Athletic Aid Information

How is athletic aid determined?

Coaches decide how much aid to award each athlete, and have a limited amount of scholarships available. They have the option of offering a specific dollar amount, or a percentage of allowable costs. Once a student-athlete accepts an award offer, the information is forwarded to the Financial Aid Office to incorporate into the overall financial aid award package.

What are the eligibility requirements for athletic aid?

To be eligible for athletic aid a student must be admitted and eligible to continue in enrollment at NMU and must meet all applicable conditions (institutional, NCAA) for athletic competition and athletic financial aid.  This includes meeting the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy and Progress-Toward-Degree Requirement determined by the NCAA.  This also includes full-time enrollment in a baccalaureate or graduate-level degree program for any semester during which athletic financial aid is being received.

Which costs are allowable?

The NCAA allows the following: tuition, mandatory fees, room and board (for both on- and off-campus students), and books.

What does equivalency mean?

If a coach awards an athlete based on a percentage of costs, that percentage is the equivalency. For example, a student who has a scholarship valued at one-quarter of the allowable costs would have a 25% equivalency. A “full-ride” scholarship would be a 100% equivalency, meaning all the allowable costs are covered. To calculate the dollar value of an equivalency, the following formula is used:

allowable costs x equivalency % = athletic scholarship amount

Allowable costs for 2012-2013:

*The required one-time Athletic Event Fee as well as health insurance for certain international athletes may also be included in allowable costs.

Sample calculation:

For a Michigan Resident student-athlete, the total of allowable costs is $17,404.  If a 35% equivalency were offered, it would equate to $6,091, plus the actual cost of books*.

17,404 x .35 = $6,091  then   $6,091 - $400 (NCAA book allowance) = $5,691

*An important note on books…

The NCAA uses a flat, $400 book allowance for all student-athletes when determining equivalencies. In order to cover the actual cost of a student-athlete’s books, the automatic $400 allowance is subtracted from the “athletic scholarship amount” in the formula above.

How do student-athletes access book allowances?

A list of book-eligible athletes is sent to the NMU Bookstore each semester. Student-athletes go to the bookstore to pick up books, which are charged to a special fund. At the end of the semester, the bookstore sends information on total book charges for each student to the billing office. Although these charges show up on the student account, an equal credit will also appear, showing the books were covered as part of the scholarship. Student-athletes must return book at the end of the semester to be granted scholarship credit. If a book is not returned at the end of the semester, no credit will be granted, and the student-athlete will be charged for that book.

Will NMU athletic scholarships cover course-related supplies?

Because NCAA regulations differ between the two Divisions, only Division II athletes are eligible to be reimbursed for required course-related expenses. A Supplies Form must be completed, and submitted to the Athletic Department. Information required by this form includes: itemized list of required supplies, copies of paid receipts verifying supply purchases, copy of course syllabus indicating required supplies, and instructor signature indicating purchases are reasonable for the course.

Will an NMU athletic scholarship cover additional costs related to a study abroad program?

NMU athletic aid may only be used to cover some expenses of an NMU-sponsored study abroad program.  These allowable expenses are the same as those permitted for regular NMU courses - NMU tuition, fees directly associated with tuition, standard room and board allowance, and books.  Examples of non-covered expenses include (but are not limited to): study abroad program fees, airfare, and passport costs.

Can student-athletes receive aid in addition to athletic scholarships?

Yes!  However, there are certain regulations which must be followed.

• The total amount of aid a student receives cannot exceed the overall NMU cost of attendance (which includes some additional items, such as estimated personal and travel expenses, not included in NCAA allowances).  Information on NMU’s general cost of attendance can be found at www.nmu.edu/finaidCOA.

• Student-athletes who qualify for NMU academic scholarships must meet certain NCAA requirements in order to receive this academic scholarship in addition to the athletic scholarship.

For Division II athletes, one of the following criteria must be met:

• Be in the top 20% of the high school graduating class
• Achieve a cumulative high school GPA of at least 3.50 (per final high school transcript)
• Score 1140 or higher on the SAT (This sum may be comprised of the best component results from multiple SAT exams.)
• Have an ACT sum score of at least 100 (This sum may be comprised of the best component results from multiple ACT exams.)

For Division I athletes (Hockey only), one of the following criteria must be met:

• Be in the top 10% of the high school graduating class
• Achieve a cumulative high school GPA of at least 3.50 (per final high school transcript)
• Score 1200 or higher on the SAT (This sum may be comprised of the best component results from multiple SAT exams.)
• Have an ACT sum score of at least 105 (This sum may be comprised of the best component results from multiple ACT exams.)

• Transfer students in Division II may also meet the requirement by achieving a 3.30 or higher GPA (after at least one year) based on transcripts from the prior school(s).  After the first year, the cumulative NMU GPA (unless qualifying high school/test data is received) will be used to determine how NMU academic scholarships are counted.

• A cumulative NMU GPA (once established, after one year) of at least 3.30 for Division II and 3.00 for Division I may be used on a year-by-year basis to determine how NMU academic scholarships are counted.  (So an NMU academic scholarship could be counted as part of the athletic award for some years and not others if no qualifying high school/test score criteria are met.)

•  Students who do not meet any of the above criteria will have NMU academic scholarships counted as part of the athletic award.  For example, if a student-athlete’s initial athletic aid is determined to be $5,000, but the student also qualifies for the NMU Recognition Award valued at $1,000, the athletic aid would be reduced to $4,000 if none of the NCAA criteria listed above are met.

• Any type of aid, including outside, private scholarships  for which “athletics participation” (past or present) is among the awarding criteria must be counted as part of a student-athlete’s overall athletic award and may result in a dollar-for-dollar reduction to the amount of NMU athletic aid.  The Financial Aid Office will investigate all private scholarships a student-athlete receives in order to determine if they are athletically related.

• Because, according to NCAA regulations, the NMU Board of Trustees Grant is considered to be “countable” aid and would need to be included as part of the NMU athletic award, student-athletes are not eligible to receive this grant.  If the Board of Trustees Grant is initially included among a student-athlete's awards, it will be canceled upon notification of athletic aid eligibility.