NCAA vs. NAIA vs. NJCAA

There are over 2,500 Colleges and Universities in the USA that offer sporting programs, 560,000+ student-athletes, and 3 governing bodies - the NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA. So, what are the differences between these three bodies?

NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is the most well-known governing body and is usually the only one individuals world-wide know about. Within it, there are 3 divisions with Div 1 being the highest level, Div 2 the middle, and Div 3 the lowest. It is important to note here that while all offer sporting programs, Div 1 & Div 2 only offer athletic scholarships!

The largest universities in the USA compete in Div 1 & Div 2, while Div 3 is comprised of small private Universities.

While many athletes want to compete within the NCAA, it is extremely difficult - high academic standards, high athletic standards, and many regulations to pass mean not all individuals will be eligible for the NCAA. While this is off-putting to some, many athletes that aren’t initially eligible end up transferring after a year or two at a different division.

NAIA
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes (NAIA) is made up of smaller private Universities like NCAA Div 3, however the NAIA offer athletic scholarships. The athletic and academic standards aren’t as competitive as the NCAA, and the NAIA regulations are a lot less stringent. This allows international athletes a greater opportunity to compete in the US Collegiate System.

NJCAA
The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is made of two-year community colleges which are quite small. Many people dismiss the NJCAA due to this, however it is a great option for international athletes that don’t meet the academic requirements for NCAA or NAIA Universities as there are few that need to met for acceptance into the NJCAA.

The level of NJCAA programs is on par with the NCAA Div 2 programs and NAIA programs, with the top NJCAA Universities being on par with top NCAA Div 1 Schools. Athletes that attend NJCAA Colleges transfer after two years to NCAA or NAIA Universities.

We know this is a lot of information and is quite overwhelming, so we have broken it down in a table below: