Duke’s Support of Student-Athletes

Duke’s Financial Aid Initiative has been making a big difference for student-athletes.  Many years ago, Duke made an institutional decision to build a strong athletics program, which would enable the university’s teams to excel in competition against the best teams in the country. In 2006-07, Duke awarded the dollar equivalent of 237 full scholarships to its student-athletes.

The university set out to raise $15 million in endowment for undergraduate athletic scholarships as part of Duke’s Financial Aid Initiative.  By the start of the 2008, the initiative’s final year, fund-raising had reached $18 million.  Even with this success, the great majority of athletic scholarship aid is not endowed and so must be raised each year.

New endowment for athletic scholarships will help Duke meet its significant annual commitment to student-athletes. In 2006-07, Duke’s 237 full scholarships were divided among 315 student-athletes from 19 of Duke’s 26 athletic teams.