Recruiting

NCAA Divisions

The three NCAA tiers, D1, D2 and D3, each with different rules.

D1 is the highest-profile, most demanding tier. Since July 2025 it sets no sport-by-sport scholarship limits, and schools in the House settlement work to a 28-player soccer roster limit instead. D2 keeps its per-sport limits, 9.9 scholarships for women and 9.0 for men, split across a roster. D3 offers no athletic scholarships at all, though most D3 athletes receive academic or need-based aid.

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Related terms

NCAA
The body governing most US college sports, across three divisions.
Athletic Scholarship
College aid awarded for athletic participation.
Equivalency Sport
A sport whose scholarship money is split into fractions across the squad.
Roster Limit
A cap on how many players a college program may carry.

All terms

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