Solving the Division III Athletic Financial Aid Mystery 135
obvious that many Division III institutions have used their
unique Assistance Packaging Formula (review the preceding
examples of these formulas) to broaden the meaning of need
to mean nearly anything that accommodates any perceived
needs that are designated and defined, openly or secretly, by
the institution and arbitrarily protected by the formula.
Hey! Have you noticed? We need rebounds.
This formula, while usually having financial aid award ele-ments consistent with other institutions is uniquely designed
to meet the needs—we need pass
receptions—of the particular institu-
tion and its students. The institution
alone decides what its needs—we
need strikeouts—are. The institution
alone decides how it will structure its
assistance packaging formula. If the
college’s need—we need sprinters—
happens to be powerful or improved
athletic teams...well, this isn’t brain
surgery, is it?
In other words, the institutions are
free to structure their assistance pack-
aging formulas so they have consider-
able flexibility. The institution is also
free to name the financial aid grants
they award any student or student ath-
lete for the purpose of either enhanc-
ing or concealing the real purpose of
the financial aid award. The director
of financial aid is the staff mem-
ber responsible for accomplishing
3
The
Tr uT h Is
A great minority of
Division III
institutions use
institutional needs,
professional
judgment,
assistance packaging
formulas, and other
devices, gimmicks,
and methods to
circumvent or
bend NCAA
recruiting rules
and regulations.