Nobody hands your family a price sheet for recruiting, so here is one.
The recruiting process itself
What should be free: film (Hudl through your school), a recruiting profile, emailing coaches, transcripts, and the NCAA Eligibility Center profile (free to create; the certification fee of $100 or so applies when you register for D1/D2 certification).
Where families actually spend:
- Unofficial visits: $300 to $2,000+ each. You pay travel, lodging, and food. Colleges pay nothing on an unofficial visit. Two or three flights to out-of-state schools adds up to real money fast.
- Camps: $50 to $500 each. One-day college camps run $50 to $100. Bigger showcase camps run $200 to $500. Some are genuine evaluations. Some are revenue events. Check the camp's grade on our camps page before you pay.
- Junior days: usually free to attend, but you pay travel. A junior day invite is not an offer and not a commitment of interest. Programs invite dozens to hundreds of players.
- Recruiting services: $500 to $4,000. See our guide on paid services before spending a dime here.
- 7v7 and club teams: $500 to $3,000 a season. Real exposure value varies wildly by team and position.
What each level costs to attend (and what the scholarship math really is)
- NCAA D1 FBS: 85 full scholarships. If you are getting one, you will know, because they will not leave you alone. Everyone else on the roster is a walk-on paying full cost of attendance.
- NCAA D1 FCS: 63 scholarship equivalents split across a roster, so partial scholarships are normal.
- NCAA D2: 36 equivalents. Most offers are partial: 25 to 50 percent is common. Add academic money to get a real package.
- NCAA D3: No athletic scholarships at all. Aid is academic and need-based. A strong GPA is worth more than a strong forty here.
- NAIA: 24 equivalents, and schools stack athletic and academic aid aggressively. An NAIA package can beat a D2 offer in real dollars. Do not let the label decide for you.
- NJCAA (JUCO): Some programs offer full rides including housing; many are much cheaper than a university year even at full price. A legitimate path, especially for qualifiers who need development or grades.
The one rule
Total the real annual cost after ALL aid at each school, then compare. A 40 percent D2 scholarship at an expensive private school can cost you more than a state school with no athletic money. The logo on the offer letter does not pay the bill; the net price does.