<P> In the United States, college athletics is a two - tiered system . The first tier includes the sports that are sanctioned by one of the collegiate sport governing bodies . The major sanctioning organizations include the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). Individual sports not governed by umbrella organizations like the NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA are governed by their own organizations, such as the Intercollegiate Sailing Association, National Collegiate Boxing Association, USA Rugby, National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association and Intercollegiate Rowing Association . Additionally, the first tier is characterized by selective participation, since only the elite athletes in their sport are able to participate; some colleges offer athletic scholarships to intercollegiate sports competitors . </P> <P> The second tier includes all intramural and recreational sports clubs, which are available to a larger portion of the student body . Competition between student clubs from different colleges, not organized by and therefore not representing the institutions or their faculties, may also be called "intercollegiate" athletics or simply college sports . </P> <P> Unlike in the rest of the world, in the United States today, many college sports are extremely popular on both regional and national scales, in many cases competing with professional championships for prime broadcast and print coverage, and for the top athletes . The average university sponsors at least twenty different sports and offers a wide variety of intramural sports as well . In total, there are approximately 400,000 men and women student - athletes that participate in sanctioned athletics each year . </P> <P> Principles for inter-collegiate athletics include "gender equity, sportsmanship and ethical conduct, sound academic standards, nondiscrimination, diversity within governance, rules compliance, amateurism, competitive equity, recruiting, eligibility, financial aid, playing and practice seasons, postseason competition and contests sponsored by noncollegiate organizations, and the economy of athletic program operations ." </P>

Some states have passed legislation to pay college athletes