When comparing NCAA D1 vs D2, many student-athletes automatically assume that Division I means a better standard of sport.

We hear it all the time:

“I want to go D1.”

And we understand why.

Division I is associated with the biggest names in American college sport. You see huge stadiums, televised games, incredible facilities, major athletic scholarships and thousands of fans.

For an international athlete looking at the USA, getting an offer from a D1 university can therefore feel like you’ve reached the very top.

However, there is something incredibly important to understand:

A university being NCAA Division I does not automatically mean its team in your sport is better than a Division II, Division III, NAIA or junior college team.

In fact, depending on your sport, the division written next to the university’s name can be a surprisingly poor way of judging the actual standard of the team.

So, let’s look at what NCAA D1 vs D2 really means – and why athletes shouldn’t be blinded by the division label.

NCAA D1 vs D2: What do the divisions actually mean?

This is where one of the biggest misunderstandings about American college sport begins.

Division I and Division II are not rankings of how good every sports team at a university is.

A university doesn’t become D1 because the NCAA watches its soccer, swimming or tennis team and decides:

“They’re good enough to be Division I.”

Instead, D1 and D2 are classifications of the university’s overall athletics programme.

To compete in Division I, a university must make a significant institutional commitment to athletics. NCAA requirements cover areas such as the number of sports sponsored, financial aid, scheduling and the overall operation of the athletics department.

A university can’t simply decide one summer that it wants to become D1 either.

Moving from D2 to D1 requires a major commitment from the university. A Division I conference opportunity is also needed, and the university must complete a formal NCAA reclassification process.

In simple terms, D1 generally means that the university operates a larger, higher-resource athletics department within the NCAA system.

However, that is very different from saying:

Every D1 team is better than every D2 team.

To understand why people make that assumption, we need to look at two sports in particular.

American football and basketball have a huge influence on what “D1” means

For international athletes, this is particularly important.

When we hear “Division I”, we naturally assume that it describes the standard of sport being played across the university.

However, the economics and public image of major Division I athletics are heavily influenced by American football and basketball.

At some of the biggest D1 universities, American football isn’t simply another university sports team.

It’s an enormous commercial operation.

Take Ohio State as an example.

Ohio Stadium can hold approximately 105,000 spectators.

Michigan Stadium is even bigger, with an official capacity of 107,601.

These aren’t professional NFL stadiums.

They’re university sports stadiums.

To put that into perspective, Wembley Stadium holds around 90,000 spectators.

So, yes – some American universities have football stadiums that can hold more than 100,000 people for a college game.

And then there’s the money.

In the 2022–23 financial year, Ohio State reported approximately $64.3 million in ticket sales from football alone.

Its entire athletics department generated approximately $279.5 million in revenue that year.

By the 2025 financial year, Ohio State Athletics reported more than $336 million in total revenue.

Think about that for a moment.

We’re talking about a university athletics department generating hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

American football plays a huge role in that ecosystem.

Basketball is enormously important too. March Madness – the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship – generates huge media-rights revenue for the NCAA and is one of the biggest sporting events on the American calendar.

This is the D1 world that people see on television and social media:

Huge stadiums.

Packed crowds.

National television coverage.

Major media contracts.

Multimillion-dollar facilities.

Large coaching and support teams.

Universities spending enormous amounts of money on athletics.

It’s easy to see why athletes around the world begin to associate:

D1 = elite.

But there’s a problem with applying that assumption to every sport.

If you’re a soccer player, you’re not playing American football

This is the part we really want student-athletes to understand.

If you’re a soccer player, you’re not playing American football.

If you’re a swimmer, you’re not playing basketball.

If you’re a field hockey player, tennis player, golfer, water polo player or track athlete, the fact that your university has a 100,000-seat football stadium doesn’t automatically tell us how good your team is.

The university’s overall athletics department might operate at Division I level.

However, that doesn’t mean every individual sports programme within that university is nationally competitive.

And this is where athletes can get caught out.

Is a D1 team always better than a D2 team?

No.

Let’s imagine two universities.

University A – NCAA Division I

University A has a huge American football programme, successful basketball teams, major television exposure and an enormous overall athletics budget.

However, its men’s soccer programme isn’t particularly strong.

