Volleyball

INTRO

Volleyball is a rapidly growing sport internationally, in USA and at the collegiate scene. It is one of the most attended sports in the world and it is no different in USA where the sport enjoys 50 million participants. Coaches recruit internationally and at the large national qualifying tournaments which can host over 40,000 players in one event! With such a great number of potential recruits the odds of being noticed are rather small and careful and proactive approach to recruiting process is necessary.

There are much greater opportunities for women players as there are more then 8 times more teams and programs supporting women’s volleyball. Also, women’s teams can award significantly more scholarship being one of the Title IX sports (providing equal scholarship opportunities to women in college sports), Only in NAIA scholarships are distributed equally between men and women. Also, NCAA I for women is a head count sport which means that 12 full scholarships are awarded and the rest of the 18 player roster are walk-ons. Remember that achieving full volleyball scholarship although possible is much less common than “combination” scholarships in which some of the financial help come from academic merit and need based scholarship. If You are top volleyball female player that can qualify for major NCAA I program, you can earn a “full ride”.

If You are not the top recruit that is being “chased” by the coaches from major NCAA I programs, don’t worry. There is still a lot of programs that you might be recruited by. Expand Your search to other divisions that still have a very high level of volleyball and equally lucrative scholarship opportunities. Remember that the process is very competitive, and you should approach the process very diligently and early in order to increase your chances. US Club volleyball and attending national qualifying or championship tournaments are the best ways to be seen by college coaches.

Club volleyball, specifically attending national qualifying or championship tournaments are the best way to be seen by college coaches

Recruiting especially at the NCAA Division 1 schools is extremely competitive

Facts according to www.scholarshipstats.com

1836 Schools offering Volleyball
244 men’s programs
1834 women’s programs
3929 men’s players
28,796 women’s players
# of scholarship allowed per team per year
- NCAA I Men 4.5 Women 12
- NCAA II Men 4.5 Women 8
- NAIA Men 8 Women 8
- NJCAA Women 14
Average Scholarship
- NCAA I Men - 15,600 Women - 19,000
- NCAA II Men – 6,000 Women - 8000
- NAIA Men - 8,200 Women – 7,300
- NJCAA Women 14 – 2.800 (much lower cost of education)