Volleyball at the collegiate level is almost exclusively reserved for women.
Across all levels, there are more than 1,500 women's college volleyball programs. The men? They have just 83, and more than half of them don't offer scholarships.
Obviously, scholarship opportunities are night and day for men's and women's volleyball. But there are opportunities available for both, if you know where to search and know how to sell yourself to the coaches handing them out.
Here is a breakdown of college volleyball from top to bottom, with a look at how many scholarships are out there being fought for:
NCAA Division I
How Many Schools: There are 247 Division I schools sponsoring women's volleyball, including powers like Nebraska and Penn State. Meanwhile, 23 schools sponsor men's volleyball, including traditional powers like UCLA and Pepperdine.
Scholarship Count: Women's programs have 12 scholarships to work with, while men's programs only have 4.5.
Scholarship Breakdown: Women's scholarships are "head count" scholarships, meaning that all scholarships are full rides. Men's scholarships are equivalency grants, meaning the 4.5 scholarships can be divided up among the entire roster.
NCAA Division II
How Many Schools: There are 310 women's programs and 12 men's programs in Division II.
Scholarship Count: Women's programs have eight scholarships, while men's programs have 4.5.
Scholarship Breakdown: Like all sports in Division II, volleyball scholarships are usually divided up. Partial rides are common.
NCAA Division III
How Many Schools: Division III volleyball has 421 women's teams and 48 men's teams.
Scholarship Count: Scholarships are not offered in Division III athletics.
Scholarship Breakdown: Though there are no athletic scholarships, players can earn academic scholarships to help with the costs of school.
NAIA
How Many Schools: There are 251 women's programs in NAIA volleyball. The NAIA does not sponsor men's volleyball.
Scholarship Count: Volleyball has eight scholarships to work with at the NAIA level.
Scholarship Breakdown: Partial rides are common. Students with good grades can receive aid without it counting toward the team limits.
NJCAA Division I
How Many Schools: Volleyball at the Division I junior-college level consists of 103 women's programs.
Scholarship Count: NJCAA schools can offer 14 scholarships.
Scholarship Breakdown: Scholarships at the Division I level can cover everything--tuition, fees, room, board and books.
NJCAA Division II
How Many Schools: There are 120 schools playing Division II women's volleyball at the juco level.
Scholarship Count: Like DI, 14 scholarships are available in DII.
Scholarship Breakdown: Unlike DI, scholarships at DII do not include room and board help.
NJCAA Division III
How Many Schools: There are 76 women's programs in NJCAA classified as Division III.
Scholarship Count: Division III juco schools do not offer athletic scholarships.
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