The team regularly finishes towards the bottom of its conference. It rarely reaches the NCAA tournament, and soccer isn’t one of the university’s strongest sports.

University B – NCAA Division II

University B doesn’t have the enormous football revenue or overall athletics budget of University A.

However, its soccer programme is outstanding.

It has an experienced coaching staff, excellent facilities and talented international players. The team regularly competes for conference championships and reaches the NCAA D2 national tournament.

So:

Which university has the better soccer programme?

It could very easily be University B.

Yet an athlete may immediately prefer University A for one reason:

“It’s D1.”

That’s exactly why we tell athletes:

Don’t recruit the division. Recruit the programme.

There are huge differences within NCAA D1

Another misconception is that all Division I programmes compete at roughly the same standard.

They don’t.

There are more than 360 NCAA Division I universities. Within D1, the difference between the strongest and weakest programmes in an individual sport can be enormous.

A nationally ranked D1 soccer programme competing deep into the NCAA tournament and a D1 programme sitting at the bottom of its conference can both put D1 next to their names.

The same applies to Division II.

A top D2 programme could be significantly stronger than some D1 programmes.

Likewise, strong D3 programmes can compete at an extremely high level. Some NAIA programmes recruit outstanding international athletes, while certain junior colleges have incredibly talented rosters filled with athletes who will eventually transfer into NCAA D1 and D2 programmes.

There simply isn’t a neat ladder where:

D1 athlete > D2 athlete > D3 athlete > NAIA athlete > JUCO athlete.

College sport doesn’t work like that.

What does a university need to become NCAA D1?

If Division I has so much prestige attached to it, you might wonder:

Why doesn’t every university simply become D1?

Because operating a Division I athletics department requires a significant institutional and financial commitment.

The university needs to decide that Division I makes sense for its whole athletics programme.

It needs the required number of sports, resources, staffing, compliance infrastructure, financial support and conference opportunity.

Most importantly, the university must be able to sustain that commitment.

Moving divisions can involve significant additional spending. More resources may be needed for scholarships, coaches, administrators, facilities, travel, recruiting, sports medicine, academic support and the wider operation of the athletics department.

Division II operates under a different NCAA model. Greater emphasis is placed on regional competition, and a partial-scholarship model is commonly used.

That doesn’t mean D2 athletes are automatically second-rate athletes.

It means the university operates its athletics programme under a different NCAA model.

That’s an important distinction.

D1, D2 and D3 are classifications. They aren’t a universal ranking of every team.

How should you compare D1 vs D2 programmes?

When we’re helping an athlete evaluate a university, we’re far more interested in the individual sports programme than the label attached to the athletics department.

If you’re a soccer player, we want to know about the soccer team.

If you’re a swimmer, we want to know about the swimming programme.

If you’re a field hockey player, we want to know about the field hockey programme.

Some of the things you should look at include:

• Recent results and rankings
• The conference the team competes in
• The standard of the current roster
• Where current players were recruited from
• Recent conference and national tournament results
• The coaching staff
• Facilities available to your specific sport
• The number of athletes in your position
• Your realistic opportunity for playing time
• The coach’s plans for you
• The financial package being offered

Those things tell us far more about your individual opportunity than the letters D1 or D2.

Is playing D1 always better than playing D2?

There’s another question athletes need to ask themselves:

Do you actually want to play?

Being able to say you’re a D1 athlete sounds fantastic.

However, imagine joining a D1 programme where you’re player number 28 on the roster.

You spend your freshman year barely playing.

Your sophomore year isn’t much different.

Then, by your junior year, the coach has recruited another athlete in your position.

Now compare that with a strong D2 programme.

The coach sees you as an important recruit. You compete for a starting position. You travel regularly, play meaningful minutes and potentially compete for conference and national championships.

Which is the better opportunity?

There isn’t one universal answer.

But it certainly isn’t automatically D1.

Are D1 scholarships better than D2 scholarships?

Athletes can also become fixated on Division I because they assume:

D1 = bigger scholarship.

Again, that’s not necessarily true.

The amount of money available depends on the sport, university, programme, coach, roster needs and individual athlete.

Your final financial package can also include a combination of athletic and academic funding.

For example, a student could receive a D1 opportunity that still leaves their family paying $35,000 per year.

Another university at a different level might offer a package that brings the family’s cost down to $15,000.

