In our work with families, it’s common for student-athletes to be drawn to the NCAA Division I experience. It makes sense. Whether they are true DI level student-athletes or not, that’s typically the only form of collegiate competition they see or hear about on TV or in the media.

NCAA DI and DII sports programs offer the most competitive landscape for securing roster spots and athletic scholarships. Only about 2 percent of players are offered DI or DII scholarships, and many of these are relatively small amounts. It is extremely rare for DI or DII student-athletes to secure full ride scholarships.

Due to this intense competition, it’s normal for many players at these collegiate levels to ultimately land at DIII schools. According to the NCAA, Division III is the largest division in terms of a number of schools and number of participants and is comprised of more than 190,000 student-athletes and represents 450 colleges and universities throughout the country. Division III is also the only division that does not award athletic scholarships; however, more than 75 percent of Division III student-athletes receive financial aid or have earned a merit scholarship for academic talent and accomplishment.

Although there are many, the three most often repeated benefits our families mention when attending and competing for DIII programs is that it allows the student-athlete:

1. To maintain a well-rounded collegiate experience. Although the sports programs are very competitive and place a strong emphasis on winning, there is an opportunity for the student-athlete to participate in extra-curricular activities like semesters studying abroad, student government and Greek life.
2. To attend strong academic institutions with advanced and well-positioned internships for future careers.
3. To secure significant merit-based scholarships for academics or other special talents they may possess.

Many Division III institutions have extraordinary supplies of money to attract high-performing student-athletes and can offer exceptional value to families. Listed below is a recent email from a DIII soccer family to share as an example:

“Actually, we did quite well with her grants, scholarships, and loans…

She received the following package:

GRANTS/ SCHOLARSHIPS (four-year grants, spread equally over the four years):

• The University Scholar Award – $72,000
• Board of Directors Grant – $33,716
• Residency Grant – $8000

Total Grants: $113,716

PRE-APPROVED GUARANTEED UNIVERSITY STUDENT LOANS:

• $14,000 subsidized (no interest)
• $8000 unsubsidized (very low interest)

Total Loans: $22,000 (to be repaid after graduation and full-time employment)

WORK STUDY:

$6000 – guaranteed position in the federal work study program all four years

So they delivered a total of $141,716, which represents approximately 75% of her entire undergraduate education ($191,064), including tuition, books, room & board.

Another great bonus, based on her major (International Business), is that they will send her abroad her sophomore year… at their cost.

Finally, they guarantee graduation in four years.

As it turns, she was their top female soccer recruit, but we did not know that until after she committed (her new teammates let the cat out of the bag).

Note: She improved her GPA and her SAT scores during the application process, and she promptly notified the University, and they increased her financial package accordingly, which I also liked.

In fact, there is now one other scholarship that she is academically eligible to apply for, but she missed the February deadline (because she hadn’t even visited the school yet then, and they really weren’t even on her radar), so they sent her a letter, and they want her to apply next year (the Provost Scholarship), and if she gets it, she will get another $6000 in scholarship money ($2k per year for the last three years), and they will adjust my payments.

She is very excited for the opportunity, and I hope that it all works out for her. I will keep in touch to let you all know how she does.

Thank you for your assistance.”

Whether your son or daughter has the desire to compete in their sport at NCAA Division I, II or III college levels, Division III institutions may present significant academic and athletic opportunities that you did not know existed.

For a personal college recruiting evaluation and honest estimate of your potential to compete at the next level, contact us at:

Phone: 1.888.9787084
Email: scouting@sportsforceonline.com

Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter!

When a student-athlete becomes serious about playing their sport in college, it helps to understand when a college coach is truly recruiting them. Many families have difficulty interpreting the various types of correspondence from college coaches. They just can’t tell the difference when a coach is genuinely interested in developing a relationship versus one who is just marketing their school’s sports program.

Understanding this difference is not only vital to your success, it saves you valuable time, money and resources on chasing opportunities that will never be realized. When your efforts are focused on the coaches and schools that really have an interest in you, the results tend to reflect more offers, higher scholarship amounts and a shorter recruiting cycle.

At SportsForce, we like to help our families visualize this process. The diagram below shows a person climbing a mountain. This represents your son or daughter. They’re ascending the college recruiting mountain with possibly several hundred thousand other student-athletes also competing for a college roster spot for their particular sport. But on average, only about 5-6% of those few hundred thousand make it to the top of the mountain with an offer or scholarship.

