NCAA

The NCAA is a nonprofit organization, which sanctions college sports for all its member schools and student athletes.

NCAA Division I

Division 1 is home to the largest universities and colleges, whereas Division II and Division III member schools are smaller in size. A common misunderstanding among athletes is that the level of Division II is by definition weaker than in Division I; or Division III compared to Division II. While it's true on average that D-I schools are stronger than D-II schools and D-II schools stronger than D-III schools, it is important to understand that a school's decision whether to compete in Division III or Division I is of strategic nature. A school decides whether it wants to be a D-II school or D-III school and has to apply for membership accordingly. It is not possible to move up or down the divisions based on athletic success and performance, but it is possible to transfer from one division to another, following a transition period, if the school makes the strategic decision to do so.

Running a Division I athletic program comes with the highest price tag, as the largest number of sports are required; consequently, most scholarship money, recruiting budget, and travel costs needed. A school is required to sponsor at a minimum:

• 7 men's sports & 7 women's sports; or
• 6 men's sports & 8 women's sports

There are additional requirements that need to be followed. For example, specific team sports must be sponsored by D-I programs. The largest football, basketball and hockey programs are D-I teams, with the majority of professionals coming out of these athletic powerhouses.

NCAA Division II

Smaller universities participate in Division II athletics. Division II has the fewest member schools compared to the total number of D-I and D-III institutions.

The requirements to compete in Division II are lower and thus less expensive, such as a school must sponsor at least:

• 5 men's sports & 5 women's sports; or
• 4 men's sports & 6 women's sports

NCAA Division III

Division III is the largest of all NCAA divisions, with its member schools being predominantly private schools (roughly 80%). D-III schools are on average the smallest in student enrollment and the student experience of playing D-III sports is different than competing in D-I:
The overarching guideline for all student athletes ("Student first, athlete second") is emphasized to the greatest extent in NCAA Division III, with the smallest number of competitions scheduled and organized team practice at the lowest level in terms of hours permitted.

Divison III programs may not award any athletic scholarships to its student athletes. Athletes may receive any other form of financial aid, such as academic financial aid or need-based aid, making the potential scholarship offers from a school often more interesting than an offer from another division, which does have athletic scholarships to award to students.

Click on below NCAA Divisions to get an overview of the college structure in your sport and the respective division, including the various conferences and university profiles.