College Prep
Junior College Information
If you have the passion, desire and competitiveness to play at the national level, but possibly do not have the grades to get into an NCAA school, junior college (JC) may be the way to begin.
The student athlete with an additional year or two of maturation, realize the needed focus and balance of prioritizing their school work and competing in athletics. Many a talented athlete overlooked by NCAA schools, have proven they can handle their school work and athletics at the JC level and been offered scholarships at NCAA Division I schools.
The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) directs 15 men’s sports and 12 women’s sports, covering 3 divisions. There are 218 member schools in Division I, 116 member schools in Division II and 98 member schools in Division III. There are greater than 45,000 students competing in one of 24 regions. The direct link to an interactive map of the regions and schools within each region is: http://www.njcaa.org/findcollege_region.cfm . The NJCAA hosts over 50 national championships.
I spoke with a representative at the NJCAA office and learned that Division I NJCAA schools can offer up to 15 full ride scholarships. However, this can vary from school to school. For example Junior College (JUCO) schools in Kansas only offer partial Division I scholarships. The schools in JUCO Division II only offer partial scholarships. And again, this can vary from school to school. The JUCO Division III schools offer no scholarships at all.
Junior colleges do not have the budgets for scouting and recruiting that NCAA schools are generously supplied. As a high school student athlete, to be awarded a scholarship at the junior college level, you will need to make your talents known to the coaches. You, the athlete, need to make it happen.
Note: Not all junior colleges are associated with the NJCAA. Junior colleges not associated with the NJCAA may only have the funding to offer partial scholarships. Instead of a full ride scholarship (academic, housing and expenses) a partial ride may include just a small portion of academic assistance. Some junior colleges don’t have the funds to offer athletic scholarships at all.