Iowa State is providing a positive environment for student athletes to succeed, said Tom Kroeschell, director of media relations for the Athletic Department.

According to 1996-97 NCAA statistics, ISU ranks 22nd out of 305 NCAA Division I schools and ranks third in the Big 12 for number of scholarships awarded.

ISU did drop slightly from its 19th-place ranking for the 1995-96 school year, but Kroeschell said the change is not significant.

“All of the sports here at Iowa State are fully funded,” Kroeschell said. “Each coach in every sport at ISU has the maximum number of scholarship opportunities available to them.”

Bill Smith, director of NCAA Compliance, agreed with Kroeschell.

“ISU is doing an excellent job of funding in scholarships,” Smith said.

There is a limit to how many scholarships a sport can have, and the number is determined by NCAA rules, Smith said. The NCAA members take a look at each team and determine interest in the sport and how many students are needed to field the team.

“ISU does an excellent job of giving each team their full allotment of scholarship,” Smith said.

There are six sports where each individual gets one scholarship. Those sports are football, women’s basketball, volleyball, tennis and gymnastics and men’s basketball.

Other sports are allowed to divide up the scholarships among the athletes.

Kroeschell said there are other schools that have more sports than ISU. However, ISU is offering the full amount of scholarships allowed, whereas some schools may not.

“ISU is doing more on a smaller budget than many of the institutions who have higher budgets,” Kroeschell said.

Kroeschell also said the number of ISU’s scholarships offered did not change, even though the school’s ranking in the NCAA Division I standings did.

“We did not drop any sports or scholarships,” Kroeschell said. “What caused the change in ranking was the fact that other schools did have a change in their numbers, but ISU stayed the same.”

ISU’s maximum number of scholarships that can be awarded for sports is 256, and its 1996-97 athletic budget was $16 million.

“I think that the athletes are pleased with the amount of financial support they are receiving,” Smith said.

A recent article in The Tribune listed some of the schools in the NCAA Division I that had larger budgets than ISU.

Nebraska had 295.30 scholarships and an athletic budget of $36.3 million; Florida had 258.59 scholarships and an athletic budget of $24.1 million; and Ohio State offered 308.30 scholarships with an athletic budget of $38 million.