The Various Divisions of College Tennis

College Tennis
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10 minutes

I am often asked to explain the differences between the various divisions of college tennis, a topic we’ve addressed multiple times on our podcast but definitely needs to be a stand-alone post here on our website. Given the impending changes to college tennis, here are the current features of each division as of February 2025. I will update this post as new information becomes available.

NCAA College Tennis

While the NCAA adopted an unfortunate nomenclature for its three divisions which hints at a hierarchy, in fact, there is a lot of crossover between divisions in terms of talent and competitiveness. These divisions were designed to group similar campuses that align in opportunity, philosophy, and competition so that no one athletic program can have an unfair advantage. A school’s size and the resources of its athletics program determines its NCAA division. That said, within each division, there are multiple levels of players and budget, so it’s important to ask a lot of questions throughout the recruiting process to understand what each particular program can offer. Please do NOT assume the arrangement below signifies anything other than organizational ease!

**Visit Time_Management_DI_DII_DIII for the NCAA graphic on the differences in time commitments in their 3 divisions**

Division I

There are currently 350 Division I schools, 233 offering men’s tennis and 300 offering women’s tennis.
Scholarships: 4.5 for men, 8 for women at fully-funded* programs.
- Men’s scholarships are “equivalency” scholarships which may be divided – and often are! – among multiple players.
- Women’s scholarships are “head-count” scholarships which means up to 8 players receive a full scholarship.
If you want to compete at an NCAA Division I school, you must register with the Eligibility Center and meet academic and amateurism standards set by NCAA members.
To be eligible to practice, compete and receive an athletics scholarship in your first year of full-time enrollment, you must meet the following high school requirements:
- Earn 16 NCAA-approved core-course credits in the following areas:
  - Four years of English.
  - Three years of math (Algebra 1 or higher).
  - Two years of science (including one year of lab, if offered).
  - One extra year of English, math or science.
  - Two years of social science.
  - Four additional years of English, math, science, social science, world language, comparative religion or philosophy.
- Complete your 16 NCAA-approved core-course credits in eight semesters from your initial start of ninth grade. If you graduate from high school early, you still must meet core-course requirements.
- Meet the 10/7 requirement by completing 10 of your 16 NCAA-approved core-course credits, including seven in English, math or science, before the start if your seventh semester. Note: Students with solely international academic credentials (including Canada) are not required to meet the 10/7 requirement.
- Earn a minimum 2.3 core-course GPA.
- Ask your high school counselor to upload your final official transcript with proof of graduation to your Eligibility Center account.
- Receive academic and amateurism certifications from the Eligibility Center.
  - For questions about name, image and likeness, click here.
  - Learn more about amateurism.
There are a variety of college tennis programs within Division I with the top-ranked programs typically being better-funded with state-of-the-art facilities and a higher percentage of international players. The mid-major programs typically have smaller budgets and may offer a student-athlete experience more akin to Division III schools.

Division II

There are currently 310 Division II schools, 152 offering men’s tennis and 209 offering women’s tennis.
Scholarships: 4.5 for men, 6 for women at fully-funded programs.
- Both men’s and women’s scholarships are “equivalency” scholarships which may be divided – and often are! – among multiple players.
If you want to compete at an NCAA Division II school, you must register with the Eligibility Center meet academic and amateurism standards set by NCAA members.
To be eligible to practice, compete and receive an athletics scholarship in your first year of full-time enrollment, you must meet the following high school requirements:
- Earn 16 NCAA-approved core-course credits in the following areas:
  - Three years of English.
  - Two years of math (Algebra 1 or higher).
  - Two years of science (including one year of lab, if offered).
  - Three extra years of English, math or science.
  - Two years of social science.
  - Four additional years of English, math, science, social science, world language, comparative religion or philosophy.
- Earn a minimum 2.2 core-course GPA.
- Ask your high school counselor to upload your final official transcript with proof of graduation to your Eligibility Center account.
- Receive academic and amateurism certifications from the Eligibility Center.
  - For questions about name, image and likeness, click here.
  - Learn more about amateurism.

Division III

There are currently 438 Division III schools, 311 offering men’s tennis and 350 offering women’s tennis.
Scholarships: Division III schools do not offer athletics scholarships. However, 75 percent of student-athletes receive some form of merit or need-based financial aid. Tennis coaches are often very willing to work with families to put together a financial aid package that makes their DIII college affordable and accessible.
If you are planning to attend a Division III school, only college-bound international student-athletes need to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center. Division III schools set their own admissions standards.
Click DIII_Amat for more information on DIII amateurism standards.

NAIA College Tennis

In the NAIA, a student-athlete can compete during four “seasons of competition” within the first 10 semesters (or equivalent) in college. A season of competition is charged when you participate in one or more intercollegiate contests whether at the varsity, junior varsity, or freshman level or in professional-level, non-collegiate competition. To compete, student-athletes must be enrolled in at least 12 hours every semester or quarter and be making normal progress toward a bachelor’s degree. They must also meet freshman and/or continuing eligibility rules.

