How It Works

How It Works 

How it all works in the US

Most US university athletes fall under the banner of the NCAA. It organises 90 championships across 24 sports, entered by nearly 20,000 teams.

Each sport is divided into three divisions, with athletes in Division I and Division II eligible for scholarships. Over £2.64 billion worth of athletics scholarships are provided annually to around 180,000 athletes. Sports scholarships are available at a few UK universities.

To qualify for a NCAA scholarship, a student must be an amateur athlete, not a professional. That means they can’t have previously accepted any payment for their participation in a sport e.g. being paid to endorse a brand or accepting fees for media appearances (including advertising revenue from personal YouTube videos). But some athletes argue that they should either be paid for their athletic performance, or have the ability to make money from their success whilst still at college.

Some sports, such as boxing, sailing and rugby are run independently by their own associations.
What it’s like being a British athlete at a US university

Phoebe Turner is a gymnast at Iowa State University (ISU) and a former British Gymnastics national team member. Having seen other British gymnasts make the move over to the US, she was inspired to do so herself.

Phoebe receives a ‘full ride’ scholarship which includes her tuition and living costs. More important than finances though, Phoebe says, is the “chance to be a student athlete and to be part of a team” which is “exciting and rewarding”.
University sport is a lot more popular in the US

UK university sport is rarely televised and spectator attendance at competitions isn’t particularly high either, in comparison to the crowds drawn by some sports in the US.

In 2016, an American football game between the University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech broke the record for the highest ever attendance at a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) event, with 156,990 fans. For comparison, 62,000 people were in the Olympic Stadium to watch the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony.
Share by: