The Non-Recruited Athlete's Guide to Playing College Sports

Playing College Sports

Are you desirous of playing college sports, but you don’t think it’s possible because you’re not getting recruited? If that’s the case, you might reconsider—there are over 420,000 NCAA student-athletes, and only about 35% of those athletes received some sort of scholarship to play sports in college. Furthermore, only about 2 percent of all high school athletes receive NCAA athletic scholarships. Just because big-name schools aren’t knocking down your door with scholarship offers, does not mean you’re not good enough to play college sports.

College sports run the gamut from big-time Division 1 athletics, to intramural/club sports. If you’re interested in playing varsity college athletics, you have three options for levels of competition: Division 1 (D1), Division 2 (D2), and Division 3 (D3). If you’re not being recruited whatsoever, but are set on playing college sports, set your eyes on D3 schools. I’ll explain why, after breaking down the differences in athletics at each NCAA Division.

D1 Athletics

Division 1 is the highest, and most competitive, division in college sports. D1 colleges and universities are also the largest — according to the NCAA, the median enrollment for D1 institutions is 9,205 students. With the biggest enrollments and best competition come the largest budgets. Consequently, D1 schools are able to offer the most athletic scholarships within the NCAA. Because D1 schools have large student bodies, student-athletes make up a small percentage of the overall student body. On average, only four percent of the student body at D1 participate in sports.

Examples of local D1 schools: University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Portland State University, University of Portland

D2 Athletics

Division II institutions also provide athletic scholarships, but generally, the level of athletic competition is below that of D1 schools. D2 schools are typically much smaller, with a median enrollment of 2,530. You may have a more challenging time finding premier academic institutions that compete at the D2 level, and according to the NCAA, D2 schools have lower graduation rates on average than their D1 and D3 counterparts. Of course, strong academic programs do exist within D2, they just may be harder to find. Similar to D I, D2 athletes are usually high-school standouts, and are often heavily recruited while in high school. 61 percent of D2 student-athletes receive some sort of athletic scholarship.

Examples of local D2 schools: Western Oregon University, Concordia University (Portland)

D3 Athletics

Division III institutions differ in myriad ways. Foremost, D3 schools do not offer athletic scholarships. However, according to the NCAA, 82 percent of D3 student athletes receive some form of academic grant or need-based scholarship, amounting to an average of $17,000 in financial aid. This is an important distinction to note – just because you don’t receive an athletic scholarship does not mean you can’t still qualify for a generous financial aid package. D3 institutions tend to be very academically-focused, and have a median undergraduate enrollment of 1860 students — think small liberal arts colleges. D3 student-athlete graduation rate sits at 87 percent, the highest of all NCAA divisions. Additionally, 21 percent of students at D3 schools participate in sports, compared to 4 percent of D1 students, and 10 percent of D2 students. So while you D3 student-athletes may not garner the fanfare of athletes at large D1 schools, their presence is more noticeable within the student body.

Examples of local D3 schools: Lewis and Clark College, Pacific University, George Fox University, Linfield College, Willamette University

Why is D3 the best option for student-athletes who aren’t being recruited?

As noted, D3 schools don’t offer athletic scholarships. Their athletic departments typically operate with much smaller budgets than their D1 and D2 counterparts, so they have fewer resources with which to identify and recruit high school athletes. D3 coaches are often aware of the talent in their local state, and recruit at camps and showcases throughout the country. Still, they’re only getting eyes on a fraction of the nation’s high school athletes in a given sport. If you live in Minnesota, and want to attend a Division 3 college on the West Coast, odds are that school will not find out about you unless you establish contact with that school. In short, D3 coaches have fewer resources with which to identify prospective student-athletes. Many schools, particularly the ones with strong academic reputations, rely on interested students making contact with them! So, what should you do if you plan to apply to D3 colleges, and are interested in playing a varsity sport?

