Question: Can a lacrosse player in high school receive a scholarship from the high school's alumni association for use at a specific D-3 college, contingent upon his playing lacrosse?

You've stumped "The Dean" with this one. I have never encountered this question before, and it’s certainly a good one. Ordinarily, I would think that a Division 3 student should be able to accept a monetary award from a high school alumni association, even if it’s contingent on his continuing with lacrosse. But … the confusing part is that this particular grant is intended for a specific college. This smacks of bending the rules that prohibit athletic scholarships at the D3 level, so it doesn't sound quite kosher to me. I suggest that you check with:

-the NCAA … if you haven’t already (317/917-6222)

-the director of athletics at the college named in the scholarship terms

You might also want to post this question on the College Confidential athletic discussion forum to see if other families have faced this same dilemma. But tread carefully. Just because a parent responds by saying something like, “Oh, yeah. My son did that. No problem,” it could only mean that no one got caught. :eek:

It may be just fine to take the money, but I personally don’t know and don’t want to give the wrong advice.

If you do get a definitive answer, please share it here. Thanks!

(posted 2/15/2011)