Currently over 5,500 scholarships are available through the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for baseball players, with additional scholarships offered through the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). NCAA rules allow schools to provide coaches with funding for a prescribed number of scholarships. The largest schools, known as Division I schools, for example, are allowed to award up to 12 baseball scholarships, as may schools that participate in the NAIA. To make their allotted number of scholarships go even further, coaches are allowed to divide them up among two or more candidates, awarding a partial scholarship to each. The result, of course, is more talented players on their rosters, which often translates to more wins for the team.
Students who are interested in obtaining a scholarship to play basketball have a number of options to choose from, with over 7,000 scholarships available for men's basketball and over 9,000 scholarships available for women's basketball. The NCAA allows Division I schools to provide 13 scholarships for men's teams and 15 scholarships for women's teams, while Division II schools may award 10 player scholarships for each. Scholarships cover full tuition and cannot be divvied up amongst more than one player. As with baseball scholarships, schoolboy basketball players who are not recruited but believe they could compete on the college level can send their academic records and a videotape of their athletic accomplishments to the schools for which they would like to compete.
The opportunities available for football scholarships are plentiful for students who are considering playing at the college level. Currently the NCAA allows schools to offer 85 scholarships for each Division I-A program and 63 scholarships for each Division I-AA school. In addition, each Division II program is allowed 36 scholarships. In some cases, schools do not allocate all of their scholarship funds, as suitable athletes cannot always be found. As a result, the best football players usually have their choice of the top schools. High school football players who are not recruited may apply directly to their school of choice by submitting an academic and sport resume, highlighting their academic achievements, along with a video of their gridiron heroics.