Quick Quiz!! How many total scholarships are available on a D1 softball team?
12
What about a D2 softball team?
7.2
Now think, how many players are on a college softball team?
the average softball roster is 24-28 players
What does this all mean? Do the math…12 scholarships for 24 players is 50% athletic money available per player on AVERAGE. Average is an important concept, some will get more while many will get less and that is at the fully funded D1 level. For a fully funded D2 program you are looking at 30% athletic money per player on average. The average college softball player at the D1-D2 level can expect athletic aid to cover 30-50% of the cost of their education. Some will get more and many will receive less. Depending on the school and the total cost of attendance this can leave the family with a significant financial responsibility each year.
What? Isn’t that why I play on a [choose your situation]
…high level team
…national team
…showcase team
The whole point is get a scholarship that PAYS for college? Right?
Short answer, NO!
The time and money you and your family have invested in softball should be for the love of the game. The reward is the relationships you have built, the experiences you have enjoyed and the values you have learned. Softball has made your life richer. Softball has made you a better person. Softball may help make college more affordable, but it is unlikely that softball will PAY for college.
Why?
To begin to understand the issue more deeply you need to realize that our perspective of scholarships is rooted in football. NCAA football is a headcount sport while NCAA softball is an equivalency sport. The difference between the 2 is a BIG deal.
Headcount Sports
A headcount sport is one where the NCAA limits both the # of scholarships AND the # of athletes that can be on scholarship. In football for example, the NCAA sets a limit of 85 scholarships for D1 FBS schools and they are only allowed to have 85 athletes on scholarship. Therefore, every scholarship is a “full ride”. This has become our perception of a “scholarship” in college athletics. However, not every sport is a headcount sport. NCAA headcount sports are: Football (DI FBS only), Basketball (DI men’s and women’s), Tennis (DI women only), Gymnastics (DI women only) and Volleyball (DI women only).
Equivalency Sports
ALL of the other sports the NCAA regulates are equivalency sports. This includes softball. The NCAA sets the # of scholarships and the school is free to distribute that athletic money over as many athletes as they would like. The partial scholarship is born.
NCAA D1 allows 12 scholarships in softball. With the average roster now expanding to 20+ athletes that means the vast majority of athletes receive much less than the full cost. And that is just D1…
Here is a breakdown of the # of softball scholarships available by division:
| Division | Scholarships |
| Division I | 12 |
| Division II | 7.2 |
| Division III | None |
| NAIA | 10 |
| NJCAA | 24 |
Also, the scholarship amounts are just a limit, not a requirement. Many programs in D1 & DII are NOT fully funded. They don’t have the money to cover the max amount of scholarships and therefore have less total scholarships available to divide among their athletes.
So what does this mean?
- Athletic scholarships in softball can help make college more affordable, but you should not expect them to pay for college
- NAIA and JUCO are very attractive options that should not be dismissed
- Don’t view the money spent on softball as an investment towards paying for college. Enjoy the life lessons and lifelong relationships that softball provides.
