WHAT DOES NAIA BASKETBALL OFFER?
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) is a college athletics association that governs 225 small college basketball programs in North America. The average full-time enrollment of an NAIA school is 1,700 and is made up of 21 conferences.
NAIA SCHOLARSHIPS
Each school determines how much financial aid it awards to a student-athlete. Scholarships, grants-in-aid, or student loans are controlled by each institution through the same committee that handles all general student loans and scholarships.
Each sport has an overall limit on the amount of financial aid it can award as full or partial scholarship grants to students. The overall limit in basketball is 8. Basketball scholarships can be awarded to any number of students (for example, 4 full scholarships, 4 half scholarships and 8 quarter scholarships) as long as the combined total does not exceed 12.
LEVEL OF COMPETITION
Many players, parents and coaches are familiar with NCAA basketball and their three different levels of competition but have a difficult time evaluating the level of play at the NAIA level. In our experience and based on statistical analysis, NAIA basketball is best compared to NCAA Division II and the higher levels of NCAA Division III basketball.
ACADEMIC ELIGIBILITY
NAIA eligibility rules provide a simple process for prospective student-athletes. The NAIA does not have any core course requirements. The NAIA Eligibility Center will determine your eligibility based on your high school grades and sometimes your SAT/ACT scores, class rank, and/or dual credit. To participate in athletics in the NAIA, you must be admitted to the college or university under admission standards equal to or higher than those applied to the general student body.
For more about NAIA academic eligibility and to determine your NAIA academic and athletic eligibility, visit the NAIA Eligibility Center.
NAIA RECRUITING
The rules for NAIA recruiting are much different than other organizations. NAIA recruiting rules do not restrict when or how often a student and college coaches can communicate. There is also no recruiting calendar for NAIA coaches, which means that students and coaches can communicate year-round and can be evaluated at almost any practice, game, camp, clinic, showcase or tournament. ā€‹
For more about NAIA participation and enrollment, check out the NAIA Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete.
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