Triathlon Scholarships
Triathlon is probably one of the hardest sports in the world from an endurance standpoint. It consists of three parts, swimming, cycling and running. This extreme test of endurance and willpower has been an Olympic event since 2000 for both men and women. Its rise in popularity, especially among women on college campuses, has recently resulted in the NCAA officially declaring it an “emerging sport.” In order to now become an official NCAA sport, women’s triathlon needs 40 schools at the DI and DII level and 28 DIII schools to participate. If this does not happen over the next 10 years, the NCAA will drop the sport. However, so far things are looking very promising for the sport, with currently 20 division 1 and division 2 schools offering varsity triathlon teams.
Are there scholarships available in triathlon?
Yes! On the women’s side teams in both NCAA divison 1 and division 2 have 4.5 scholarships available to distribute among its athletes and a lot of teams have these funds available. On the men’s side, there are less teams who sponsor men’s triathlon so the options are not as plentiful as on the women’s side. However, as it is the case at a lot of schools, if you have good grades and test scores, you might also be able to qualify for an academic scholarship to cover some of the costs. Our team is specialized in finding our athletes academic scholarships as well, so that this migth be an avenue to consider for strong triathlon athletes with good high school grades and test scores.
How does the process work?
The key, as it is the case in many sports, is getting started early. This becomes even more of a factor, if you are trying to use your academic resume to obtain a scholarship. So if you are interested in becoming a college triathlete, do not wait till the last minute and get started early. Our team will be able to assist you with all the necessary steps in order to maximize your chances of being part of a strong triathlon team and to keep the costs as low as possible for you and your family.
Here are some more important facts about college triathtlon and triathlon scholarships:
- Number of NCAA Div 1 triathlon teams: 8
- Number of NCAA Div 2 triathlon teams: 12
- Total Number of triathlon teams (all divisions): 34
- Total number of college thriathletes: c. 200
- Scholarship limit per team: 4.5
- Most famous college Triathlon teams: Arizona State, Queens University Charlotte, East Tennessee State, University of West Alabama, Drury University