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Scholarship dreams keep parents paying
What college costs
College costs anywhere from $25,000 to $65,000 a year or beyond, so anything that could help cover it feels worth pursuing. Division 2, Division 3, and NAIA programs exist, but none offers full scholarships that pay for tuition, room, and board, and not all provide even partial ones.
The Red Rock Rave alone has nearly as many players as all of Division 1 volleyball, and that is before counting how many of those players are on scholarship.
How the odds get sold
The slim odds rarely come up. Tournament organizers post how many college coaches will be in attendance, and a local club pitching a family for a commitment and dues tends to mention the college players it has produced. Among parents, sending a kid into college athletics is an honor to boast about and a badge of good parenting.
Why don't Division 3 schools give athletic scholarships?
The NCAA's Division III rules prohibit athletic scholarships. Athletes at those schools can still receive need-based or academic aid, and the same aid is open to students who do not play a sport. The division was set up to keep athletics as one part of campus life rather than a path to a paid roster spot. Division III is the largest of the three NCAA divisions by number of schools.
Why do college coaches scout club tournaments?
Club tournaments put hundreds of prospects in one building over a weekend, which saves a coach from visiting teams one at a time. High school seasons in many states are short, and high school teams draw from a single school, while club teams draw from a wide area. Large national qualifiers run many courts side by side so a coach can watch several prospects in a single day. Organizers often publish lists of the colleges that will be on hand.
How few high school athletes get athletic scholarships?
The NCAA has estimated that roughly 2 percent of high school athletes receive athletic scholarship money at NCAA schools. Many of those awards are partial rather than full. Volleyball is one of the sports where full scholarships are most limited outside the top division.
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