No athletic scholarship money from a D1 coach? A parent's six questions answered
To understand the help parents and guardians are looking for, I sometimes pop into Facebook groups to read and occasionally answer their questions on college track and field recruiting.
Here's a post I saw recently:
Our daughter is a high school senior whose XC season has gone much better than expected. When she initially visited colleges, she reluctantly gave up her dream of running in college because she didn’t think she was fast enough for the D1 schools she liked academically and socially.
Now, her XC times are recruitable at four of the seven D1 schools she has applied to. She has contacted her favorite school’s coach, who seems interested but has indicated there will be no athletic scholarship money. Her times are actually better than most of the other’s on the current roster.
Her GPA and test scores are excellent, so we’re hopeful about merit aid, but we may not know the amounts until January or later. We know a full D1 athletic scholarship is unlikely, but even partial aid would help significantly. She has done general, not athletic visits at all seven schools.
- Should she contact the other three D1 coaches, even though she strongly prefers one school?
- Is “no athletic money” usually a firm answer, or could partial aid become available later?
- Can athletic and academic scholarships typically be combined?
- Should she arrange a visit to meet the coach and team, attend practice, or otherwise get a feel for the team before making a decision? Is this something coaches typically invite recruits to do?
- How do you navigate recruiting when merit scholarship offers won’t arrive until later?
- If she attends without athletic aid, is there a realistic possibility of earning a scholarship in subsequent years?
Here are the short answers. I go into each one below.
- Yes, she should contact the other three coaches.
- “No athletic money” is usually a firm answer.
- Athletic and academic aid usually stack, but it depends on the school.
- Yes, she should visit and meet the team before she commits.
- She should not commit before she knows her merit aid.
- Earning athletic aid in later years is possible, but she shouldn't count on it.
Should she contact the other three D1 coaches, even though she strongly prefers one school?
Usually, yes. Without knowing her track and XC times, or which schools and conferences she's targeting, I can't advise firmly, but here's why I lean that way.
I am writing this in late October, so the signing period is a couple of weeks out. Now would be an ideal time to find out if there could be opportunities for her elsewhere. By now, D1 coaches should have a solid understanding of their recruiting classes and projected scholarship spend.
Sometimes, additional conversations with other schools, even if they're not with the top option(s) on an athlete's list, are the best confidence-builders in a family's recruiting process. On one hand, these conversations could lead to information that sways the athlete's preconceived understanding of each opportunity. Maybe one of these new emails leads to a call that informs the athlete about that team's roster plan and training that totally changes how she ranks that school on her list?
On the other hand, even if schools don't surpass her current number-one, the exercise of speaking with more than one program builds confidence in her current way of thinking.
I previously advised a female athlete who had the opportunity to take official visits to multiple D1 Power schools. When she attended her first visit, the coaching staff rolled out the red carpet for her. She loved the teammates, coaches, location, training, and everything in between. It was her first visit and it was hard to fathom anything better.
She was prepared to commit on the spot.
When I get to know an athlete and their family through advising, my suggestion in instances like this is almost always to travel home, sleep on it, discuss, and take at least one or two more visits.
When an athlete identifies their top choice, they set a bar. Whether that school finishes at the top of the list isn't the point. It's that confidence in their eventual signing comes from knowing they compared other potential options to that bar.
In the example I referenced above, the school this athlete was prepared to commit to after her first visit was not in her top five just a few weeks later.
Is “no athletic money” usually a firm answer, or could partial aid become available later?
Typically, if a coach says they have no athletic money available for a recruit, this is a firm answer, especially if the recruit is already committed or signed.
If a coach mentions they have no athletic scholarship money available, it usually means one or both of the following:
- The coach has no athletic scholarship budget remaining at all; they've allocated all of their aid for the following academic year. This is common. Some programs will know where every athletic scholarship dollar is being spent in the spring a full 18 months before that recruiting class is even on campus. For example, with the 2027 class, some Division I coaches had allocated all of their athletic funding by May of 2026.
- The coach does not have athletic scholarship funding available for an athlete with your PRs. To best understand how a decision like this is made, please read One Big Tip for High School Track & Field Athletes Targeting NCAA Division I Recruitment and The Conference-Impact Lens: How to Match Your PRs to College Track & Field Programs.
Among the families I work with, this thought process is usually handled through a solid understanding of their maximum out-of-pocket budget. If the opportunity could still work with no athletic aid, then it stays on the list. If the opportunity will not work without athletic aid, it comes off the list. Of course, this relies on knowing a fairly accurate out-of-pocket cost number, which requires an understanding of the academic aid package available. If the coach is not helping your family to establish this out-of-pocket cost number by providing academic aid estimates and support with securing those academic scholarship dollars, then it could be a signal of their interest level in recruiting you.
Can athletic and academic scholarships typically be combined?
Usually, athletic and academic scholarships can be combined, which is commonly referred to as "stacking."
Whether or not athletic and academic scholarships can stack depends on the school, not the association, division, or conference.
This is something every coach who's interested in recruiting you should be able to answer for you right away. I recommend having the financial conversation around academic aid and out-of-pocket budget/cost versus starting with a conversation about athletic scholarships.
For more information on stacking, and scholarships and financials in general, visit the "Understanding cost" section of our new complete guide to the college track and field/cross country recruiting process.
Should she visit and meet the team before deciding?
If a Division I program is seriously interested in recruiting an athlete, they will almost always offer an official visit.
If an athlete is considering making a commitment to attend a particular school, yes, they should meet the coach(es) in person, attend a training session (but not participate), and engage fully in the visit they schedule for you.
If the team is unable to offer an official visit, an unofficial visit is another option.
How do you navigate recruiting when merit scholarship offers won’t arrive until later?
You should not need to make a commitment without knowing what your merit aid will entail. Without knowing what a family's conversations with a program have covered, what to do next is difficult to advise on.
But I do know this:
Coaches should almost always be able to give you an accurate number for your expected merit aid.
If they want you to commit, apply, and sign before knowing your out-of-pocket cost, something is off.
If she attends without athletic aid, is there a realistic possibility of earning a scholarship in subsequent years?
Yes, there is always potential to earn athletic aid in years 2-5, but relying on it is risky.
If it's a necessity to earn athletic aid for your family's out-of-pocket budget to work, I usually recommend ensuring your athletic and academic scholarship package lines up before you commit.
If you'd like an athletic scholarship, but it's not a firm requirement, set expectations with the coach recruiting you before you commit. Know exactly how you need to perform in Year 1 in order to be granted a scholarship in Year 2. However, keep in mind that without this in writing, due to the dynamic nature of the college sports landscape and other variables, there are no guarantees.
Here are some resources to determine how likely a partial or full athletic scholarship could be in subsequent years:
- College Track & Field / XC Recruiting Calculator
- College Track & Field / XC Recruiting Standards
- College Track & Field / XC Scholarships
- The Conference-Impact Lens: How to Match Your PRs to College Track & Field Programs