Student-athletes who are looking for athletic scholarship opportunities, high competition, smaller class sizes and a well-rounded college experience may just find their dream school in the NAIA. Plus, these coaches don’t have to follow the same restrictions as NCAA Division 1 and Division 2 college coaches. They can manage their own recruiting process and reach out to student-athletes at any point during high school.
There are 250 NAIA golf schools across the country. Like NCAA Division 1 and Division 2, student-athletes at this level compete for equivalency scholarships. The average NAIA team is made up of 10 golfers, and coaches can award a maximum of five scholarships per team. Therefore, they usually divide their funds into partial scholarships across several athletes. From a competitive standpoint, the top NAIA golfers are averaging scores in the low 70s, while mid-to-low tier programs see scores in the high 80s. This level is also a great option for student-athletes who decide to pursue college golf later in their high school career, as NAIA coaches often recruit into senior year.
Athletics is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to making the college decision. To help student-athletes build their list of potential schools, we’ve conducted an in-depth analysis that incorporates several aspects, from cost to academics to school size. Here are the top 10 NAIA golf schools:
See the full list of top NAIA men’s golf colleges here.