Most do, but many receive only a partial scholarship. Each year, approximately 350 students receive an athletic scholarship. We maintain 246.2 full athletic scholarships, the maximum number of scholarships allowed under NCAA rules, for each of our men and women’s sports.
| Men's Sports |
Scholarships Awarded |
Women's Sports |
Scholarships Awarded |
| Basketball |
13 |
Basketball |
15 |
| CC/Track |
12.6 |
CC/Track |
18 |
| Golf |
4.5 |
Golf |
6 |
| Swim/Dive |
9.9 |
Swim/Dive |
14 |
| Tennis |
4.5 |
Tennis |
8 |
| Baseball |
11.7 |
Softball |
12 |
| Football |
85 |
Soccer |
14 |
| |
|
Beach Volleyball |
6 |
| |
|
Volleyball |
12 |
| Overall Total: 246.2 |
A full scholarship includes tuition, meals, books, materials, housing and miscellaneous or cost of attendance expenses. Athletic scholarships provide both in-state and out-of-state tuition. In addition to the fall and spring semesters, scholarships also cover student athletes expenses during summer sessions and pre-and post-school periods.
For the 2018-19 school year, the AVERAGE cost of an in-state, undergrad athletic scholarship was approximately $22,456 and out-of-state, undergrad was $36,804. Our student-athletes are currently, and traditionally, almost evenly divided between Florida residents and non-Florida residents. That means that half are subject to in-state tuition and half to out-of-state tuition.
For the 2018-19 school year, the AVERAGE cost of an in-state, undergrad athletic scholarship was approximately $22,456 and out-of-state, undergrad was $36,804. Our student-athletes are currently, and traditionally, almost evenly divided between Florida residents and non-Florida residents. That means that half are subject to in-state tuition and half to out-of-state tuition.
The Athletic Department is required to pay all of the student-athletes’ scholarship expenses, including tuition. Gifts from annual Seminole Booster donors (Golden Chief, Silver Chief, Tomahawk, etc.) have been transferred to the Athletic Department to pay those scholarship costs.
Providing scholarships for its students is the most important function of the Athletic Department. However, these scholarship costs one of the largest items in the athletic budget. Those costs are over $11.5 million annually.
Florida State University has always been one of the best bargains in America for a great education. Until recently, our tuition has been one of the lowest in the country. The University has been forced to substantially raise in-state tuition. More important to athletics, where half of its students come from outside Florida, the University has increased out-of-state tuition rates more.
Additionally, the NCAA’s progression rule (how a student is progressing toward graduation) as well as the cost of attendance have increased the overall cost due to summer school and “miscellaneous expenses.”
An endowment fund is one whose principal stays intact, while a portion of the earnings (traditionally 5 percent of the corpus) is gifted for a specific purpose. The portion of the annual earnings not gifted is left in the corpus, allowing the fund to grow. Because a donor’s original endowment gift remains intact, he or she is making a gift that will give in perpetuity.
At an earnings rate of 5%, it would take a gift of $449,120 to fully fund an in-state, undergraduate scholarship and $736,080 to fully fund an out-of-state, undergraduate scholarship.