Which is the better offer?

The D1 offer might sound more impressive.

However, families need to compare the actual opportunity and actual cost, rather than simply looking at the division written next to the university’s name.

Don’t forget about the university itself

There’s another label that athletes sometimes allow D1 to overshadow:

The university.

You’re not only choosing a sports team.

You’re choosing where you’re going to live, study and develop for potentially four years.

A D2 or D3 university might offer a better programme for the degree you want to study.

It might have smaller classes.

It could be in a location you prefer.

It might offer better internship opportunities.

Perhaps the campus environment suits you better.

It could cost significantly less.

And you might actually play more.

Turning all of that down simply because another university has D1 next to its name doesn’t necessarily make sense.

What should student-athletes actually look for?

The goal shouldn’t simply be to tell people:

“I play D1.”

The goal should be to find a university where you can succeed.

Think about the complete opportunity.

Sport: Will you play? Will you develop? Is the standard right for you? Do you like the coach? Is the programme competitive?

Academics: Does the university offer the degree you want? Is it academically appropriate for you?

Financial fit: Can your family realistically afford the university for four years?

Lifestyle: Do you like the location, size, campus and culture?

Opportunity: Are you going somewhere where you can genuinely contribute, develop and enjoy your college career?

For some athletes, the answer absolutely will be NCAA Division I.

And if you’re capable of competing at a strong D1 programme, you should absolutely pursue those opportunities.

For another athlete, the perfect opportunity could be D2.

For someone else, it might be D3, NAIA or JUCO.

None of those pathways should automatically be dismissed because of the division label.

Don’t be blinded by the D1 label

We love ambition.

If you’re capable of competing at a high D1 level, we’ll absolutely encourage you to pursue it.

However, we don’t want athletes turning down fantastic universities, scholarships and sporting opportunities simply because they don’t have D1 written next to their name.

Remember:

Division tells you something about the university’s overall athletics structure.

It doesn’t automatically tell you how good your individual team is.

So, when you’re comparing colleges, don’t just ask:

“What division is it?”

Instead, ask:

“How good is this programme, and is it the right opportunity for me?”

That’s a much better question.

Ultimately, it’s also far more likely to lead you to the right university.

NCAA D1 vs D2: Frequently Asked Questions

Is NCAA D1 better than D2?

Not necessarily.

Division I generally represents a larger overall athletics operation, but the standard of individual sports programmes varies enormously.

A top D2 team can be stronger and more competitive than some D1 teams. Therefore, athletes should compare the individual programme rather than relying on the division label alone.

Can D2 athletes get athletic scholarships?

Yes.

Athletic scholarships can be offered by NCAA Division II universities. However, the scholarship structure differs from Division I, and partial athletic scholarships are common.

Academic scholarships and other financial aid may also be combined with athletic funding, depending on the university and athlete.

Can a D2 team beat a D1 team?

Yes.

Being classified as Division I doesn’t mean every D1 team is stronger than every D2 team.

The standard varies significantly between individual programmes. A strong D2 programme can therefore be highly competitive with D1 programmes in the same sport.

Is it harder to get recruited D1 or D2?

Generally, NCAA Division I recruitment can be more competitive. However, it depends heavily on the sport and individual programme.

A nationally competitive D2 programme may recruit athletes at a higher level than a lower-ranked D1 programme.

Therefore, athletes shouldn’t assume that receiving a D2 offer means they weren’t good enough for D1.

Are D1 scholarships bigger than D2 scholarships?

Not always.

Scholarship offers depend on the sport, university, coach, available funding, roster requirements and individual athlete.

A D1 university could offer less funding than a D2 university. Families should compare the final cost of attendance rather than assuming D1 automatically means more scholarship money.

Should I choose D1 over D2?

Not based on division alone.

Compare the standard of the team, coaching staff, playing opportunities, scholarship package, academics, total cost, university environment and your likely role within the programme.

The best college opportunity isn’t necessarily the one with the highest division.

It’s the one that’s right for you.

Looking to play college sport in the USA?

At BRUSA Sports, we help student-athletes identify universities based on their sporting level, academics, budget and personal preferences – rather than simply chasing a division label.

Our goal isn’t to find you a D1, D2, D3, NAIA or JUCO university.

It’s to find you the right university.