About Division 1 Colleges

Foreseeing changes in the landscape of college athletics, the National Collegiate Athletic Association realigned the configuration of its member schools in 1973. With more than 1,000 institutions under its purview, the NCAA had two divisions for competition--university and college. With a growing financial commitment necessary to support high-level college sports, the NCAA divided its members into three levels--Divisions I, II, and III--in order to provide for each school's ability to fund its athletic program and remain competitive. Division I is the grandest stage for collegiate athletics. Its football teams compete in the famed bowl games during the winter holiday season. Its men's basketball championship, also called March Madness, is a 64-team, four-week tournament that generates millions of dollars for the association.

  1. Structure of Division I Athletics

    • The NCAA governs competition in 37 different sports, including football, for men and women at Division I. It also charters the leagues and championships corresponding to those sports. There are 349 teams competing on the Division I level. One of the minimum requirements for Division I membership is that a college must sponsor at least 14 NCAA sports. A number of colleges compete in sports that are not governed or chartered by the NCAA, including men's rowing (women's rowing is contested by the NCAA), equestrian, squash and polo. While not required for membership in Division I, a number of institutions compete in conferences. Conferences are alliances of colleges and universities, which work together to provide avenues of scheduling for competition, national television contracts and regional identity. Colleges that do not compete in a conference are considered independents.

    Levels of Division I Football

    • Division I colleges and universities compete at the same level in all sports but football. Colleges sponsoring Division I football compete at three different subdivisions. The Football Bowl Subdivision, which was previously called Division I-A, is the highest level of competition and home to the biggest names in college football--the University of Michigan, University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), and the University of Notre Dame, among others. These schools compete for spots in the traditional holiday bowl games, such as the Sugar Bowl, Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl. There is no championship tournament at the FBS. Instead a statistical formula, based on polls, margin of victory, schedule strength and other factors determine the two teams that play for the national title. There are 120 colleges competing at this level. The former Division I-AA level is now called the Football Championship Subdivision. These schools play with the hopes of qualifying for single-elimination tournament, which determined the FCS Champion.

    Division I and Scholarships

    • Division I colleges can offer grants-in-aid to enrollees specifically on the basis of the athletic skill. While there is no minimum scholarship level, there are caps on how many scholarships may be offered in each sport to level the playing field for its members. For instance, Division I colleges may offer a maximum of 13 full scholarships. Typically, colleges will carry more than 13 players on its roster. These players are referred to as "walk-ons," as they must cover their own education-related costs. Division I football schools have different scholarship limits, depending on their subdivision. Football Bowl Subdivision schools are permitted 85 scholarships, while the FCS schools may award only 63. Some Division I sports have their scholarships capped at a level much lower than the number of athletes needed to field a team. For instance, baseball teams can carry up to 30 players, but may only offer 11 to 17 scholarships. Men's golf teams are able to award 4 1/2 scholarships, but must have 6 golfers in order compete in a round. This forces colleges and coaches to divide their financial aid pools into partial scholarships to attract athletes to their school. The exceptions to the scholarship rules are the Ivy League and the military academies. Only the Ivy League prohibits its 8 members from offering athletic scholarships. Their student-athletes may receive need-based aid. The United States Department of Defense provides full scholarships to every student that enrolls at the United States Military, Naval and Air Forces Academies, exempting them from the limits.

    Division I Ice Hockey

    • The NCAA Division I ice hockey format is entirely different from its other sports for two reasons. First, there are only 64 institutions that sponsor men's Division I hockey and 33 that offer the women's version. Second, the vast majority of them are located in the North and East regions of the country. Many of the colleges, such as Lake Superior State Univerity, Minnesota State University at Mankato and Bemidji State University, competing in D-I hockey are full Division II and III members, with rich hockey traditions. In order to offer scholarships, they must compete at Division I. There are 6 conferences that are exclusive to the sport of ice hockey--Atlantic Hockey, Central Collegiate Hockey Association, College Hockey America, ECAC Hockey, Hockey East and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

    Division I Membership

    • There are 342 colleges competing in Division I athletics with 7 additional schools undergoing the reclassification process that transitions them to the level. Colleges must apply for a membership change and undergo institutional studies that prove that a college can raise and sustain the necessary funds to support a Division I program. The NCAA has instituted a moratorium through 2012 on jumping from Division II to Division I.

    Other Levels Competing at Division I

    • There are a handful of schools that compete and offer scholarships in one Division I sport, while the rest of their program remains at Division II or III. Some Division I schools protested this policy by the NCAA, claiming fairness issues. The result was a resolution, which allowed a lower division school to sponsor one sport each on the men's and women's sides at the Division I levels. This allowed colleges like St. Lawrence University and Clarkson University to compete in Division I ice hockey and for Johns Hopkins University to remain at D-I in men's lacrosse.