College Rowing Recruiting
Rowing Scholarships
Information to assist high school rowers apply for a rowing scholarship.
Rowing Recruiting.
Rowing is, believe it or not, the oldest intercollegiate sport. It all started in the United States in 1872 when Yale challenged Harvard to a boat race.
The enactment in 1972 of Title IX laws has led to the explosion of Women's rowing teams across the country. It also led to the success of women rowers in the Olympics Games.
In 1976 the Women's team at Yale stripped in front of the college athletic director demanding equal rights under title IX. This protest has directly led to the popularity of the sport and the struggle for equal rights was immortalized in the film A Hero for Daisy. We would urge high school rowers to watch the movie to gain an understanding of just how much things have changed.
NCAA women's rowing owes its success in no small part to the enactment of Title IX. Many colleges saw this as an easy way to address gender imbalance in college sport.
College rowing is predominately an NCAA sanctioned sport. Only 2 colleges in the NAIA have active rowing programs. Rowing scholarships are only offered to women. There are 148 schools affiliated with the NCAA that have competitive rowing programs. Scholarships offered are equivalency, Division III colleges do not offer athletic scholarships but other forms of financial aid are available.
ACADEMICS: You may be a great rower, but you need to have strong grades to compete. In order to compete at the college level you’re required to meet minimum academic requirements. College coaches always look to recruit athletes who have good grades in high school because they are more likely to remain academically eligible to compete throughout college.
EXPOSURE: Rowing is a rich scholarship sport and there are many opportunities out there for the right athletes. Finding those opportunities is the key to scholarship success. Create a free recruiting profile and start getting your name out there to college coaches. Start connecting with coaches and learning about their programs and which one is the best fit for you. Recruiting is your responsibility.