There are currently 79 NAIA programs offering men’s tennis and 87 offering women’s tennis.
Scholarships: NAIA schools can offer up to 5 scholarships for men’s and women’s tennis which are similar to the NCAA “equivalency” scholarships in terms of being able to divide them among multiple players.
Initial eligibility for incoming college freshmen is simple. The NAIA does not have any core course requirements and can be determined as early as the summer following your junior year. The NAIA Eligibility Center will determine your eligibility based on your high school grades and sometimes your SAT/ACT scores, class rank, and/or dual credit. Rules can differ if you are a GED, home school student, or took time off between high school and the NAIA. Register at PlayNAIA.org to access details in your resources menu.
For detailed information about the process for international students, please see the NAIA Guide for the International Student-Athlete.

NJCAA (JUCO) College Tennis

The NJCAA’s mission is to promote, govern and foster a competitive environment for two-year college athletics. The NJCAA recognizes the diverse nature of its membership, providing at all times a consistent and inclusive governance structure that provides opportunities for all stakeholders and emphasizes the academic, athletic, and community involvement goals of all student-athletes.

There are currently 53 NJCAA programs offering men’s tennis and 66 offering women’s tennis.
Scholarships
- Division I Colleges may grant full athletic scholarships (tuition, books, fees, room & board), up to $250 in course required supplies, and transportation costs one time per academic year to and from the college by direct route. Each sport has limits on the number of scholarships that can be granted.
- Division II Colleges may grant athletic scholarships, but scholarships are limited to tuition, books, fees, and up to $250 in course required supplies. Each sport has limits on the number of scholarships that can be granted.
- Division III Colleges are not permitted to offer any athletic scholarships.
NJCAA member institutions are responsible for fully vetting every Prospective Student Athlete’s (PSA) eligibility. PSAs interested in NJCAA schools should discuss athletic eligibility with the athletic personnel at the NJCAA college. Interested PSAs can also refer to the NJCAA Eligibility FAQ sheet.

CCCAA College Tennis

The California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) is an integral part of California’s extensive community college system. As authorized by the State Legislature, the Education Code provides the 3C2A the opportunity and authority to establish the rules and regulations to administer the intercollegiate athletic activities of the nearly 24,000 men and women student-athletes in the state. California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) schools operate with specific eligibility requirements. Interested PSA’s should refer to the constitution and eligibility bylaws for more information on student-athlete eligibility.

There are currently 44 CCCAA programs offering men’s tennis and 33 offering women’s tennis.

International College Tennis Players

According to research done by the NCAA and published in 2023, the percentage of international tennis players in each NCAA division is as follows:

NCAA Division I: 61% of men and 66% of women
NCAA Division II: 55% of men and 48% of women
NCAA Division III: 10% of men and 9% of women

In Division I, both men’s and women’s tennis have the highest percentage of international students across all sports. The same holds true in Division II. The numbers for NAIA and NJCAA/CCCAA are not available at this time.

Coach Contact Rules

Each division follows its own set of rules regarding when and what coaches can communicate to PSAs. It is important to note that rules across all seven divisions change frequently. Click https://drive.google.com/file/d/11FO2PdhYr5FRqX9MsYNzQQJIAStpM7oV/view for the most up-to-date information.

Other College Tennis Resources

*Terms to Know

Fully funded – a program that is fully funded has the maximum amount of scholarships available to them as designated by the NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA or CCCAA. Scholarship funding information is not publicly available so the PSA needs to ask at each program.
Full-scholarship typically consists of tuition, books, fees, room and board, and sometimes health insurance.
Cost of attendance stipend – student-athletes receive extra money based on the cost of living in the area where the college or university is located (typically only seen at the top levels of D1).
Stacking scholarships – an athlete can receive scholarship from multiple sources (athletic, academic, merit, etc) to create one financial package for themselves. This model differs from school to school.
Equivalency – If a sport is considered an equivalency sport, it means that the coach can allocate the total amount of scholarship money allotted to their program as partial scholarships. For
example, a fully-funded NCAA DI or DII men’s tennis team has 4.5 scholarships total that might be broken up across 7+ student-athletes. Coaches have discretion to offer full rides or a percentage. PSAs need to ask the coach to clarify what the scholarship covers – tuition only? tuition, books, room & board? etc.
Head count – If a sport is considered a head count sport, student-athletes on the team either receive a full scholarship or are a walk-on. The scholarships cannot be divided to give to more
student-athletes. For example, a full-funded NCAA DI women’s tennis team has 8 scholarships total that can be given to 8 student-athletes.
Walk-on is a student-athlete who is on the tennis team but is not on athletic scholarship. Some of the main reasons a PSA might choose to walk-on are 1) The PSA has chosen a particular
college or university for reasons outside of athletics 2) The PSA is developing their game and believes they will eventually contribute to the lineup with the right training, and 3) Being in the
lineup is not a priority.