NAIA vs. NCAA

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What makes a NAIA school different from a NCAA school? I have heard talent wise NAIA would be comparable to a D2 NCAA. Any thoughts?

 

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I think much like the NCAA in all divisions there is good and bad....have seen a D1 NCAA Team that lost to a community college, have seen D3 team that could beat most of the MAC.....DD goes to a D2 school that is decent....they played some NAIA schools in the fall and in Florida @ the NTC games in the spring....some were tough though most were pretty poor...@ least the ones we faced....also got to think depending what area of the country you are from there are more NAIA colleges available...have heard many Ohio NAIA schools ie. Walsh are looking to become D2 schools...

 

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NAIA does not impose athletic scholarship limits that NCAA does, but in general it all comes down to MONEY even for a D1.

Not all D1 or D2 schools are "fully funded" (have enough money to issue the number of athletic scholarships the NCAA allows). Consequently, there are some D2 schools out there that have more athletic scholarships than some D1 schools, although the NCAA allows a D1 to award more athletic scholarships than a D2; and, likewise, probably some NAIA schools have more athletic scholarships than some D1 or D2.

Consequently, there are going to be some NAIA team that are comparable talent wise to some D2's (and even some D1's). Generally (not always), the team with the more "paid athletes" will be the better team.

Also, private universities whether they are D1, D2 or NAIA will generally have higher tuition than state universities. Therefore, the private schools are more often than state schools, not fully funded; and, in a sport like softball where the NCAA allows both D1 and D2 to award partial athletic scholarships, private universities may be at a disadvantage when it comes to getting the better "paid athletes" with whatever athletic scholarships they have. A 50% partial scholarship will be (financially at least) more appealing at a state-funded/lower tuition school than at a private/higher tuition school.

Most, if not all, NAIA schools are private/higher tuition schools.

 

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NAIA does not impose athletic scholarship limits that NCAA does, but in general it all comes down to MONEY even for a D1.

Not all D1 or D2 schools are "fully funded" (have enough money to issue the number of athletic scholarships the NCAA allows). Consequently, there are some D2 schools out there that have more athletic scholarships than some D1 schools, although the NCAA allows a D1 to award more athletic scholarships than a D2; and, likewise, probably some NAIA schools have more athletic scholarships than some D1 or D2.

Consequently, there are going to be some NAIA team that are comparable talent wise to some D2's (and even some D1's). Generally (not always), the team with the more "paid athletes" will be the better team.

Also, private universities whether they are D1, D2 or NAIA will generally have higher tuition than state universities. Therefore, the private schools are more often than state schools, not fully funded; and, in a sport like softball where the NCAA allows both D1 and D2 to award partial athletic scholarships, private universities may be at a disadvantage when it comes to getting the better "paid athletes" with whatever athletic scholarships they have. A 50% partial scholarship will be (financially at least) more appealing at a state-funded/lower tuition school than at a private/higher tuition school.

Most, if not all, NAIA schools are private/higher tuition schools.

While this may be true, private schools have large endowments available to offset this higher tuition. My DD narrowed her search down to about seven schools out of the many that made serious offers to her - two Division 1, two Division 2, one Division 3, and two NAIA. All offers came in the same general area except one Division 2 school said that they had no athletic money to offer. She chose NAIA, a school about $32000/year. The financial aid she received from the school in the way of scholarships and grants made this offer extremely competitive to the lower priced state schools.

 

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While this may be true, private schools have large endowments available to offset this higher tuition.

How does an endowment offset the tuition?? You mean tht there is more money avilable to the program? Even with a large endowment, that is definitely not always the case. And a number of private universities are struggling because of a small endowment--therefore it because a #'s game to get as many kids on campus as possible.

 

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Half tuition from any source at a $30,000+ private university = a full ride at a state DI university. Is one "better" than the other? That all depends on what academic path your DD has chosen, your DD's opinion of the school, etc. For example, if your DD likes a "big city/shopping" atmosphere, a rural campus won't work for her. Your DD may want to be closer to home vs being somewhere in Florida. So there are lots of intangibles. If a family follows the Cathi Aradi method for college softball recruiting, they'll have a good idea about how and why to choose a certain school. Your DD has to be comfortable with her decision.

A good friend of mine has a DD playing basketball at an Ohio NAIA school. Over 90% of her expenses are covered, and she's having a great time. A strong consideration in our particular situation was to not saddle our DD with a huge debt from student loans. We wanted to apply her scholarship where it had the most bang for the buck.

 

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NCAA I allows maximum of 12 scholarships. NCAA II allows a Max. of 7.2 scholarships. NAIA allows a maximum of 12 scholarships. Now where I see this vary is that each institution decides if they will fully fund their specific program. REDBIRD makes great point concerning tuition of private universities being so high vs state schools.
Example:School (A) is a state college costing $10,000. per/yr. School (B) is a private colege costing $30,000. DD gets offer from softball coach saying he will give her a 1/2 scholarship. = school (A) will cost $15,000 and school (B) will cost only $5,000. This typically allows state schools upperhand in recruiting in sports where scholarships are broken up.
Very few girls get full scholarship in softball because coach is trying to stretch his 7.2 schoalrship limit in D-II as far as possible. If their are 20 girls on roster divide by 7.2 scholarships = .36 scholarship per player. These examples are just to show that scholarship numbers dont go very far in the big picture.

