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How often have you heard junior golfers (or
parents) say they were offered a full
scholarship? In most cases, they were probably
making an inaccurate statement. Full
scholarships in men’s golf are extremely rare.
They are, however, more common for ladies
golf. To better understand this process, let’s
start with the basics.
With new NCAA bylaws going into effect August 1,
2015, a full scholarship is now defined to
include not only tuition, room, board, books and
required course fees (full grant in aid) but
also other expenses (such as transportation)
related to the cost of attendance at the
particular school. Student- athletes may be
awarded all or part of a full scholarship on a
yearly basis. Renewals are not automatic but
Division I schools can now grant (promise)
multi-year scholarships in the recruiting
process.
For NCAA Division I, men’s golf programs may
award up to 4.5 scholarships annually versus 6.0
scholarships for women’s golf programs. In NCAA
Division II, the limits are 3.6 for men and 5.4
for women. NCAA Division III institutions are
prohibited from awarding athletic scholarships.
NAIA institutions and Junior Colleges are also
permitted to award athletic scholarships. It
should be noted that even though schools are
permitted to offer the aforementioned number of
scholarships, not all schools have budgeted or
“fully funded” their golf scholarship allowance.
To comply with NCAA bylaws, golf has been
categorized as an equivalency sport. The cash
value of each student-athlete’s scholarship is
divided by the institution’s total cost of
education to determine the player’s scholarship
percentage (100% or less). For Division I
programs, the aggregate of the percentages
cannot exceed 450% (4.5 full scholarships).
Here is a simple example:
Golf University Full Grant-in-Aid Value
(based on NCAA Bylaws)
|
Tuition
and course fees
|
$8,000
|
|
Room
and board
|
$11,000
|
|
Books
|
$1000
|
|
Full Grant-in-Aid
Value
|
$20,000
|
Golf University 2014-15 Team Roster –
Scholarship budget $90,000 (4.5 x $20,000)
|
Roster
|
Scholarship Cash
Value
|
Equivalency
|
|
Player
1
|
$17,000
|
85%
|
|
Player
2
|
$16,000
|
80%
|
|
Player
3
|
$14,000
|
70%
|
|
Player
4
|
$12,000
|
60%
|
|
Player
5
|
$10,000
|
50%
|
|
Player
6
|
$8,000
|
40%
|
|
Player
7
|
$7,000
|
35%
|
|
Player
8
|
$6,000
|
30%
|
|
Player
9 (walk-on)
|
-0-
|
0%
|
|
Total
Cash Value
|
$90,000
|
450% (4.5 full
scholarships)
|
|
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