Hey folks, I was wondering what sports tend to give out the most scholarships to men in college? I'm athletic and willing to try new sports if it could possibly help finance my degree. Any thoughts on this?
The availability of sports scholarships can vary significantly from one university to another, but typically, larger team sports such as football and basketball tend to offer the most scholarship opportunities simply because of the size of the teams. However, these sports are also highly competitive which can make securing a scholarship more challenging.
NCAA Division I football, for example, allows 85 full scholarships per team, which is the highest number among all sports. Basketball follows with 13 scholarships per team.
Beyond football and basketball, sports such as baseball, soccer, and lacrosse also offer scholarships, but the permitted number by NCAA regulations is less than football and basketball. For instance, baseball allows 11.7 scholarships per team and lacrosse allows 12.6 for Division I.
Bear in mind that not all scholarships are 'full-ride'. Many are partial scholarships which can cover varying percentages of your costs, hence you may need to secure additional funding.
One sport that sometimes gets overlooked but has a relatively high percentage of athletes on scholarship is rowing. Rowing is a less common sport and isn't at every school, but if you have a rowing team at your high school or a club team in the area, it might be worth checking out.
However, the most important thing to consider if you're thinking about using sports as a route to pay for college is your own passion and commitment. These sports often have a big time commitment and it's important you enjoy participating- remember you'll be spending a significant amount of time training and competing.
Finally, it's important to remember that academics should always come first. Even if you're hoping to win a sports scholarship, your performance in the classroom is crucial. It not only affects your eligibility to play sports in college but could also unlock academic scholarships for you.
CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.