 

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There are 12 NAIA schools in Ohio and all but one are private schools. not sure if all have softball. I believe there are 4 NCAA II schools in Ohio and all are private. Michigan has a high % of NCAA II schools that are state schools. ex. Grand Valley St., Saginaw Valley St., Ferris State, etc. I am somewhat partial to one particular D-II Ohio school. (Hint. Screen Name)

 

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Lest anyone forget, the best scholarship money coms from academics in most cases. An extra hour on a term paper usually pays better than an extra hour at a batting tee.

 

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Rarely will you find scholarships split equally. More funding on DD's DI team comes from athletic scholarships than academic. Not saying that good grades don't count, but the academic money there is more of a supplement. The case may be different at DII and DIII due to the structure of scholarships.

All I can say is that if you want to play DI, you had better be playing travel ball at the highest level you possibly can. The money IS there for the kids who bust it and work hard. No one said it's easy, but not many worthwhile things in life come easy.

 

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bottom line no matter what the level of college ball...the money usually goes to Pitchers, Catchers, that super fast slapper and the "Crystl Busto" power hitter...and what ever is left over goes to the rest...that is why schools like Kent State may have 24 scholarship athletes on their roster but most are probably only getting a grand or two...Get that ACT/SAT score high and finish academically strong and you will have a better chance @ significant money....know for a fact DD's college coach recruits by GPA in addition to softball skills....uses it as a tie breaker....

 

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^^^24 scholarship athletes? Why would a student athlete even consider going to a school with a 24 player roster??? The average roster typically rides in the 17-19 player range. For example the 2009 rosters for the following universitys were Depaul (19), Louisville (17), Miami (18), Purdue (17), OSU (18), Akron (18), Ohio U (18), Virginia Tech (17) ect ect ect. 24 is just way over the edge!!!

 

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Certainly there are a handful of girls getting school paid for by softball, but the majority are not. Mine is in D3 which obviously means no athletic $$, but she is getting substantial academic money. Enough to make the cost of a small private school about the same as a Kent or Akron type state school. That academic money will be there no matter how she does on the field. My understanding of D1 athletic money is that it is a year by year thing, nothing guaranteed.

As that commercial says, there are 380,000 NCAA student athletes and most of them go pro in something other than the sport they play. Work hard and have fun playing ball, but don't skip homework for it.

 

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...My understanding of D1 athletic money is that it is a year by year thing, nothing guaranteed.

I have always heard that DI scholarships are year-to-year. Although there is no contract stating such, I think it's pretty much an unspoken agreement that unless the athlete does something extreme - drugs, constant academic probation or general team rules violations - the money is there until they graduate, which may even be longer than 4 years.

As that commercial says, there are 380,000 NCAA student athletes and most of them go pro in something other than the sport they play. Work hard and have fun playing ball, but don't skip homework for it.

So VERY true. I totally agree with you on this!!

 

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In trying to answer the original question, the thing that makes an NCAA school different from an NAIA school is that one institution chose to belong to the NCAA and another chose the NAIA. I know some NAIA schools in Ohio have applied to be NCAA Div. II schools. That isn't meant to be a smart-aleck answer, it's just literally the truth.

Talent-wise in softball, I see NAIA as more in the middle of NCAA Div. II and Div. III. I don't know the situation in Ohio, but most NAIA schools out my way (Wash./Ore.) don't have all that much in the way of scholarships. One that does have plenty of scholarship money is - surprise - a very good team and more like a NCAA Div. II team.

NAIA schools can do much more when it comes to recruiting and even bringing in girls to practice with the team. That is frustrating for those of us at NCAA Div. III competing with them for recruits. The advantage we have, though, is that our schools seem to generally have much better academic reputations.

 

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I'm not going to argue with anyone. BUT! My son got a 50% scholarship to Saint Louis University. This is a private D1 school with tuition at 38,000 when he attended. Room and board was another 8-9,000. According to NCAA rules - AT LEAST THIS IS WHAT SLU TOLD US - tuition accounts for a 1/2 scholarship. Room and Board would be the other half. So, if that it true - and it was - then I'd take the 50% scholarship from the private school any day! In this case, it was really around 70%. But the state schools, where tuition and room & board are similar, it really is 50%.

 

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I have always heard that DI scholarships are year-to-year. Although there is no contract stating such, I think it's pretty much an unspoken agreement that unless the athlete does something extreme - drugs, constant academic probation or general team rules violations - the money is there until they graduate, which may even be longer than 4 years.


So VERY true. I totally agree with you on this!!

Not necessarily. **** happens. Like last year was the first year D1 baseball had to conform to new rules stating each roster player "had" to have 1/3 scholarship. The only way most schools could satisfy that was to take percentages from those who had more than 1/3 scholarship. So, maybe they don't take it away, but they can change it at their discretion. Same thing could happen to other sports as well. Also, the student athlete has 5 years to complete 4 years of participation. I only know of scholarships lasting 5 years - usually requiring some sort of redshirt year.