According to Wikipedia:
Athletic scholarships are common in the United States, but in many countries they are rare or non-existent.
But are there areas (e.g., countries or cities) where there are some universities that offer sports scholarships while other universities in the same area don't? If so, why would any athlete attend a university without a sports scholarship when there are nearby universities that do offer such scholarships?
I have this relative (sibling) who recently got accepted into a first world university for an undergraduate degree in engineering and was accepted as a sports scholar...sort of. But none of their tuition is waived. The only thing my relative gets is that their fee to be on the team (!) is reduced. They also get lower grade requirements in admissions or retention, but they do not need this.
I found out that several universities in this area apparently do offer substantial sports scholarships ranging from 50-100% off tuition. Some of these other universities are actually ranked lower than my relative's university. So: I do not understand, why would anyone play sports for a university but not get paid or get tuition waived?
Some guesses:
- Lower admission grade requirement
- Lower retention grade requirement
- Admission or retention for dormitory requirement
- Possibility of future scholarships
- Prospects of a sports-related careers after graduation
But none of these really explain why athletes without scholarships wouldn't just transfer to schools where they could get a scholarship.
Update: My relative did get a dormitory scholarship at the beginning of their second year.