The money, by the rules
How do college soccer scholarships work?
The short answer
Division I, Division II and NAIA soccer programs may award athletic scholarships; Division III programs may not. Division II caps a team at the value of 9.0 full scholarships for men and 9.9 for women, and the NAIA at 12, so most soccer scholarships are partial. The 2026-27 Division I Manual sets no count for soccer: it caps a roster at 28 at schools in the House settlement, and what one player may receive at the cost of attendance.
Sources last checked
| Division I | No per-team count in the manual; one player’s aid is capped at the cost of attendance (Bylaw 15.01.5) |
|---|---|
| Division II | 9.0 (men), 9.9 (women) full scholarships a team |
| Division III | No athletic scholarships |
| NAIA | 12 full scholarships a team |
| A verbal offer | Is not binding on the player or the school |
| First written Division I offer | August 1 of senior year |
How many soccer scholarships does each division have?
| Level | The limit | Where it is written |
|---|---|---|
| Division I | The manual lists no number of scholarships for soccer. A school in the House settlement may carry at most 28 players, and no athlete’s aid may exceed the cost of attendance. | Bylaw 17.2; Bylaw 15.01.5 |
| Division II | The value of 9.0 full scholarships for a men’s team and 9.9 for a women’s team, split among the squad. | Bylaw 15.4.2.1.1; Bylaw 15.4.2.1.2 |
| Division III | none: aid may not be based on athletics ability or participation. | Bylaw 15.01.3 |
| NAIA | The value of 12 full scholarships a team. Aid to strong students can be left out of the count. | Financial aid policy: upper limits for institutional aid |
The NCAA’s own figures, for all sports: 70% of Division I athletes and 77% of Division II athletes receive athletics aid, and Division I and II schools together award more than $4.3 billion a year to nearly 210,000 athletes.
Are soccer scholarships full rides?
In Division II and the NAIA, usually not, and the numbers show why. A Division II men’s team has the value of 9.0 scholarships and the middle Division II men’s roster lists 33 players; a women’s team has 9.9 for a middle roster of 30. Coaches split the money, so an award covers part of the cost and the family covers the rest with academic aid, need-based aid and its own money.
The published price is also not the price most families pay. The middle published out-of-state tuition at colleges with soccer is $32,193 in Division I, $24,854 in Division II, $39,050 in Division III and $29,059 in the NAIA, before any aid. Our guide to the sticker price explains how to find a college’s real cost.
Can you get a scholarship to play D3 soccer?
Not an athletic one. The Division III Manual says none: aid may not be based on athletics ability or participation (Bylaw 15.01.3). Division III players receive the same academic and need-based aid as any other student, and the NCAA reports that 80% of Division III athletes receive aid that is not athletic.
Division III has 820 soccer teams. Leaving it off a list because it has no athletic scholarships can cost a family money: compare each college’s whole aid offer, not the label on one part of it.
When is a scholarship offer real?
- A verbal offer can come at any point a coach is allowed to speak to you. The NCAA says a verbal commitment is not binding on the player or the school.
- A written offer from a Division I school may not be given before August 1 of senior year (Bylaw 13.9.3.1).
- Signing. The first day a soccer player may sign with a Division I school this year is November 11, 2026. Once an athletics aid agreement is signed, other NCAA schools that offer athletics scholarships must stop communicating with the player, and a player may not sign with more than one school.
Until the paper is signed, ask what the offer covers in dollars, for how many years, and what would change it. The dates for each class are in when soccer players commit.
Can a scholarship be taken away?
The NCAA’s guide says in many cases the head coach decides who is offered an athletics scholarship and whether it is renewed. If a school plans to reduce, cancel or not renew an athletics scholarship, it must tell the student in writing by July 1 and explain how to appeal on campus.
Ask every coach whether the award is for one year or several, and what has happened to the awards of players who were injured or lost their place. Those questions and more are in questions to ask college soccer coaches.
How do NAIA soccer scholarships work?
A NAIA team may award athletic aid worth up to 12 full scholarships (Financial aid policy: upper limits for institutional aid). Aid to an entering freshman with a high school GPA of 3.75 or higher, or a place in the top 10% of the class does not count against that limit, and aid to one with a high school GPA of 3.50 to 3.74, or a place in the top 11% to 25% of the class counts half (Financial aid policy, Section G: Academic Exemption). More in what is NAIA soccer.
Quick answers
- How many scholarships does a D1 soccer team have?
- The 2026-27 Division I Manual lists no number for soccer. It caps the roster at 28 for schools in the House settlement (Bylaw 17.2) and one athlete’s aid at the cost of attendance. How much a program funds is the school’s decision, so ask the coach.
- How many scholarships does a D2 soccer team have?
- The value of 9.0 full scholarships for men and 9.9 for women, split among the squad (Bylaw 15.4.2.1.1; Bylaw 15.4.2.1.2).
- Do D3 schools give athletic scholarships?
- No. Division III awards none: aid may not be based on athletics ability or participation (Bylaw 15.01.3).
- Is a verbal scholarship offer binding?
- No. The NCAA says a verbal commitment is not binding on the player or the school. The official commitment is signing an athletics aid agreement.
- Can you combine athletic and academic scholarships?
- The NCAA’s guide says many athletes also receive academic scholarships and need-based aid, and that all aid must be reported to the college’s financial aid office. Ask that office how a college combines awards.
How this was counted
Limits are quoted from each association’s 2026-27 rule book. Tuition is each college’s published out-of-state tuition and required fees as reported to the US Department of Education, one value per college, for colleges with a soccer program in 2026-27.
Sources
- NCAA Division I Manual, 2026-27 (Legislative Services Database) ↗
- NCAA Division II Manual, 2026-27 (Legislative Services Database) ↗
- NCAA Division III Manual, 2026-27 (Legislative Services Database) ↗
- NAIA Official Handbook, 2026-2027 ↗
- NCAA Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete, 2026-27 ↗
- Startline: published tuition at colleges with soccer, one value per college
Last checked against these sources on. Figures marked Startline are counted from the data we hold and move when it does. Rules change: check anything dated against the governing body itself.
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