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College leagues
In the USA there are almost no traditional sport clubs as you are probably used to in country the UK or Ireland. Competitive sports are almost exclusively practised at universities, called the ‘College Leagues’. In which division a college competes depends on the size of the university and the number of sponsored sports.
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is an organization through which the universities govern their athletics programs. NCAA consist of three division:
Division I
Division I is the highest and largest division. The biggest universities play in this division and the maximum age is 24 years old. The universities in division I have to sponsor at least fourteen sports (7 for men and 7 for women).
Division II
Division II is an intermediate division. The universities are inclined to be smaller public universities and many private institutions. There is no age limit in the division, but there is a semester limit. The universities in division II have to sponsor at least ten sports (5 for men and 5 for women). Division II schools often play games against Division I, Division III or the NAIA.
Division III
Although divions III is the weakest, it is the largest division. The division consists of universities that choose not to offer sport scholarships to their student-athletes. The universities in division II have to sponsor at least ten sports (5 for men and 5 for women).
NAIA
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) is a governing body for collegiate sport programs in the US. The level of the NAIA is similar to the level of NCAA II. The difference is that the NAIA offers fewer sports.
The divisions are not sorted according the performance of the sportsman’s, so it is possible that the top teams in NCAA II are better than the lower teams in NCAA I.
The level that students need in order to be recruited or to participate in NCAA schools is very difficult to describe. Generally speaking, we can state that this is the most competitive and recognized league. However, and due to the high admission requirements, NCAA schools are not always recruiting the best players. Consequently, it is not only the students level what decides if the student is eligible or not to play for an NCAA institution.
On the other hand, NAIA institutions present a very good competitive level of competition. Here, the admission requirements for International Students are usually not as difficult to meet by foreigners as it is on the NCAA requirements.
In all cases and all leagues, the decision to recruit a particular athlete will be based on the universities' recruiting needs and the athlete's Athletic and Academic potential.
