Women's Swimming
Swimming Scholarships
Secondary school swimmers with a desire to be recruited and earn a men’s college swimming scholarship will find out quickly they aren’t the only one on that quest.
In NCAA Divisions I and II, men’s swimming scholarships are part of the category the NCAA calls the equivalency sport. The total allotment of scholarships may be divided in a number of ways among those on the women’s swimming team as long as the total number of awards doesn’t go beyond the NCAA’s scholarship limit. NAIA swimming scholarships may also be divided in this way among team members. Junior college members of the NJCAA also have a men’s swimming scholarship process.
Division I Swimming
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Total Women's Swimming Teams: 200
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Maximum scholarships per team: 14
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Each DI team can divide the 14 total scholarships in any manner, with the average DI team having 28 swimmers on the roster. Another factor to be considered is if a college is fully funding the women’s swimming team (a school may provide for less scholarships than the NCAA maximum number).
To earn a scholarship at this top tier of swimming competition, swimmers should have times that match the Futures Championships standards
Division II Swimming
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Total Women's Swimming Teams: 77
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Maximum scholarships per team: 8.1
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Similar to DI, swimmers aiming to compete at the DI level are up against strong competition from other student-athletes. While DII swim coaches may be a bit more relaxed about required swim times, overall, the division is still quite competitive.
Lots of swimmers at the DII level actually have the swim times necessary for top DI programmes but chose a DII programme because of a higher scholarship amount offered or other non-athletic factors, like majors offered at the school
Division III Swimming
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Total Women's Swimming Teams: 242
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Maximum scholarships per team: N/A
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No athletic scholarships are permitted in DIII, but there are academic-related awards for student-athletes available.
Solid GPA and ACT/SAT scores, along with quality swim times, can provide athletes with opportunities to decrease their college costs.
With nearly 250 programmes, DIII offers many opportunities for potential swim recruits
NAIA Swimming
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Total Women's Swimming Teams: 31
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Maximum scholarships per team: 8
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With an average roster size of 11 women’s swimming athletes and 31 schools offering swim programs, there is much competition for swimming scholarships in the NAIA.
Like NCAA DI and DII, the NAIA swim programs are under equivalency scholarship guidelines. The eight swimming scholarships per team can be divided in any way the coach likes. Similar to the NCAA, some NAIA schools may decide to less than fully fund a program, decreasing the number of scholarship availabilities
Junior College Swimming Scholarships
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Total Women's Swimming Teams: 77
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Maximum scholarships per team: 15
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Women’s college swimming recruits should consider the junior college route as an entry point to collegiate swimming.
Many NJCAA and CCCAA schools provide full scholarships. If the women’s swimming recruit has academic difficulties, a junior college may be the only option available. The athlete must still have swim times comparable to DI or DII qualifying times. Many successful women’s swimmers use their junior college experience as a bridge to NCAA DI or DII or NAIA swim programs
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