148 The Sports Scholarships Insider’s Guide
athletes as reported in the NCAA News. The most important
recommendation made (and consequently implemented) was
to begin a process of electronically monitoring the financial
aid packages of student athletes and comparing the average
value of an enrolled athlete’s package with those of regular
students. After a pilot program was adopted, the Division III
Financial Aid Reporting Program was implemented. Any Divi-
sion III institution beyond a 4 percent variance between the
two groups would be designated for review. (A 4 percent vari-
ance can equal as much as $2,500 for a Division III prospect’s
financial aid package.) An enforcement committee was cre-
ated to alert and recommend changes to violators. Violators
can be sanctioned or otherwise penalized. While a number
of Division III institutions generally agree with the objectives
of the Financial Aid Reporting Program, many have made
their disagreement quite clear. The disagreements identified
in a Division III membership survey include: the athletics
program’s impact on student enrollment, impact on remain-
ing competitive, the unique character of each Division III
institution’s individual enrollment needs, institutional culture
protection, wild cost disparities between Division III institu-
tions, and conference prerogatives in structuring competitive
parity. As you have learned, leadership grants provide sub-
stantial reductions for many enrolled students, both athletes
and regular. Many Division III colleges are asking the NCAA
to use sports/athletic leadership grants for certain (probably
exceptional) athletes to help reduce their financial burden.
At this writing, that exception is being denied. Stayed tuned;
the pressure to allow the foregoing grants is substantial. Many
schools that feel burdened by the Financial Aid Reporting Pro-
gram have already been creating ways to circumvent its intent.