The other association
What is NAIA soccer?
The short answer
The NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) is a governing body for college sports that is separate from the NCAA. 373 soccer teams play in it in 2026-27: 189 women’s and 184 men’s, at 196 colleges. NAIA programs may award athletic aid worth up to 12 full scholarships a team, they may hold tryouts, and the NAIA handbook sets no recruiting calendar.
Sources last checked
| Teams | 373 (189 women’s, 184 men’s) |
|---|---|
| Colleges | 196 |
| Athletic aid limit | 12 full scholarships a team (Financial aid policy: upper limits for institutional aid) |
| When a coach may contact a player | no set start date |
| Tryouts | Allowed, up to two days per player at each school |
| Freshman eligibility | A 2.300 high school GPA, or two of three other measures |
How is the NAIA different from the NCAA?
| NAIA | NCAA Division I | NCAA Division II | NCAA Division III | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | NAIA373 | NCAA Division I562 | NCAA Division II460 | NCAA Division III820 |
| Athletic aid | NAIAUp to 12 a team | NCAA Division IYes | NCAA Division IIUp to 9.0 (men), 9.9 (women) | NCAA Division IIINone |
| First calls and messages | NAIAno set start date | NCAA Division IJune 15 after sophomore year | NCAA Division IIat any time | NCAA Division IIIat any time |
| Tryouts for recruits | NAIAUp to two days | NCAA Division Inot allowed | NCAA Division IIone tryout per recruit at each school | NCAA Division IIInot allowed |
| Who clears a new player | NAIANAIA Eligibility Center | NCAA Division INCAA Eligibility Center | NCAA Division IINCAA Eligibility Center | NCAA Division IIIThe college |
NAIA: Financial aid policy: upper limits for institutional aid; Article II, Section C. NCAA: Bylaws 13.1.3.1 and 13.4.1; Bylaw 13.11.1; Division II Bylaw 13.8.2.1(a); Division III Bylaw 13.11.2.1.
The NAIA and the NCAA are separate associations with separate rule books, eligibility centers and championships. The handbook says the NAIA runs 28 national championships for more than 60,000 athletes (NAIA history (as of 2022)).
Do NAIA schools give soccer scholarships?
Yes. A NAIA soccer program may award athletic aid worth up to 12 full scholarships (Financial aid policy: upper limits for institutional aid), and a coach may split that among as many players as they like. A limit is a ceiling: a college may fund less.
One NAIA rule matters to a strong student. 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 the team’s limit at all, 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). A coach can fund a strong student without using up the limit.
How the other levels compare: college soccer scholarships.
What grades do you need to play NAIA soccer?
An entering freshman is eligible straight away with a high school GPA of 2.300 or higher on a four-point scale. A player below that can still be eligible by meeting two of these three (Article V, Section C):
- A test score of at least 18 on the ACT or 970 on the SAT.
- A high school GPA of at least 2.000.
- A final class rank in the upper half of the graduating class.
First-time NAIA athletes are cleared by the NAIA Eligibility Center, which has done that job since 2011. It is a different office from the NCAA Eligibility Center: a player talking to both kinds of school registers with both. More in the GPA you need.
When can NAIA coaches contact a player?
The NAIA handbook has no recruiting calendar and no dead periods for high school players, so it sets no first date for a NAIA coach to reply to a player. Compare Division I, where a coach may not call or message before June 15 after sophomore year (Bylaws 13.1.3.1 and 13.4.1).
A NAIA program may also hold a tryout: the handbook allows one of no more than two days for a player at each school, where tryouts are part of the college’s general policy (Article II, Section C). Ask a NAIA coach whether they hold them.
A player already enrolled at one NAIA college is treated differently. If they contact another NAIA college, that college must tell their current one in writing within 10 days (Article II, Section D).
What do NAIA soccer rosters look like?
| Women | Men | |
|---|---|---|
| Teams | 189 | 184 |
| Middle roster | 25 | 32 |
| Usual range | 22 to 30 | 28 to 41 |
| Middle roster’s share from outside the US | 9% | 52% |
| Rosters at least half international | 25 | 87 |
Counted from each school’s own roster page. International: a listed hometown outside the United States.
The middle NAIA men’s roster is more international than the middle men’s roster at any NCAA level. Every level is side by side in how hard it is to play college soccer.
What kind of colleges play NAIA soccer?
| Fact | NAIA |
|---|---|
| Colleges with soccer | 196 |
| Public / private | 25 / 165 |
| Middle enrollment | 1,065 |
| Middle published tuition, out of state | $29,059 |
| Middle graduation rate | 44% |
| Conferences | 19 |
One value per college, as reported to the US Department of Education. Tuition is the published price before any aid.
The states with the most NAIA teams are Indiana (32), Kansas (30), Missouri (25), Texas (24), Georgia (23), Iowa (22), Florida (20), Kentucky (18). The full list, with each team’s roster, is at NAIA soccer programs, and the conferences are in college soccer conferences.
Quick answers
- Is NAIA soccer good?
- It is real college soccer with athletic aid: 373 teams, up to 12 scholarships a team, and men’s rosters whose middle team is 52% international.
- Is NAIA better than D3?
- Neither is better as a whole. NAIA programs may award athletic aid and Division III programs may not. Division III has 820 soccer teams and the NAIA has 373.
- Can NAIA schools give full rides for soccer?
- A coach may give one player a full scholarship, but the team’s athletic aid is capped at the value of 12 full scholarships, usually split among many players. Aid to a freshman with strong grades can be exempt from that cap.
- Do you need to register with the NAIA Eligibility Center?
- Yes, to play at a NAIA college for the first time. It is separate from the NCAA Eligibility Center.
- Can you transfer from NAIA to NCAA?
- Yes. A Division I coach must follow that player’s own division’s rule, or the NAIA’s, before making contact (Bylaw 13.1.1.4). The NCAA college’s compliance office will say which Eligibility Center account the player needs.
How this was counted
Rules are quoted from the NAIA Official Handbook for 2026-27. Team counts are our directory. Roster figures are counted from each school’s own 2026-27 roster page where the page confirms the season. School facts are one value per college.
Sources
- NAIA Official Handbook, 2026-2027 ↗
- NAIA Eligibility Center: determine my eligibility ↗
- 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) ↗
- Startline: NAIA programs, rosters and school facts
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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