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$2.7 billion is awarded in athletic scholarships in Divisions 1 and 2 of the National College Athletic Association alone and given the high price tag of college education in the US, it’s the perfect opportunity for student-athletes to hone their athletic skills and earn a degree at the same time.
So, which are the best states for athletic scholarships? The experts at Betsperts have looked into the number of athletic scholarships per 100,000 people, the number of athletic departments in each state, and the average amount awarded in athletic scholarships to students to find out.
The Golden State takes the top spot thanks to its very high number of athletic departments, ranking first for the factor. California also ranks in the top 20 for the number of athletic scholarships per 100,000 people and in the top half for the average amount given for each athletic scholarship.
Athletic Scholarship
Up next is Illinois. The state places just outside of the top 10 for its number of athletic scholarships per 100,000 people and its number of athletic colleges too. The state also ranks in the top 20 for its average grants awarded to students with athletic scholarships.
Athletic Scholarship
Alabama takes tenth place in the number of athletic scholarships per 100,000 people and the top 20 for the number of athletic departments in the state and the average amount awarded to each athletic scholarship student too. This takes the state to third place in the index.
Athletic Scholarship
Athletic scholarships allow talented students to further their opportunity to shine in their chosen sport. The Peace Garden State takes the top spot with 316 athletic scholarships per 100,000 people thanks to its low population increasing its proportion.
Athletic scholarships per 100,000 people
As many student-athletes come from low-income households, athletic scholarships are important as they provide financial support to students who otherwise may not be able to afford the $12,538 per academic year it costs on average to study at Kansas colleges. Kansas takes second place, with 277 athletic scholarships per 100,000 people in the state.
Athletic scholarships per 100,000 people
As athletic scholarships are often offered to prospective students from low-income families they can help lift students out of poverty by subsidizing their education, costing as much as $13,622 for out-of-state students in Wyoming. This means student-athletes earn a degree even if they decide not to continue their athletic career outside of college. The Equality State takes third place for athletic scholarships per 100,000 people, with 216.
Athletic scholarships per 100,000 people
The Golden State takes the top spot as the location with the most college athletic departments, with 62 competing in the top 2 divisions of the NCAA and the NAIA. This comes as no surprise as California has more colleges and universities than any other state.
College athletic departments
Up next is Texas with 46 college athletic departments. More than half of the colleges in The Lone Star State compete in the NCAA Division 1 and basketball is the most popular sports program with 40 colleges competing across the three leagues we looked at.
College athletic departments
Taking third place is The Keystone State. Just over a third of Pennsylvania's 39 colleges compete in the NCAA’s top division with basketball being the most popular sport, closely followed by baseball.
College athletic departments
The Silver State is the most generous with its athletic scholarship grants awarding each student an average of $22,171. Of the 2 colleges that offer NCAA athletic scholarships, The University of Nevada-Las Vegas offers a slightly higher average athletic scholarship grant of $22,414.
Per athlete
Almost $6,000 behind Nevada is Alaska in second place. The Last Frontier offers student-athletes an average of $16,586 in athletic scholarship grants, both awarded by The University of Alaska. Their athletics team The Seawolves competes in the NCAA Division 1 for both ice hockey and gymnastics.
Per athlete
Up next is Rhode Island with the state offering athletic scholarship students an average of $16,412 per athlete. Colleges in The Ocean State offer prospective students up to an average of $29,400 with the highest amount going to women’s athletic scholarships at Providence College.
Per athlete
We analyzed US states on each of the following factors. We then gave each state a normalized score out of ten for all of the factors, before taking an average across each of these scores to reach our final overall score out of ten.
Number of Athletic scholarships per 100,000 people: The total number of athletic scholarships provided by each college in the state according to NCSA per 100,000 of the state’s population.
Number of Athletic Departments: The total number of colleges with athletic departments competing in the NCAA I, NCAA II, and NAIA leagues according to ScholarshipStats.
Average Athletic Scholarship Amount: The average athletic scholarship awarded to students in each state, calculated by taking an average of the average athletic scholarships awarded by each college according to ScholarshipStats.
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