Aside from the time costs of being an athlete are there extra financial costs of being an athlete at a D3 school? The sport in question is tennis.
As a newbie with limited info so far, it seems like the player pays for racquets, strings, restringing, shoes (maybe with some discounts via the school) and the schools provide uniforms. Is that correct? Are all expenses covered for away matches and spring trips? Does it depend on the school’s ‘wealth’ or ranking? Are there requests for fundraising like in high school? Am I missing anything?
Thanks.
D plays a team sport for a NESCAC school. Team supplies uniforms, bags, sweats, jacket/pullover. There is team equipment, but most team members supply their personal gear. Players/parents billed for Spring trip to Florida. Each team and school may be different, but expect to have to pay something.
This depends entirely on the school. Our sport is swimming. The best funded schools cover everything except a practice suit and goggles - gear, tech suits for champs, travel, winter training trips. The worst funded schools cover nothing. I’ve heard stories of kids carpooling to a meet, sleeping on the floor of a relative’s house to avoid hotel costs, mandatory fundraising.
You need to check with the coaches. It could be minimal costs, or it could be significant.
@blue1516, @bksquared had the same experience as we did. The only surprise the first time around was a bill for the spring trip to Florida/AZ. Other expenses were paid, uniforms were “free” but did not belong to the student. Away games and overnights were paid for by the schools. There may be fund raising requests that are relatively modest, and parents may organize for post-game refreshments or meals. The students may have fundraising events during the year, but by and large, parents are not involved in these events (other than to buy what is being sold)…
DD pays a nominal fee each fall and gets shoes, bag, uniforms, practice gear, etc. In the years they travel each kid throws in $100-$150 against the cost of the weekend. We still incur some minor costs, and injuries outside the scope of the trainers’ room are on our insurance. It’ll vary by the sport and the individual school’s funding.
@jmtabb Question about swimming- even at D3 schools (thinking NESCAC) do they really cover tech suits and winter training trips? I always thought those expenses would be on the parents/students. My child is about to go several recruiting trips and I guess they should ask each school, but I had no idea that some of it might be covered!
@19and21 I think that’s a good question to ask when you’re sitting down and meeting with the coach(es). Our son is a D3 swimmer. We had him ask those “what’s included” questions at every coach visit - you get a good feel of what’s covered and what’s not right off the bat. Plus, as a coach myself I loved what my kid asked: I think he thought he’d be given the world - not so - haha. He learned quickly 
In our case, cost of the tech suit is partially paid for by his school (that was a bonus as we were originally told no) and cost of the training trip is up to the student with various ways of getting to and from to change cost (ie: round trip from school, etc). However, in his case, it’s very, very reasonable. He’s responsible to take from his summer earnings for that trip. The kids are also given a stipend each day for food (they’ll pool it together, I’m sure!). At his school there are ways for kids to get some $ toward the trip (ie: teaching swim lessons at the pool is one way to defray cost). Training equipment included (pick your basic swim stuff…snorkel is obviously his own), but he has his own. Mesh bags provided, warm ups (probably school owned - not for them to keep) and team suit/cap.
Each school was different that we talked to, but this gives you a good idea
You may want to ask about whether your son’s tennis work out clothes and uniform gets washed by the school. My kid’s work out clothes are all put on a ring and then thrown in with all the others to be washed. I think such services are common in DI, but my kid is in a DIII sport and we view this as a bonus considering how many workouts the kids have. My kid was impressed by this benefit and the number and quality of coaches and training room staff even though my kid had taken DI official visits. The training room is important to treat and avoid injuries. Also ask about food. Some schools may have a smoothie room near the locker room or private athlete dinning/snack areas. My kid’s school does not but the dinning hall is near the gym and the food there is excellent. Some schools get a certain number of sneakers donated by sponsoring companies or discounted to the school. I think my kid gets a couple of pairs a year and has 2 or 3 brands from which to choose. My kid gets uniform and some workout tops and light jacket, but it seems like I have to purchase any optional jackets, sweats, hats or other stuff from the team store at the start of each season. There would be more free stuff at DI but I believe DIII varies quite a bit so your son can ask his host at his visits.
“Does it depend on the school’s wealth or ranking.” It can. Your son is likely to compete in a league of schools that have self-selected themselves into a group that pretty much spends similar amounts on their athletic programs as a whole. However, within that group, schools will likely specialize (and devote more resources towards) certain teams. If your son attends a school that competes for its league championship, it is possible that the school devotes added resources in the form of coaches, gym time, pull with the admissions committee, and other tangible and intangible benefits. These are things to look for and consider.
What gets covered depends on the school -even at the D1 level. It depends on the funding the team has from the school for that sport.
We are visiting 3 schools this fall for OV’s. We’ve done unofficial visits to all already. None are NESCAC, but all are top 20 at DIII champs. Funding levels for these schools is different.
