Leadership Giving

The dream of playing college sports is a powerful motivator for young men and women, many of whom are the first from their family to attend college. Athletic scholarships are the means by which those dreams become reality.

Scholarships are not “given” by the university, nor are they “free rides”. Scholarships are earned by the student-athletes who have an intense daily academic and athletic regimen. Scholarships are paid for by the Athletics Department – more than $11.5 million per year – and funded by Seminole Boosters. More than 80 percent of Florida State scholarship recipients graduate from the university – including a high percentage of first-generation college students – and their lives, and the lives of generations of their family are changed as a result.

Learn more about a scholarship endowment fund – Contact Chris Wilson at [email protected] or (850) 644-3484

Make a scholarship commitment ($25,000 or more paid over five years) – Call (850) 644-3484

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FAQ

Does Every Student-Athlete Receive A Full Scholarship?

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 womens sports.

Men Women
Basketball 13 Basketball 15
CC/Track 12.6 CC/Track 18
Golf 4.5 Golf 6
Swimming 9.9 Soccer 14
Tennis 4.5 Softball 12
Baseball 11.7 Swimming 14
Football 85 Tennis 8
Volleyball 12
Beach Volleyball 6
Men’s Total 141.2 Women’s Total 105
Overall Total 246.2

A full scholarship includes tuition, fees, required textbooks, course materials, housing, food, and miscellaneous expenses up to the cost of attendance. Athletic scholarships provide both in-state and out-of-state tuition. In addition to the fall and spring semesters, scholarships cover student-athletes’ expenses during summer sessions and pre- and post-school periods.

For the 2025-2026 school year, the AVERAGE cost of an in-state, undergrad athletic scholarship was approximately $25,766, and out-of-state, undergrad was $41,447.

Florida State University has always been one of the best bargains in America for a great education. More important to athletics, where half of its students come from outside Florida. Additionally, the NCAA’s progression rule (how a student is progressing toward graduation) and the expanded scholarship 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.