Men's U.S Soccer Scholarships

U.S Sports Scholarships (U.S SS) was established in 2008 as U.S Soccer Scholarships with the aim of helping talented male and female soccer players with their placement at American colleges and universities. Since then we have successfully secured over $30 million in sports scholarship awards and sent over 2000 soccer student-athletes to the United States. To help you learn more about how to secure a soccer scholarship in America we have answered some of the questions we frequently get asked below. If you have any additional questions please contact us and let us know.

Watch Our Free Online Soccer Seminar

In this informative online soccer seminar our Managing Director Liam Barrett, Head of Women’s Soccer Ellie Rossiter and client and MLS draft Matt Bentley talk through the process of securing a soccer scholarship in America and how U.S Sports Scholarships can help you find the perfect school for you both academically and athletically.

Number of men’s soccer scholarships by division level

There are approximately 1,410 colleges sponsored men’s soccer teams. Below you can see how these soccer teams are distributed amongst the major division levels:

Top Frequently Asked Questions

 Below we have given you the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions we receive about securing a football scholarship in America.

1. What is an U.S athletic football scholarship?

An athletic soccer scholarship or football scholarship (UK) is a form of scholarship to attend a U.S college or university awarded to an individual based on their academic and athletic capabilities. A soccer scholarship can cover anywhere between 0-100% of costs and these offers are authorised by the coaches at American colleges/universities.

2. What determines how much scholarship I get in the USA?

Your scholarship will depend on many factors including your playing ability and academic standing, as well as your coaches assigned budget for the season. However, don’t worry it is our job to ensure that we find you an American college which best suits your preferences and capabilities. If, for example, a university costs $50,000 a year all in and the coach is giving you a scholarship worth $42,000, then this is a partial scholarship as there is a $8,000 shortfall that the coach wants you to contribute towards the costs of attending the university. Most partial scholarships come with the incentive that if you perform well, both on the field and in the classroom, then the coach can reward you with a scholarship increase and cover any costs that you had been contributing towards.

3. Does soccer offer full scholarships?

The level of scholarship granted is fundamentally dependent on what the coach of the American college wants to offer. A 100% scholarship or ‘full ride’ covers the costs of tuition and fees, room and board, and textbooks, leaving only incidental costs to pay for the student-athlete. In this case, 100% of the costs are covered and it can be worth up to a staggering $400,000 over four years. At U.S Sports Scholarships, one in every four of our athletes will receive a full scholarship.

4. Can a soccer player go on to play professional football in MLS after graduating from University?

MLS teams do draft college players into their rosters after they have completed their University education and therefore for top level student-athletes playing in MLS is definitely a realistic opportunity; however, competition for places is understandably extremely competitive. In fact under 2% of soccer players at NCAA schools do go on to play Major League Soccer. That being said, at U.S Sports Scholarships we are firm believers that if you are good enough you will get picked up and playing at college in America for four years gives you the perfect platform to get spotted. One of our student-athletes Matt Bentley is a prime example of this, after being released by Colchester United in the UK at 16 he ended up going out to America on a full scholarship and graduated from Missouri State University before being drafted into Major League Soccer with Minnesota United FC in 2020.

5. When does the US college football season take place?

Because soccer is regarded as a ‘fall sport’ this means that competition takes place between September and around November time depending on how was your team progresses in the regional and national tournament. That being said, most players fly out for pre-season training at the start of August and then come home for a month during the Christmas break after the end of the Fall semester. Spring semester runs from January until May time. During that time although it is regarded as off-season training scrimmage matches still take place.

6. How do you get a football scholarship in America?

U.S college soccer is arguably more popular than ever, which means it is an extremely attractive option for many talented student-athletes worldwide. Naturally, this means competition for places can be extremely high, which is why using a recruitment consultancy like U.S Sports Scholarships can give you a real advantage. To increase your chances of securing the best football scholarship possible it is also important that you have strong football and academic credentials. Key elements of the process that can impact how successful you are in securing a scholarship include; your academic qualifications, entrance exam scores, playing history and football match highlights. Below are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions we receive about securing a football scholarship in America.

