A FULL RIDE?

What is it, is it possible to get one, and if so how?

Alright, let’s talk about scholarships! Let’s talk about Alston Money. I will have to save NIL for another day. There is already a lot to tackle here…

The idea that soccer players are going to get offered a “full ride” is out there. Players, parents, aunts and uncles want to say they or their kid got a full ride. A full athletic scholarship in soccer happens, but not often. But that is changing, and honestly I’m not even sure what a “full ride” is anymore. There are so many moving parts.

First Athletic Aid: Here is the scholarship breakdown for soccer:

Division I Women - 14 Full Scholarships Division I Men - 9.9 Full Scholarships

Division II Women - 9.9 Full Scholarships Division II Men - 9 Full Scholarships

Division III Women - 0 Athletic Scholarships Division III Men - 0 Athletic Scholarships

NAIA Women - 12 Full Scholarships NAIA Men - 12 Full Scholarships

Jr College Women - 18 Full Scholarships Junior College Men - 18 Full Scholarships

But understand this is for FULLY FUNDED programs only. So while University A might be a Division I Women’s Soccer Program, they may not have 14 scholarships available to them. I know for a fact some D1 Women’s programs out there that only have between 2-4 full rides. Even so, do the math. 14 full rides for a roster of 30ish players? It just doesn’t add up.

The breakdown is probably more like this for a roster of 30 on a Women’s Team:

Non - Scholarship athletes - 5

Players on less than 50% - 8

Players on 50-80% - 15

Full Scholarship athletes - 2

Every coach will tell you some of the most beneficial and impactful players on their teams are the non-scholarship athletes. They have heart, they often have something to prove, and they do not shy away from hard work. If that’s you, we need you, your teammates need you, keep doing what you do!

Academic money is really what makes up a huge difference! Many players make up that percentage difference with academic money. So when you hear someone say they are on a full scholarship you can almost promise part of that is academic! That’s amazing, and that’s ok. Brag about your academic money, you have clearly worked hard for that as well as the athletic.

What is Alston money? Well to oversimplify it…the NCAA has ruled that Universities can pay student-athletes $5980/yr for academic achievement. What academic achievement actually means is pretty much up to each school to decide. There could be rigorous standards you have to meet to earn that money. There also could not be! Some schools say - stay eligible, don’t transfer, and you will earn Alston. Some will only give you the same percentage of scholarship you are on. So if you are on a 50% athletic scholarship that school may only give you 50% of the Alston award. Some will give you the full thing. Good questions to ask!

So basically some colleges are now just basically paying student-athletes. Again, that’s ok. TV contracts are big, the money is coming in and some of it should be going back to the student-athletes.

Let’s put some math to Alston Money. To be clear, it is NOT a scholarship but at the same time it kind of is for equivalency sports like soccer, baseball, softball, etc…

If institution A costs $30,000/yr to attend. That figure is for tuition, room and board, books and possibly cost of attendance.

If you get the full Alston award then you essentially just got 20% of your school paid for! That’s a big deal. It also means that if you can get the other 80% covered by athletic and/or academic aid then you are essentially on a full ride?

Confused yet? Let me dirty the waters even more.

A full ride for a Power 5 women’s soccer program consists of:

Tuition

Room and Board

Books

Cost of attendance

Cost of attendance? What is this? Well back around 2015 the NCAA decided we could add a cost of attendance figure to our athletic aid. Schools determine what that number is. Some schools it may just be $1000, some it may be $6000. Again up to the school to decide how much it costs to travel to and from campus, outside required books and activities that come up, and any other miscellaneous expenses.

So let’s go back to University A. Tuition, room and board, and books costs $30,000. They have decided the cost of attendance to be $4000.

The full ride student athlete will receive $34,000 in athletic aid. If they also get the full Alston award of $5980, then they are essentially receiving $40,000 to pay for $30,000 in bills.

As a freshman you most likely will have to live in the dorms, so that entire $30,000 bill will be put on your student account. The other $10,000 will get put into the athlete’s bank account. Let’s say $1000/month for 10 months, August-May. Gone are the days of broke and poor college athletes.

As an upperclassman- well it gets interesting here. You are responsible for paying your own “room and board” AKA rent and food. So let’s say the University figure for room and board is $10,000. So your University bill is now $20,000 for tuition and books, and the other $20,000 is going straight into your bank account. $2000/month to pay for your rent and food. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Food - You know what else is now happening. Athletic departments are feeding athletes EVERY DAY. I know of a school who feeds every athlete, regardless of sport, regardless of scholarship three meals a day, Monday - Friday, at NO CHARGE. Athletic departments are footing the bill. That is rare, more than likely for Power 5 schools you are getting 1-2 meals a day except when you travel with the team, then you are getting fed all the time. Mid - majors and lower you may or may not have food as an extra benefit. If it’s important to you, then good questions to ask. Learn to cook, it’s a good skill to have.

That was a ton of information! If you have questions don’t hesitate to reach out! I am available at therecruitingdad2027@gmail.com

Thanks for reading!

The Recruiting Dad