The Olympics are over. Sigh. Eighteen months and counting until the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.

The Beijing Olympics were an overwhelming success for Team USA, who won more medals here than at any other non-boycotted Olympics. But according to an article in today’s Wall Street Journal, the elimination of many sports teams at colleges and universities across the country will threaten USA’s medal count in future Olympiads.

In the past, well-funded scholarship programs allowed colleges to recruit some of the best talent for their teams, but just as many other funding sources are being eliminated in this harsh economy, athletics departments have been forced to lose some of the very teams that have spawned Olympians in the past. Just last year, Rutgers University lost its fencing and rowing teams, along with four other sports that recruited Olympic hopefuls. In 2006, James Madison University said goodbye to ten teams, including its swim team.

For many athletes and their coaches, however, where there’s a will, there’s a way. Privately raised funds often keep programs going as club sports after they are officially cut from the school’s roster. After the men’s gymnastics team was cut from Arizona State University a few years ago, coach Scott Barclay took out a personal loan and built a personal gym for his team to continue training.

Some blame college football teams for hogging all the cash. Others say it’s due to more women competing; sports programs have had to recruit fewer men in order to be equitable with scholarships for female athletes. In any case, schools large and small have been forced to trim the fat in their athletics departments.

Is your academic future at the mercy of sports budget cuts? What are your alternatives to funding your degree if there are fewer sports scholarships available? Submit your comments and questions below.

We always hear that the odds of getting an athletic scholarship are slim, but what are the actual numbers for NCAA scholarships in each sport?

Here are the 2007-2008 total annual scholarship limits mandated by the NCAA for Division I and Division II athletic program so that you know what you are up against.

Even if you don’t get a full ride athletic scholarship, that doesn’t mean your outta luck luck. In many NCAA sports, coaches can split scholarships up and divide them amongst the players. Good luck!

Division I

Men
Baseball   11.7
Cross Country/Track and Field   12.6
Fencing   4.5
Football (Division I-A)   85
Football (Division I-AA)   63
Golf   4.5
Gymnastics   6.3
Lacrosse   12.6
Rifle   3.6
Skiing   6.3
Soccer   9.9
Swimming and Diving   9.9
Tennis   4.5
Volleyball   4.5
Water Polo   4.5
Wrestling   9.9

Women
Archery   5
Badminton   6
Bowling   5
Cross Country/Track and Field   18
Equestrian   15
Fencing   5
Field Hockey   12
Golf   6
Lacrosse   12
Rowing   20
Rugby   12
Skiing   7
Soccer   14
Softball   12
Squash   12
Swimming and Diving   14
Synchronized Swimming   5
Team Handball   10
Water Polo   8

Division II

Men
Baseball   9
Basketball   10
Cross Country/Track and Field   12.6
Fencing   4.5
Football   36
Golf   3.6
Gymnastics   5.4
Ice Hockey   13.5
Lacrosse   10.8
Rifle   3.6
Skiing   6.3
Soccer   9
Swimming and Diving   8.1
Tennis   4.5
Volleyball   4.5
Water Polo   4.5
Wrestling   9

Women
Archery   9
Badminton   10
Basketball   10
Cross Country/Track and Field   12.6
Equestrian   15
Fencing   4.5
Field Hockey   6.3
Golf   5.4
Gymnastics   6
Ice Hockey   18
Lacrosse   9.9
Rowing   20
Rugby   12
Skiing   6.3
Soccer   9.9
Softball   7.2
Squash   9
Swimming and Diving   8.1
Synchronized Swimming   5
Team Handball   12
Tennis   6
Volleyball   8
Water Polo   8

If you want to play college football competitively and get recruited, you are going to need to be competitive way before you get to the field.

But  how are you going to run circles around the competition and kick your admissions into the end zone?

You have to know who you need to impress to get admitted to school, get on the team and maybe capture an athletic scholarship.

Well certainly playing a sport can give you a hook in the admissions process. But you can’t just rely on your natural athletic talent. You have to have good grades too. Because at the end of the day it’s the admissions office who chooses who gets in and who sits on the academic sidelines.

Some colleges coaches have a lot of clout in the admissions office—while others have far less. While many coaches will give a realistic assessment of how much your athletic talent will count at decision time, never forget that it’s the office of admission that has the final say.

But if it’s scholarship money you’re after, it’s the coaches that call the shots. They’re the ones that decide how to divvy up the cash. Even if you don’t get a full ride scholarships, coaches can sometimes spilt the scholarship amongst different players. Just always keep in mind that you have to actually be admitted to the school to get the money.