Be realistic about your ability

Assess how well you’ve performed at the high-school level. Does your school compete at a top-level in your home state, or do you go to a small school with less competitive athletics? Are you one of the top performers on your high school team? What would your coach say about you? What would opposing coaches say about you? Understand that if a college coach is interested in recruiting you, they’ll contact your coach and your opponents’ coaches.
Find the nearest D3 college to your hometown, and attend one of their games. This should give you some indication of your ability to compete at the D3-level.
Ask your HS coach what he/she thinks about your chances of playing college sports

Timing is Everything

D3 schools are most interested in recruiting student-athletes during their junior/senior seasons. While it might not hurt to contact your dream school as a sophomore in HS, they’ll likely tell you to get back in touch during your junior season. On the flipside, don’t wait too long! It’s important to have an understanding of various admissions and financial aid deadlines, so that you’re not expressing interest in a school after its application deadline has already passed. This differs from school to school, so do your research.

Contact Coaches

Email or call the recruiting coordinator (not the head coach) at schools you’re interested in applying to. This is arguably the single most important thing you can do if you’re not being recruited, but want to play college sports. Be persistent and make it personal. Coaches get dozens of emails/calls from prospective students. As such, be brief and specific in your message, and don’t send a mass email to dozens of coaches. Coaches can tell when it’s not personalized, and will be less likely to respond. Further, coaches will be more likely to remember you if you…
Demonstrate knowledge of the school you’re contacting. Study the school’s current roster. Have an understanding of the school’s conference, and how they’ve done in previous seasons.
Complete that school’s athletics questionnaire. Most D3 schools have an athletics questionnaire for prospective student-athletes to fill out. If your school of interest has one, fill it out. Once coaches receive your information, they’ll enter it into their recruiting database.
Send a skills video. It’s expected that high school athletes who want to play in college will have a skills tape they can send to colleges. A good skills tape goes a long way with college coaches. Click here to read more about what goes into making a high-quality skills tape.
Have verifiable high school stats you can pass along to a coach. Sites like maxpreps.com are seen as more legitimate than a homemade spreadsheet of your HS stats.
Go to a camp. Many colleges will offer “prospect camps” for prospective students. This will give coaches a chance to see you play in-person.
Schedule a meeting with the coach during your campus visit. An in-person acquaintance makes a more significant impression. This will also give you an opportunity to get a sense of what the coaches and facilities are like.
Be ready/able to articulate WHY you’re interested in a given school. It’s likely that a coach will ask, “why us?” Have an answer prepared. By and large, D3 athletics are not glorious. You likely won’t be on TV, you won’t be a campus celebrity, and unless you’re one of the best in the country, you won’t play professionally after college. It’s important that you play in college because you love your sport, and it’s equally (if not more important) that you feel the college is a good academic and social fit for you. Convey your reasoning for being interested in the school to that school’s coach!

Other considerations

There’s no surety that a coach will guarantee you a roster spot. It’s possible the coach will invite you to join the team for an informal tryout. Don’t take this as an insult. If you live in Maine, can you really expect a coach located in California to guarantee you a roster spot, without ever having seen you play? Remember, any chance to play in front of a college coach is an opportunity. If you demonstrate skill, a commitment to the team’s program, and a willingness to put in hard work, odds are in your favor that you’ll be offered a spot on the team.
Being a college athlete requires a huge amount of time and dedication. During the season, teams typically practice or play six days per week, and during the off-season, athletes are expected to follow strict training regimens. Stacking an athlete’s schedule on top of a college academic load can be downright exhausting. Ask yourself if that’s something you’re willing, and wanting, to commit to.
Finally, how will you handle it if you make the team, but don’t see significant playing time until your junior or senior year? Will your attitude suffer? Will you still be a good teammate? Will you remain dedicated to the goals of the team? Only the best of the best college athletes are good enough to see significant playing time as freshman and sophomores. Approach the prospect of playing college sports with the mindset that joining a college athletics team is a four-year commitment.

To recap: be proactive, do your homework, and do all that you can to give coaches a good sense of the kind of athlete that you are. Remember, coaches get dozens—sometimes hundreds—of emails from prospective athletes. Follow these guidelines, and you’ll give yourself a good chance of finding a spot on a roster, even if you’re not being highly recruited.