D3 coaches have zero input in the award of scholarship funds. Only the FA department does and they are heavily regulated, especially at state schools where they report every dollar and where it goes. College is not a prep school where the hockey coach is also the associate dean of admissions. At best they can advocate for a candidate that may not meet admissions standards to get them accepted. None of them have the ability to award scholarship funds and no one in the FA department is losing their job over a D3 hockey player or any athlete. There are numerous scholarship dollars available however and a common one is wiping out-of-state-tuition for students with a 3.0 gpa or higher with an institutional scholarship, it costs the school nothing to do this. I'm sure some hockey dad somewhere is bragging about his kid getting special treatment for receiving this but it's literally given to any student that meets that academic standard and the school feels will continue to matriculate through their freshman cohort to graduation.

D3 coaches have zero input in the award of scholarship funds. Only the FA department does and they are heavily regulated, especially at state schools where they report every dollar and where it goes. College is not a prep school where the hockey coach is also the associate dean of admissions. At best they can advocate for a candidate that may not meet admissions standards to get them accepted. None of them have the ability to award scholarship funds and no one in the FA department is losing their job over a D3 hockey player or any athlete. There are numerous scholarship dollars available however and a common one is wiping out-of-state-tuition for students with a 3.0 gpa or higher with an institutional scholarship, it costs the school nothing to do this. I'm sure some hockey dad somewhere is bragging about his kid getting special treatment for receiving this but it's literally given to any student that meets that academic standard and the school feels will continue to matriculate through their freshman cohort to graduation.

It is merit not Merritt.