NAIA is what Division?

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) is hardly ever mentioned in sports media. In fact, chances are that you probably haven’t even heard about it. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) dominates the conversation around college sports, but it is not the only place where high level athletics is played. NAIA schools can be highly competitive, give out scholarship dollars, and even beat many of their NCAA counterparts. For most recruits it is a mistake to ignore NAIA athletic programs and that is because for many recruits it may prove to be your best opportunity to realize your college athletic dreams.

NAIA vs. NCAA which is better?

The truth about college athletics is that NCAA Division 1 sports, specifically the higher half of programs within it, are offering a different experience than almost anyone else in college sports. Schools not named USC or LSU are often nowhere near as “big time” as you may think, even if they are Division 1. But the moment you leave Division 1 the college athletic experience changes a lot. NAIA athletics is actually very similar to NCAA competition at the Division 2 and 3 level. The best NAIA programs could easily compete with the best NCAA D2 schools. The NAIA offers its own national championship and some NAIA schools will compete against NCAA programs in their non-conference schedule. NAIA schools do not get much television coverage, but the same could be said of any NCAA school outside of Division 1. 

How do you know if NAIA is a good fit? 

It is not possible to create a blanket statement about all the schools in any division, but there are some general trends across the board. NCAA Division 1 schools are often either large public institutions or private colleges that have made a heavy investment into athletics. There are many top notch academic schools that are Division 1 and that means that getting into those schools without an athletic scholarship can be a bit more challenging for many recruits. NCAA D3 also has some of the best academic colleges in the country, while certain states offer many D3 public colleges to choose from. For students who may not have the highest test scores, or a GPA above 3.5, NAIA schools may become their best bet to find a school that will value what you can offer athletically and academically. The average NAIA school has lower tuition costs than what you might find at a private D1 or D3 school as well, making it perhaps more affordable across the board. NAIA is very similar to D2 so much so that you could probably interchange many NAIA schools with NCAA D2 ones, and we probably wouldn’t even know there was a difference. 

Why should you consider NAIA? 

If you are a recruit who has the talent to go Division 1 and is determined to do so, that is worth pursuing. But if you are not heading D1, and are not locked in on a D3 school for academic reasons, there is nothing to lose by considering NAIA. Colleges in the NAIA have more relaxed recruiting regulations, and can allow you to take more visits, have more conversations, and further expand your recruiting options. There is no guarantee that any one school will be the right school for any one recruit.  But your chances of finding the best one for you go up exponentially when you consider all your options. NAIA is the neglected step child of college athletics, but it is often just as capable of offering everything that most NCAA schools can. If you are a recruit in high school looking for college offers, it might me a mistake for you to spend too much time looking elsewhere.

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