The areas listed on the right are the basic steps and communication that takes place along the way. More specifically, the areas in red are what we call “Base Camp One” on the mountain. That’s where a lot of student-athletes stop in terms of their college recruiting. At this point, they have no contact with college coaches. Another key indicator of being at Base Camp One is they might attend or be invited to a big tournament, combine or camp. They might also receive generic emails, questionnaires or form mailings from a coach. But that’s about as far as it goes. The red color means they have not advanced their recruiting progress.

The key to knowing when you’re being “actively” recruited, is when your son or daughter have an ongoing personal dialog with a college coach. The area in yellow highlights some of these types of activities and communication. If they’re receiving personal texts, phone calls, emails or hand-written notes, this means they’re being actively recruited. If they are invited for an unofficial visit or Junior Day event, this also aligns with active recruitment. The yellow color means caution. Just because your student-athlete is actively communicating with college coaches does not automatically mean they will receive a written offer from them. College coaches are also pursuing other players, not just your son or daughter.

Once in the green area, student-athletes (if they have not already) may begin receiving verbal offers. Those may lead to further official visits, which may produce written offers and ultimately a signed National Letter of intent. The green color means go and your student-athlete is receiving offers and probably achieving their college recruiting goals.

Where is your son or daughter on the college recruiting mountain? Do they need assistance in building personal relationships with college coaches or deciphering their communication?

Contact us today for a personal college recruiting evaluation. Our highly trained team of college recruiting advisors have either played or coached their sport at the college level. Our entire team of professionals dedicates their passion, time and attention to properly evaluating, educating and successfully guiding qualified student-athletes and their families through the college planning and recruiting process.

For a personal college recruiting evaluation and honest estimate of your potential to compete at the next level, contact us at:

Phone: 1.888.9787084
Email: scouting@sportsforceonline.com

Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter!

We would like to congratulate Cameron Parmigiani on his commitment to University of St. Francis! Here are Cameron’s recruiting story and interview after his commitment. Good luck as a Fighting Saint!

1. Share your recruiting story and status

I started working with SportsForce during the summer between my Junior and Senior years of high school. After their evaluation, I was told that I would likely play NAIA or NCAA D3 college basketball. My first introduction to college coaches was on the very first day of my Senior Year of high school. I had about 40 responses from college coaches. I began narrowing down these schools, with SportsForce’s help, of course. They guided me through the process, gave me advice on how to properly communicate with the college coaches who were interested in me. They were there every step of the way. I ultimately narrowed my list down to about 7 schools. It was then when I began making official visits to schools, doing overnights at the campuses with the basketball teams, and having lengthy calls with the coaches to discuss the possibilities for my future as a student-athlete. On March 26, 2016, I signed with the University of St. Francis men’s basketball team, committing to them, reserving my spot on the team, and accepting the athletic scholarship money they offered me. Being a dedicated student, I also received a significant academic scholarship as well…

2. What school are you going to, and why did you choose them?

Next year, I will be attending the University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Illinois. I chose them for their location, school size, feel of the school, athletic prowess, and relation to the coaching staff.

3. How did SportsForce help in the process?

SportsForce helped guide me through the minefield of the college athletic recruiting process by telling me how to handle business, and how to approach the coaches with questions or concerns I may have had.

4. What advice would you give to other players and parents with the recruiting process?

I would definitely recommend that perspective college student athletes get a head start, earlier than I did, in order to get the roster spot they may deserve before it fills up. The highlight video was a notably big part of my recruitment, so I absolutely would recommend that as well. One piece of advice for them, though, would be to choose a school where you could also see yourself attending without playing your sport. Say you get severely injured after your first year, you don’t want to be stuck there; unhappy, and have to transfer and begin the search again. Just something to think about.

5. How excited are you for your future in college?

I am STOKED for my college basketball career, and I know that I have chosen the right school for me!

6. How much money do you anticipate your family saving in college expenses because of you being recruited?

Because of the help from SportsForce, we will be saving over 50% of our college costs through my athletic and academic scholarships.

7. Would you recommend SportsForce to any other student-athletes? Why?

Yes. I would recommend it. I had no idea where I wanted to go to college at the start of my senior year of high school, which was very stressing and intimidating. SportsForce helped me find schools that wanted me, and I went from there! 🙂

Over the last five years, SportsForce has helped over 1,000 student-athletes and families successfully navigate the college recruiting and athletic scholarship process while saving families on average $50,000 in college expenses.