The Academic Exemption: How being a good student can make you a more attractive recruit.

With the recent changes in the NCAA Division I scholarship model and increased roster sizes, it’s so much more competitive to earn an athletic scholarship let alone a full ride. I talked earlier about how all NCAA Division I sports will go to the equivalency model (at the time of publication) which mirrors the NCAA Division II and NAIA athletic scholarship funding models.

Most recruiting services and Independent Educational Consultants (IEC’s) fail to advise their academically gifted clients on the rules related to exemptions and how they can benefit. In my seminars and in consulting with my clients, I think it is important to explain how academic aid and certain GPA’s are exempt from NCAA and NAIA financial aid limits for my clients who have excelled at the top of their high school class academically.

This can get confusing very quickly (why most recruiting services and IEC’s don’t discuss), so I’ll try to simplify it. Keep in mind in NCAA Division I, II and the NAIA there are maximum scholarship limits, roster sizes or a bucket of athletic scholarship money for each sport. The easiest way to look at how the funding works and how exemption come to play is to think of college sports in NCAA Division I, II and the NAIA as sports with a salary cap like the NBA or NFL. So for example a volleyball team may have a budget or cap of $100,000 that the coach may divide amongst their roster however they choose as long as they don’t exceed the cap.

This is where being a good student can make someone a more attractive recruit. For example, In NCAA Division I and II, any academic aid awarded by the institution does not count against the $100,000 budget or cap. This means the coach has more money to use on students who don’t have exemptions. They can recruit more students or give some students full rides and others partial scholarships.

When you figure in the fact that need based aid doesn’t count, you can see the importance of recruiting some students who qualify for an exemption. In many cases depending on the sport, a prospect who is eligible for an academic exemption may be able to compete in their sport at an institution that wasn’t initially interested in them because of  their potential impact on who the coach can recruit. I’m going to include some information directly from the NCAA and NAIA bylaws to add some clarity to exemptions.

NCAA Division I

In the NCAA, there isn’t a specific GPA requirement that automatically exempts a student-athlete from team financial aid limits like in the NAIA. Instead, the exemption is based on the type of academic award the student-athlete receives, not directly tied to a specific GPA threshold. However, for a student-athlete to be eligible for an exemption from financial aid limits, the academic award must meet certain criteria.

Criteria for Exemption from Team Financial Aid Limits (NCAA Division I):

The award must be discretionary: This means the academic award is not automatically given based on a set of objective merit criteria like standardized test scores or GPA. Discretionary awards are often based on factors such as academic performance, financial need, or special academic achievements.

The award must be purely academic: The exemption applies to academic awards that are unrelated to athletic performance. For example, a research grant or a merit-based scholarship for exceptional academic achievement, which does not depend on the student-athlete’s athletic status, could be exempt. The exemption applies to discretionary academic awards, such as research grants, merit scholarships, or other types of academic funding that are not based on athletic ability.

The award must not be a nondiscretionary institutional merit-based award: Nondiscretionary awards are automatically given based on an institution’s merit-based criteria (such as certain GPA thresholds or standardized test scores). These types of awards generally do count toward the financial aid limits for the team.

In NCAA Division I athletics, certain types of financial aid are exempt from counting against a team’s scholarship limits. These exemptions are primarily outlined in Bylaw 15.5.1.5 of the NCAA Manual at the time of publication. 

The key categories of exempted aid include:

Non-Institutional Financial Aid: Scholarships or grants awarded by external entities, such as private organizations, government programs, or other non-institutional sources, do not count against the team’s scholarship limits.

Need-Based Financial Aid: Institutional financial aid awarded based solely on financial need, without consideration of athletic ability, is exempt. This includes need-based grants and scholarships that are not tied to athletic performance.

Academic Honor Awards: Institutional academic awards that are not based on athletic ability and are available to all students, such as merit-based scholarships, are exempt from counting against scholarship limits. However, if these awards are specifically designated for student-athletes or are tied to athletic participation, they may count against the limits.

Educational Benefits for Disabled Student-Athletes: Financial aid provided to student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and are receiving educational benefits due to a disability is exempt from scholarship limits.

Remember In the NCAA Division I, academic awards that meet certain criteria may be exempt from team financial aid limits. This exemption applies to academic awards that are not considered nondiscretionary institutional merit-based awards.

NAIA Academic Exemptions: A Simpler Approach

The NAIA has a more straightforward system for academic exemptions, based primarily on GPA and class rank. If you achieve a high enough GPA, you may qualify for an exemption. Key points about NAIA academic exemptions:

High GPA:

Students with a very high cumulative high school GPA can qualify for a full or partial exemption. Cumulative high school GPA of 3.50-3.74 equals 50% of aid exempt against the upper limit or scholarship cap for a half exemption. A GPA of 3.75-4.0+ equals 100% of aid exempt from the upper limit or scholarship cap for a full exemption.  You can see how have a few of these students can be attractive to a coach and extremely beneficial for a prospect to help them move to becoming a recruit.

Class Rank:

Being in the top percentile of your graduating class can also lead to an exemption. Achieving a high school class rank in the top 11%-25% equals 50% of aid exempt or a half exemption. High School class rank in the top 10% equals 100% of aid exempt or a full exemption.

GPA determination

So to quickly recap the NAIA exemptions. A student’s GPA should be determined prior to the fall term. It will be the student’s cumulative GPA as listed on the institution’s transcript as of the first day of classes of the fall academic term. According to NAIA by-laws at the time of publication;

• Students with a high school GPA of 3.50–3.74 are exempt from 50% of financial aid. 

• Students with a high school GPA of 3.75–4.0 are exempt from 100% of financial aid. 

• Students in the top 11–25% of their high school class are exempt from 50% of their financial aid counting toward the scholarship cap or upper limit. 
• Students in the top 10% of their high school class are exempt from 100% of their financial aid counting toward the scholarship cap or upper limit.

To learn more about PrepSearch and how I’ve helped over 1,700 students attend college through sports since 2007, please explore the rest of my website. For more information about my seminars for high schools and clubs, or to inquire about my recruiting advisory services, feel free to complete the contact form on my website at www.prepsearch.net.

If you know a prospective student-athlete in grades 8-12 who could benefit from additional free exposure to college coaches, have them download the new PrepSearch app today! It’s available in both the Apple App Store and Google Play Stores.

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EM