7. How do I find out more about U.S Soccer Scholarships?

To find out more about the soccer scholarship process, fill out our form and a member of our team will be in touch to answer any questions you may have. You can also register for one of our football trials where our expert team will deliver a detailed presentation that will provide you with information on the entire process and how we can help you with securing a soccer scholarship. If this is of interest complete our free online application now.

8. Soccer scholarships USA age limit?

A lot of applicants worry that to play college soccer they have to be under a certain age, which isn’t the case, there are no set age limits. The most important thing from an eligibility perspective and therefore relating to academic scholarships and athletic scholarships is how long you have been out of education. At four year schools that compete in an NCAA division or NAIA division you are permitted a gap year after you finish full time education prior to starting to play college soccer and receive athletic scholarship.

9. Can I still get academic scholarship while on a soccer scholarship?

Academic scholarships and athletic scholarships are two distinct scholarship types and can be combined in order to reduce your overall costs if you are on partial scholarships. The college system enables a student athlete to each academic scholarship based on their high school and college grades as well as potentially their entrance exam scores. Athletic scholarship is determined by the soccer coach although these are limited you can learn more about this here.

What are the chances of getting a soccer scholarship?

If you are aged between 15-22, in education or have been in the last 2 years and have a clean criminal record whilst playing soccer / football at a competitive level, you are well positioned to become a successful U.S Sports Scholarships applicant. However, only the best young players will be considered for a soccer scholarship by coaches so ideally you will have played at an Academy, Centre of Excellence or have represented your County side.

Only the top soccer players make it to the college level. About 7.9% of U.S. high school men’s soccer players ended up competing in college across the Division 1, Division 2, Division 3, NAIA and junior college levels. Only about 1.1% of high school men’s soccer players went on to compete at the NCAA Division 1 level.

During the 2016–2017 school year, there were about 450,000 US high school men’s soccer players and about 39,888 college men’s soccer players across all divisions. Of these college athletes, a total of 12,500 soccer players were on D1 and D2 rosters. About 2,600 of them were international athletes, accounting for 21% of men’s college soccer roster spots at the D1 and D2 level.

Colleges that can offer soccer scholarships

Colleges at the NCAA D1, NCAA D2, NAIA and Junior College levels can all offer scholarships. How many scholarships are available at any given school depends on how many scholarships the coach has committed, whether they are a fully funded program, how the program likes to use their scholarship money and several other factors. Check out out information section for more information about each collegiate conference and our University Database for more information about specific schools.

A football scholarship (soccer) in America gives student-athletes the opportunity to play football whilst simultaneously working towards an internationally recognised university degree. By earning a football scholarship, you will receive a financial package that goes towards tuition fees, room and board and other relevant living costs. In return for this financial support, you will be expected to maintain the academic and athletic standards set by the University throughout your University career in order to retain your football scholarship. Along with top-level academics, American Universities can offer world-class match day stadia, state of the art training facilities and the best collegiate coaches in the world. To read some of the most FAQs we get regarding football scholarships in America please scroll to the bottom of this page. Most scholarships are one-year agreements that must be renewed each year. For most NCAA schools, a scholarship offer does not become official until a student-athlete signs the National Letter of Intent. Of course, student-athletes must first go through the recruiting process in order to secure a roster spot and get an athletic scholarship.

Why use a recruitment consultancy like U.S Sports Scholarships

U.S Sports Scholarships is like no other service provider in the world in that we only offer 50 places on our recruitment programme each year to ensure that every single player receives the necessary time and personal attention to take them through the complex process of finding a suitable school in America; helping them secure the best possible financial package. To help achieve this, each player is assigned their own designated representative who is with them every step of the way. If you think you have what it takes to play and study in the USA on a soccer / football scholarship, please complete our free online application now.