Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Scholarship Options
Men’s and Women’s collegiate swimming and diving is available throughout all 3 divisions of the NCAA, NAIA, and the NJCAA. Scholarship money for swimmers is available for Division I and II only in each of the 3 collegiate associations.
Despite the fact that many of the nation’s most elite swimmers end up on NCAA Division I teams does not indicate the true level of competition available among the other divisions and associations. Being classified Div I is primarily based on school size. Of course these schools have also built massive swimming and diving programs and have the leverage to offer full and partial scholarships for students swimmers.
How Many Swimming Scholarships ARE Available?
The NCAA Women’s Div I Swimming and Diving programs may offer a total of 14 full scholarships per schools, and the Men’s Swimming and Diving programs, 9.9. Considering the number of schools with women’s swim teams-- close to 200 for any given year--and the number with men’s swim teams, at about 140, the total number of swimming and diving scholarships available to Div I swimmers and divers is over 4,000.
Depending upon the institution, full-scholarships may be divvied up and offered as partial scholarships to that many more swimmers.
Division II schools also offer Swimming and Diving scholarships. Many of these are partial and sometimes mixed with other forms of student scholarship and grant money to meet financial needs. The competition at Div II schools is also often fierce. In many cases elite athletes opt out of attending Div I schools regardless of their scholarship qualifications. So you can find very good depth on teams at this level of competition and therefore the financial aid may run quite deep.
Division III Swimming and Diving
Division III schools of any kind are restricted from offering athletic scholarships. And as a student you should know this. While competition may be quite serious at the Div III level you will find beginner athletes on the same teams with elite. Any type of student cash aid at this level must come from academic sources in your school. But many Div III schools actively seek out good swimmers and try to offer them other incentives to enroll.
At the junior college and community college level some top-notch swimming and diving is available through NJCAA member schools, particularly D-I schools. Scholarship money can be very rich at this particular level.
If you’re a high school swimmer and eager to find out more about college scholarships for swimmers and divers you should discuss your potential options with your coach.