NCAA Men's Soccer Scholarships

Talented high school soccer players can reduce the cost of college by earning a soccer scholarship. More than 300 schools participate in NCAA men's soccer, with many of those schools offering partial scholarships to its athletes. While the amount of the scholarships varies by school, all scholarships help defray the cost of tuition for the student-athlete.

Divisions

Colleges and universities in NCAA Divisions I and II offer scholarships for men's soccer players. In Division I, the highest and most competitive level in the NCAA, about 200 schools participate in and offer scholarships for men's soccer. Division II, which consists of smaller schools, includes more than 150 schools that participate in men's soccer and offer scholarships to its athletes. More than 100 Division III schools also compete in men's soccer, but these schools offer only academic, not athletic, scholarships.

Division I Schools

Not every well-known Division I conference has a men's soccer program. The Southeastern Conference, for example, does not compete in men's soccer. Conferences that do include the Big East Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, Conference USA, Ivy League and Atlantic 10 Conference. Notable Division I schools that offer men's soccer scholarships include the University of Virginia, Penn State University, University of Louisville and University of California, Los Angeles.

Division II Schools

Division II conferences -- including the East Coast Conference, Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, South Atlantic Conference and Great Lakes Valley Conference -- compete in men's soccer and offer scholarships. Division II schools that recruit soccer players and offer them scholarships include Belmont Abbey College, Flagler College and Presbyterian College.

Eligibility

A combination of athletic skill and academic achievement is required to earn an NCAA men's soccer scholarship. Soccer coaches recruit players and make them scholarship offers. The soccer player then signs a letter of intent to play soccer at the school, and he will receive scholarship money to go toward the cost of tuition. Division I men's soccer players must complete 16 core high school credits to be academically eligible, while Division II players have to complete 14 credits.

Award Amount

The NCAA classifies men's soccer as an equivalency sport, meaning that student-athletes might receive only partial scholarships. Guaranteed full-ride scholarships are reserved for athletes competing in head count sports, which are sports that bring substantial revenue into the school -- usually football and basketball. Soccer coaches decide how to dispense their scholarships -- they can give partial scholarships to each scholarship athlete or focus on securing highly skilled players with the lure of full scholarships and then completing their roster with walk-ons. While schools do not report the scholarship amounts given to men's soccer players, they can range from several hundred dollars to full tuition for an academic year.

References

• NCAA: NCAA Sport Listing
• NCAA: Eligibility
• NCAA Eligibility Center: Academic Eligibility Frequently Asked Questions
• NCSA Athletic Recruiting; Athletic Scholarships: Head Count Versus Equivalency; Chris Krause; September 2009
• NCAA Bylaw Blog; What Full Cost-of-Attendance Really Means; John Infante; May 2011