Athletics Veritas is a weekly series aimed at helping higher education executives, faculty, and other stakeholders stay tuned in on trending national issues impacting college athletics, especially NCAA Division I. Athletics Veritas is created by senior DI athletic administrators around the nation.
Term-In-Ology: Division I’s Deadline for Renewing (or Non-Renewing) a Student- Athlete’s Athletics Aid is Only Days Away
Per NCAA Division I financial aid rules, the renewal of a student-athlete’s institutional financial aid based in any degree on athletics ability (aka athletics scholarship) shall be made on or before July 1 prior to the academic year in which it is to be effective.
The institution shall promptly notify in writing each student-athlete who received an award the previous academic year and who has eligibility remaining in the sport in which financial aid was awarded the previous academic year whether the grant has been renewed or not renewed for the ensuing academic year. Notification of financial aid renewals and non-renewals must come from the institution's regular financial aid authority and not from the institution's athletics department.
July 1 has long been the date circled to make sure scholarship renewals and non-renewals from one year to the next were communicated. Financial aid rules were amended in 2015 that fortified protections for student-athletes.
Prior to 2015, scholarships were essentially one-year agreements that could be non-renewed at the institution’s discretion. That changed with adoption of Division I Proposal 2014-14 which declared that “if a student-athlete receives athletically related financial aid in the academic year of his or her initial full-time enrollment at the certifying institution, athletics ability, performance or contribution to a team's success; an injury, illness or physical or mental medical condition; or any other athletics reason shall not be considered in the reduction or nonrenewal of athletically related financial aid for the following academic year or years of the student-athlete's five-year period of eligibility.”
Division I schools may continue to reduce or non-renew a student-athlete’s athletics aid on a non-athletics basis (e.g., academic ineligibility; quitting the team; violation of team rules).
Athletics Veritas is presented for information purposes only and should not be considered advice or counsel on NCAA compliance matters. For guidance on NCAA rules and processes, always consult your university’s athletics compliance office, conference office, and/or the NCAA.
