mikel12503

True, but we will still have to try and recruit a higher caliber of player, if we want to be competitive in D-1. So, even if the recruiting area does not widen, we will have to recruit against the Gateway and MAC for a lot of the same kids.

Virtually no one at the D-2 level receives a full ride. There are only 36 scholarships available and teams are allowed to carry 85 players on scholarship. That averages out to 42% per scholarship. If you assume that the bulk of the money is invested in your starters and you assume each one of them receives approximately 2/3 of a scholarship, that leaves 21 scholarships to divide between 63 players. That averages out to be 1/3 of a scholarship per player. The problem for UND this year was trying to recruit D-1 players with D-2 money. However, the fact that next year there will be anywhere from 57-63 scholarships available means that the value of the scholarships will go up. 63 divided by 85 averages out to approximately 75% per scholarship. If you were to reward your starters with a full ride, the balance of the scholarships will be worth about 2/3. This will make it much easier to recruit and even this year enticed a few kids who were offered more by other D-2s.