About Football Scholarships

Earning a four-year scholarship to play football at a major university is usually a great deal for a prospective student. By playing on the football team, the student's college education will be paid for in its entirety. The university gets the benefit of the football player's athletic ability, and the student gets a college education without having to pay for it. However, this free lunch can be controversial. A free education often leads to grumbling from other students while star players may feel the university is getting far more than they are paying for with the scholarship deal.

Significance

To earn a four-year scholarship from a major college or university, a student needs to be a proven football player and at least adequate in the classroom. Colleges scout high school players much in the same way that professional teams scout college players. Coaches look at videotapes of players with good to outstanding reputations and then decide whether they believe the young person can help the team win more games. If they believe they have found an outstanding player, a scholarship is offered. Some players are offered dozens of scholarships to top-level schools, but most players are happy to get one such offer.

Time Frame

Scholarships are normally offered to prospective college football players midway through their senior years. Some players will get an offer while they are still juniors; still others won't get them until their senior season is over. Teams will study a player over the course of two seasons to make sure they are improving and also interview them to ascertain whether they are solid individuals. The process usually takes about 18 months to determine whether a high school player is worthy of a scholarship offer.

Considerations

A scholarship is not a free ride for a football player. It is actually supposed to be an even trade between the student-athlete and the university. The student-athlete gets an opportunity to have an education without paying for it, and the university gets the benefit of a player's talent and ability. However, is the scholarship a fair offer for a star quarterback who has led his team to an undefeated season and has helped sell out every ticket in the stadium? Shouldn't that individual get paid for his contribution? This argument has been going on for decades.

Misconceptions

There is a school of thought that the star player who has earned a scholarship to good, old State U. does little more than go to practice, play games and take "cake" classes at the university. While there are scandals involving scholarship athletes, these are the exceptions. The National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA, oversees college sports and polices the student-athletes' class list and grades. Most athletes take a full course load leading to a degree and have to study as much as nonathletes.

Expert Insight

Though there is plenty of debate about the current system, a case can be made that it is a good one for athletes and the universities. If star players appear to be taken advantage of, devising an applicable system that would determine how much they should get paid compared to their teammates has not been produced. If some athletes appear to deserve more than a scholarship, that may be balanced by the universities not asking lesser productive players from returning some of their scholarship money.