casey. Sports science is the study and application of scientific principles and techniques with the aim of improving sporting performance. ... UK Sport is the United Kingdoms organization for directing the development of sport within the home countries. ... Personal Information Birth June 23, 1963 ) (age 44) Glasgow, Scotland Height 6 ft 1 in (1. ... Luke Donald (born December 7, 1977) is an English golfer who plays mainly on the U.S. based PGA Tour but is also a member of the European Tour. ... Paul Alexander Casey (born 21 July 1977) is an English golfer who is a member of the worlds top two professional golf tours, the U.S. based PGA Tour and the European Tour. ...

Arguments for and against sports scholarships

Critics have labelled the term to be an oxymoron, stating that physically talented persons selected for their ability to run, jump, throw, kick or hit a ball are retained to staff a school's teams, and paid for their services while being classified as "scholars". Some critics of the athletic scholarship system have coined the term "jockship" to describe the awards. The term is based on the word jock, a mildly derisive American slang term that plays on the stereotype of the "dumb athlete".-1... The term jock is a classic American stereotype of an athlete. ... For the 1996 Blur single, see Stereotypes (song). ...

Such scholarships have been characterised as salaries paid to the persons selected in order to induce them to perform for the hiring school. (The characterization of the salary as a "scholarship" is deemed necessary because, generally, at most American colleges, participation as a member of the school's athletic teams is a privilege accorded exclusively to enrolled students, and team members are, in theory, amateurs.) Salary is a form of periodic payment specified in an employment contract. ...

Supporters point out that many students would be unable to receive a higher education at all, but for the availability of athletic scholarships. Whereas academic scholarships are predominantly awarded to students coming from middle and upper class backgrounds (who could afford a better education in the first place), athletic scholarships tend to go to poorer, less privileged students, more often from minority backgrounds. The University of Cambridge is an institute of higher learning. ...

External link

• NCAA Website: Academics & Athletes