Relatively new member, but have been reading for quite some time. Have seen many postings which talk about initial scholarship process (NLI/etc), but remember only reading casual comments about how colleges approach subsequent year's scholarships. Apart from the discussions between the player and coach, are there formal documents and some established timetable?
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I can only go by what my son says as parents are not part of the process. But he says the coach meets with him after the season is over and they discuss his performance for the season and what they will do in terms of scholarship money for the upcoming year. My son has to sign a document that includes the amount of baseball money he will be getting for the next year. I don't know what the document is called, probably something similar to what he initially signed with his initial NLI. I'm also not sure what the official timetable is, but his meeting has usually been within a few days of the season ending. This is probably different for each team as seasons end at different times depending on post season play and how far they go.
Hope this helps a little.
I'm not sure if there is any offical document. In my son's case, his original NLI had the number of years it was good. That was new beginning 2013 I believe.
My son's situation was very similar to those described above. Within days of the season ending the coach would have an individual meeting with each player discussing how the year went, what he needed to work on during his summer team assignment and the scholarship amount for the next season. That amount was then confirmed with an "Athletic Agreement" which came from Financial Aid. For my son, the amount was the same for the first 2 years, and went up with tuition increases the next 2 years.
The NCAA requires schools to notify scholarship recipients of their intent to renew or change scholarships for the coming school year by July 1st.
It's fairly common for coaches to tell the players face-to-face at their end-of-season conference, but most schools have scholarship committees or other of governance processes that ratify the coach's decisions before the written notifications are sent.
In most cases, the scholarship won't be increased (in terms of percentage), but will stay the same or be reduced. In the event of a scholarship reduction or non-renewal, the NCAA requires that the school make an appeal opportunity available to the athlete, and it must be stated in, or included with, the notification letter.
Parents should always be aware of that July 1 deadline, because some schools will send the letter through regular mail to the home address, while others may send it to the athlete's school e-mail. I have heard numerous stories of parents who weren't informed of a reduction because the athlete wasn't checking their school e-mail while playing summer ball.
So if a player gets a big reduction or loses the scholarship altogether, making the college unaffordable, isn't it too late to apply to other colleges for that next school year? So what would they do, go to JUCO? This is all new to me.
So if a player gets a big reduction or loses the scholarship altogether, making the college unaffordable, isn't it too late to apply to other colleges for that next school year? So what would they do, go to JUCO? This is all new to me.
Transfer options may be limited, but schools can often admit recruited athletes after the published deadline for transfer applications. The more competitive the admissions at a school, the less likely they are to bend.
A player who finds out in mid-May that his scholarship won't be renewed does need to get busy. However, there is time to line up his D1, D2, and JUCO options by re-engaging coaches who previously recruited him and having prospective coaches watch summer league games.
Not saying it's fun or easy. It's not. It was a very stressful time for our family. But it can be managed if the player: a) can play, and b) took care of business in the classroom.
My daughter has sat down with her coach every year after the season is over as has every other member of the team. This is a very serious meeting where some maintain their funding level and some lose money. I don't think anyone ever gained any. My daughter has had the same amount every year. However, tuition, books, housing, ... have all increased. For some of her teammates, the cuts have been enough that they have moved on. Keep in mind that they number of scholarships and monies rarely change for sports like baseball or softball so coaches have to make moves.
Edited to add:
After the initial scholarship, my wife and I have never been in on the meeting or had a discussion about the monies. We have left that up to our daughter.
