How to Get Recruited Guide
You Could Lose Your Athletic Scholarship

You Could Lose Your Athletic Scholarship

Can you lose your athletic scholarship?

When you are offered an athletic scholarship it must be for four years, right?

Most Division 1 and all Division 2 athletic scholarships are one academic-year agreements. Division 1 schools have the option of offering multi-year scholarships (check with individual school). The college must notify a student by July 1 if they are going to renew the scholarship.

Wait, really?! That is correct. They don’t have to renew it. Ask each individual coach and institution their policy. If you don’t have appropriate skill, a bad attitude or an injury you may not fit into the program’s plans the following year. You are at the mercy of the coach each year, for your scholarship to be renewed the following year.

Can a coach cancel a student-athlete’s scholarship?

“Depending on various circumstances, a school can choose not to renew or cancel a student-athlete’s scholarship. The school has the choice to reduce or cancel the scholarship at the end of the period of the award. 

The school could also cancel the scholarship during the period of the award under the following circumstances:”

  • Student-athlete becomes ineligible
  • Student-athlete commits fraud
  • Misconduct
  • Quits the team for personal reasons”

ncaa.org Frequently asked questions

What can you do so you don’t lose your athletic scholarship?

There are two things you can control.

You can control your attitude. Learn to accept that you cannot control other people or their decisions, but you can always control how you act and respond. You would be surprised how far your attitude contributes to a coach’s perception of you.

You can also control your work ethic. You may find you are not the best player on the team. You may even find yourself near the bottom. This matters far less to most coaches than your work ethic. Coaches understand there will be a top and bottom to a roster in regards to skill. Your job is work your tail off outside of scheduled practices and to show up every day ready to compete and give everything you have.

If you have a great work ethic and attitude, there are few coaches who would cut you. These attributes are invaluable to any athletic program.

Can you lose your athletic scholarship if you get injured?

The potential for injury is always there. Fear should not be a driving force in your decision, but prudence dictates that you consider a couple of things.

The first is that if your body is already beat up coming out of high school or if you have had multiple concussions, you may not be able to physically play for four more years. It may not feel like it at 18 years old, but you will have a long life after athletics are over and you only have one body.

Secondly, you need to understand that if you are on an athletic scholarship and sustain a career ending injury, the coach does not have to renew your athletic scholarship for the next school year. Make sure you ask the coach about the school’s policy with regard to scholarship renewal after an injury.

What should you do during the recruiting process?

Ask questions of the coach. Make sure you know what you need to do so you don’t lose your athletic scholarship. Ask what happens if you sustain an injury. Ask how often a scholarship is not renewed. You could also ask the current players on your visit. See if they are confident that their scholarships will be renewed or if the coach holds it over them that it could be taken away. It is always important to know the fine print and the realities behind the scholarship.

Next Step:

You only get one shot at the recruiting process. It is time to take the steps necessary to be noticed by college coaches.  It should be easy and even fun. Here is your guide:

Here is another great article about scholarships: 3 Reasons College Coaches Won’t Give You an Athletic Scholarship

If you want to be a college athlete…

If you are frustrated because coaches are not calling you…

How to Get Recruited If you are ready to get coaches to notice you…

Then the How to Get Recruited Guide will give you a step-by-step plan to turn your talent into offers. There’s a lot to learn about the recruiting process. How to Get Recruited condenses mountains of advice, and converts it to simple action steps that will get college coaches calling.

How to Get Recruited: Got Talent. Get a Plan. Get Recruited.

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Thanks,

Bryan

P.S. Come join our Facebook group, The Recruiting Code. This is the place to be for parents and coaches to talk about college recruiting. Come learn from each other, share stories and get information that will help your child become a college athlete.

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3 thoughts on “You Could Lose Your Athletic Scholarship”

  1. Can an athlete who signs for a full D-1 scholarship. lose it by not telling the Coach who signed them to attend that University. Especially going into their Senior High School year and not being able to compete during this year do to corrective surgery???

    1. Barry, I don’t quite understand the question. High school athletes cannot officially sign until signing day during their senior year. Before that everything is verbal and is not a binding commitment. Here is a link about signing day. National Signing Day and the Letter of Intent
      If this doesn’t help, give me a bit more information and I will try to do a better job answering.

  2. Auburn and Florida, announced earlier this year that they ve started giving incoming athletes four-year guarantees. But if you think the nation s sports powers are disposed to do the right thing, you don t know college sports.

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