In Canada, USport athletes are eligible to receive an athletic scholarship in September of their first year at a university provided they have a minimum entering academic average of 80% or equivalent.
If an athlete does not meet that requirement, they may earn athletic scholarship at the end of the first year at a university (spring or summer) if they satisfy CIS academic requirements with at least a 65% academic average.
Athletes continue to be eligible to receive an athletic scholarship at the beginning of any year provided they satisfy USport academic requirements with at least a 65% average in the year prior. (Note: per Ontario University Athletics policy, all Ontario universities require a 70% average in the year prior).
A USport athletic scholarship can be made up from a variety of different sources including, scholarships, bursaries, prizes, leadership awards, merit awards, housing, and all other non-employment financial benefit received by an athlete from their institution. However, the total sum of Athletic scholarships in the USport is limited to a maximum of tuition plus compulsory fees in an academic year.
Note: There is an ongoing, 5-year, High Performance Women’s Hockey pilot project going on in which players may receive an athletic scholarship that can cover up to the cost of their tuition and compulsory fees, room and board. SO there is the POTENTIAL in the near future of full scholarships being available in Canada as they are in the NCAA.