NCAA VP Dan Dutcher Clarifies Division III Scholarship Misconceptions

Following a recent article we published about athletic based scholarships in Division III athletics entitled University Endowments Create Huge Recruiting Advantage In Division III, Dan Dutcher, the NCAA’s Vice President for Division III reached out to us in order to clear up some Division III scholarship misconceptions that we and many in the industry have. While there is no doubt a premium placed on athletic ability by some institutions when it comes to recruiting and admission, Mr. Dutcher and his colleagues have maintained a series of checks and balances within the division to ensure that scholarships and aid are represented just as equally throughout the rest of the student body. I’ll let him explain.

“Division III is the largest of the NCAA’s three divisions, with more than 450 member schools. These schools are diverse in academic mission, enrollment, geographical locations, varying endowment sizes and private or public status.  Despite this, Division III member schools uniformly show support for the division’s financial aid model through survey responses and continued legislation.  

“Division III schools have agreed that scholarships will not be granted based on a student’s athletics ability or participation. Members can and often do consider athletics ability during the admissions process. Like their peers in the general student body, most student-athletes who choose to compete at Division III schools do receive financial aid of some kind, whether need-based aid or academic or leadership-based scholarships. However, Division III members still oppose athletics scholarships – even under a different name.

“Division III schools participate in annual mandatory reporting to ensure that financial need-based aid is provided equally or proportionally across the board. An aggregate report is released each year and compares the scholarships received by student-athletes and the general student body. Each school also receives an institution-specific report.  The Division III Financial Aid Committee took that a step further this past year, implementing a process that will compare financial aid packages by sport against a school’s normal aid packages, both current and over the course of the past ten years. When schools don’t meet the review standards established by Division III membership, they go through the enforcement process, which often involves sanctions.

“NCAA member schools across all three divisions strive to provide pathways for college athletes to succeed on the field, in the classroom and for life. The largest recruiting tool Division III schools have is not an endowment or similar financial support. It is the ability of a school to provide a platform for students to pursue their personal goals in competition, academics and career-preparedness.”