2 provide a tech suit for each swimmer who qualifies for district champs. At one of those schools you can chose the brand/type, at the other it’s the brand that sponsors the team. The third school currently offers a discount for your choice of tech suit but is looking at other options going forward.
2 do winter training trips. One does them every year, paid for by the school. 1 does them every other year, paid for by the school. The third doesn’t do training trips at all “we’re located in a place others come to for their training trips so we just stay here”.
We have a teammate who started at a lower funded D1 last week who was told fundraising for their winter training trip for next year (winter 2019) starts now.
My daughter played D2. Almost everything was covered except for cleats,socks, and a mouth piece. The first year the cleats were provided, but there was so much complaining about them that the coach stopped buying them and I think each player got some money to buy what she wanted. They were given all kinds of work out clothes, jackets, yoga pants, training shoes, t-shirts, sticks, etc. The only thing they didn’t get to keep was the uniform. Yes, she had to turn in the disgusting, dingy home white uniform (and a red one that was in pretty good shape because they didn’t wear their away uniforms much), the uniform that had been so white and fit so well when she was a tiny little freshman but was stretched out of shape by the time she was a bigger senior. And not so white anymore.
They only flew once during her 4 years, and the coach paid. Sometimes they were 4 to a hotel room, sometimes 2. Sometimes the coach gave the a budget for meals ($10-15) and other times the meals were served family style. They all bought snacks for the many long bus trips.
The parents only had to pay to the fund for post game meals and treats. The dad running the fund told us how much to pay and we did ($200 or so). The coach had money in her budget and she just didn’t budget well. The coach tried a few fundraisers, but they weren’t that successful so she stopped.
The NCAA pays for tournament travel and accommodations, and the coach gets money for meals for the ‘tournament period’, which can be 2-3 weeks if your team keeps winning. Some coaches give it to the players ($30/day) while others have group meals.
Thanks everyone. We will be asking coaches about this. Don’t want to be surprised by bills and requests that significantly add to a tight budget. Interesting how some schools on our list have spring trips on their schedule while others don’t.
I am still not sure if D will be expected to cough up additional money for anything except practice clothes, but was thrilled to learn the school washes all her practice and game clothes. Sending her off to school thinking she would have to wash those clothes was horrifying. “I” had a learning curve when she really started to sweat and ended up with super stinky clothes. She certainly knows how to do a load of laundry, but those workout clothes require special attention. Who knew girls could smell that bad?
It is nice to be able to anticipate costs though I am still not sure what expenses may appear from my freshman’s experience. No matter what, I feel that athletes at DIII schools get more out their athletics than any extra cost that must be paid. Professional coaches, trainers, facilities, transportation, and meet fees barely scratches the surface.
Varies according to sport and school. S1 handed us a bill the other day for $750, but that covers all their travel, and they get nice workout clothes, shoes, bags, bats, and assorted swag besides their uniforms. Certainly FAR less expensive than the club and HS teams he has been on in the past.
I have kids playing in NESCAC and NEWMAC. Players pay for all equipment, including shoes. Schools provide uniforms. NEWMAC school provides free laundry service, not sure if NESCAC school provides free laundry service or not. All team trips are fully funded by the schools, including meals. There is no parent fundraising.
Daughter plays DIII soccer. Uniforms, practice uniforms, bags, jackets, cleats, travel, meals on the road, laundry are all provided by the school. No cost to the student at all and no fundraising.
@dlm031691 Cleats too? Wow, that would save use soooooo much money. Otherwise, my D3 soccer player gets all the same items you noted from the school, except the away meals which are paid for by by parent voluntary contributions.
Lol, yes we were quite shocked when she told us about the cleats. It was a very nice surprise.
I assume/hope she does not have to give the cleats back at the end of the season? Some things I don’t mind sharing, but shoes is not one of them. I won’t even rent bowling shoes, and I’m not even that avid a bowler.
My daughter got cleats her first two years, but hated them as did many of the other girls, so the coach started giving them money to buy what they wanted. My daughter has ‘Fred Flintstone feet’ and likes to buy men’s cleats because they are wider. Some girls like cleats that are high tops, some like lower cut ones. The coach just couldn’t win.
They didn’t have to give anything back but the game uniforms. Over the 4 years, she got fleece jackets, shirts, yoga pants, cross training shoes, hundreds of t-shirts, balls, sticks, headbands (home and away colors), warm up suits. Basically everything except socks, mouth pieces, and pre-wrap. The coach/trainers were supplying pre-wrap but the girls wanted it for their hair, so I just sent a case of it in a rainbow of colors to my daughter as a sophomore and I think it lasted the rest of her career.
Where the parent contribution can get high is club sports. My daughter (other one) had to pay about $400 per year and provide all her own equipment, which was actually cheap. I’ve heard of club sports costing $5000 because they have to pay all their own travel, for refs, for fields, etc.