College Swimming - Scholarship Talk

For many high school swimmers, the beginning of the college recruiting process can be one of the more exciting times in a young person's life. It represents the opportunity for a swimmer to not only "get away" from home, but could provide the opportunity for them to continue their swimming in college. The process of recruiting can be exciting and exhausting as coaches reach out to swimmers to encourage them to consider their school. The process can also create a high level of uncertainty and anxiety, and leave swimmers asking more questions than getting answers to. My hope is to offer some practical solutions to help rising juniors and seniors navigate the process in order to provide a clearer picture on the recruiting process as it affects male swimmers.

Let’s talk scholarships first. The goal for many high school athletes has been the opportunity to continue playing their sport in college, and many look for the opportunity to make college more affordable through an athletic scholarship. If you’re a football or basketball player, the opportunity for an athletic scholarship is readily available, but if you’re one of the many athletes (boy and girls) who participate in other sports such as swimming, the opportunity for athletic funds may be very limited, so it’s best to make sure you’re doing well in school academically in order to achieve academic scholarships.

The NCAA places restrictions on the availability of athletic scholarships based upon the NCAA Division I sports. For example, for men’s football the limit is 85 scholarships. For basketball, it’s 13 and for track and field it’s 12.6. The availability of scholarships for most male sports is about 9 scholarships. Women receive a few more scholarships, but not that much. In fact, the average amount of scholarships available to women in all sports other than basketball (15), Track and Field (18), and Cross Country (18) is approximately 14. Which means, if you have 30 women on a swim team, you can expect the most any one person would get (unless she’s Katie Ledecky) would be a 70% scholarship, which leaves about 30% - 50% scholarship allotments to the other ladies on the team. If you’re considering a Division II school, scholarship availability is a bit less, depending upon the sport, and if you're looking at a Division III school, you likely know that athletic scholarships are not available, but that doesn't mean an academic scholarship may not be.

These allotments represent the “available” scholarships schools can provide for athletes. This does not mean the schools set funds aside or have an endowment to fund the sports. For example, there are many NCAA Division I schools who do not have a robust football or basketball program (which can be a revenue driver for the university), and allotments may only represent 10% of what the NCAA affords them to offer to potential student athletes, therefore before you get your heart set on swimming for your favorite school in another state, you may want to research how many scholarships are available to the team, how they are divided up, and what standards do you need to make in order to achieve scholarship funds. Most coaches will share this information with you, and those who don’t, are programs you want to avoid.

As budgets become tighter for colleges and universities, student athletes should consider do everything possible to do well academically in school and on their standardize tests. It’s likely the best scholarships will come from funds that are available through academic endowments, rather than sporting endowments. Unless you’re one of the top ranked swimmers in the nation (top 25), it’s likely a “full ride” may be a stretch, so use every bit of opportunity to attract an academic scholarship.

Now that we’ve gotten the “money talk” out of the way, let’s talk about whether you should consider swimming in school even if you don’t acquire much scholarship money or a scholarship at all. The answer is a resounding YES. Just because you may not have a large scholarship, the benefits of swimming or participating in an NCAA sport far outweigh the potential loss of money. As a student athlete, you will be entitled to benefits that other students on campus won’t have such as the opportunity to receive tutoring, health services, dorms near the athletic facilities, first choice in class schedule, perhaps your own athletic cafeteria, travel trips, and much more. These benefits will make your campus life easier and could help you graduate on time.

Another benefit of participating in a sport is your use of time. College will mark the first time for you to be “on your own”, and it’s the opportunity for you to be responsible for yourself. You'll have much more free time on your hands, which could be a benefit or a curse. The opportunity to participate in a collegiate sport (especially a sport like swimming), you remain on a schedule that is very similar to high school. In many cases you’ll get up in the morning, work out, eat breakfast and go to class. In many cases, classes will be over by noon, you’ll go back to your dorm, take a nap, and hit the afternoon practice at the pool. After practice, you’ll eat dinner and likely go study with your teammates at the mandatory tutor sessions, so by 8:00pm – you get a little down time on your own and get ready for the next morning practice. Sound familiar?

Many of you may have had a great experience swimming on a high school or club team, but nothing can compare to the college experience. If you're recruited by a college program, talent plays a large role, but so does your ability to fit on a team. Coaches go to great lengths to create a team chemistry that creates a sense of competition, support, and hard work. They see themselves as a cohesive unit striving to achieve a common goal. The people you surround yourself with on your team will become your family and friends for life. They will celebrate your success, become part of your wedding party, and always be there to answer your call. They will know you better than your own family. The team environment is supportive and is available to you when you may not be feeling your best, have sophomore blues, or question whether you’ve made the right decision to continue your swimming. This support group will truly make a difference in your life.

These are just a few of the benefits you can look forward to even though you may not have achieved a “full ride”, but guess what – no one does. Coaches are smart about how they disburse their funds and the last thing they want to do is give more to one person and create resentment on the team. College swimming is all about team and if you have the opportunity to swim in college, and you truly love the sport, I encourage you to continue. It could be a life changer.