Last time, what became clear through Division III was that US college sports is not a simple hierarchy of Division I, II, and III.
Each university chooses an operating model that suits it based on athletic scholarships, educational philosophy, student body size, and investment in athletics.
However, there is another important path in the blueprint of US college sports.
It is the path that says you do not have to finish your athletic career at the university you first entered.
Some athletes transfer from one 4-year university to another, while others progress from a 2-year college to a 4-year university. Athletes who did not reach their desired university upon graduating high school can also improve their academic standing, physical condition, and athletic record to move on to a different university.
One of the gateways to this is the NJCAA.
A community college is neither a dead end nor just a detour. It is another starting point for moving on to the next opportunity.
What is the NJCAA?
NJCAA is the abbreviation for the National Junior College Athletic Association.
It oversees sports primarily for 2-year higher education institutions, such as community colleges and junior colleges.
As of 2026, approximately 500 member schools and about 3,400 teams participate in 28 sports, conducting 57 national championships annually.Although not as well-known in Japan as the NCAA, it is not a small peripheral organization. It is a major athletic foundation that supports college sports across the United States.
However, not all 2-year college sports in the US belong to the NJCAA.
There are other governing organizations, such as the CCCAA in California and the NWAC in the Northwest. While the term ‘JUCO’ is often used to refer to 2-year college sports as a whole, it is accurate to understand the NJCAA as one of the central organizations.
The NJCAA’s official guidance clearly outlines the path of being recruited by NCAA or NAIA 4-year universities after competing, and transferring to continue both academics and athletics. On the other hand, it also warns that recruitment and scholarships from 4-year universities are not guaranteed.
Herein lies the essence of the NJCAA.
The next door is prepared. However, whether you can pass through it depends on what you have built up over those two years.
Why not go to a 4-year university from the start?
There is more than one reason why promising athletes choose 2-year colleges.
1. You can keep tuition costs down
The most obvious reason is cost.
According to the College Board, the average published tuition and fees for the 2025-26 academic year were $4,150 per year for public 2-year colleges attended by in-district students, and $11,950 for public 4-year universities attended by in-state students.
Of course, the actual burden varies depending on scholarships, place of residence, room and board. Even so, if you can study for the first two years at a relatively low cost and transfer your earned credits to a 4-year university, you can reduce the total cost of obtaining a bachelor’s degree.
The US Department of State’s EducationUSA also introduces the ‘2+2’ pathway of earning credits at a 2-year college and then advancing to a 4-year university. Transferring is a method of advancement built into US higher education, not limited to athletes.
2. Preparing Academic Standing and Credits
Some athletes do not meet the academic requirements of their desired NCAA schools by the time they graduate high school. If they lack the necessary subjects, GPA, or number of credits, they cannot advance even if they have the athletic ability.
At NJCAA schools, students can take college courses, earn credits, and rebuild their academic records. For international students who need to adapt to an English-speaking environment, small-group education and flexible admission systems can serve as a runway period.
However, the ‘do-over’ referred to here does not mean the past is erased. When transferring to a four-year university, transcripts from all previously attended colleges, transferable credits, GPA, completed coursework, and enrollment history will be verified.
Going to a junior college does not mean you can bypass academic requirements. It is about rebuilding the state of being able to learn at the next university while at the junior college.
3. Getting Playing Time
For athletes who were not highly evaluated in high school, those who matured physically late, or those who need to change positions, what they lack most is game footage and a track record.
Even if they advance to a strong four-year university, if they cannot get playing time behind upperclassmen or top recruits, they will not gain the material to demonstrate their value. In the NJCAA, they can get into games early on to create game footage, statistics, and physical data to show to coaches at four-year universities.
Updating high school evaluations with college achievements—the NJCAA is also an athletic marketplace for that purpose.
4. Changing Environments and Starting Over
There are also cases where athletes who have already advanced to a four-year university move to a two-year college due to reasons such as playing opportunities, academics, lifestyle, or team compatibility.
This path is called a ‘4-2-4 transfer.’ It is a form where one moves from a four-year university to a two-year college, and then advances to another four-year university from there.
When one choice does not work out, instead of ending their athletic career, they downsize their environment to rebuild. The NJCAA accommodates not only the direct route from high school but also fresh starts while already enrolled in college.
The NJCAA Also Has Three Divisions
The NJCAA also has Divisions I, II, and III. However, this is not a ranking of athletic ability. The biggest difference is what they can cover as athletic scholarships.
What is important is that Division I does not mean everyone receives a full scholarship. The maximum allowed by the system and the amount each university can actually provide are different. Depending on the athletic department’s budget and the scholarship quota for each sport, some athletes may receive partial scholarships, while others may not receive athletic scholarships at all.
Even in Division III, financial aid based on the same academic standards or economic circumstances as general students can be utilized. This is the same concept as NCAA Division III.
In other words, the NJCAA is not sustained solely by low costs.
It is a place where athletes build their next path by combining low tuition, athletic scholarships, and general financial aid.
The True Meaning of ‘Free Transfers’
In the United States, transferring between universities is more common than in Japan.
Universities have agreements for credit transfer, and a system is in place for students to progress from two-year colleges to four-year universities.
However, this does not mean you can transfer to any university you like whenever you want.
Will the transfer destination accept your credits? Have you taken the courses required for your major? Do you meet the necessary GPA? Do you have remaining athletic eligibility? Can the coach fit you onto the roster? Are there scholarship spots available?
Academic transfer and athletic eligibility are verified separately.
The NCAA also provides dedicated guides and Division-specific flowcharts for transfers from two-year colleges. This indicates that transferring is not an exceptional accident, but a path anticipated by the system. At the same time, it also shows that there are many conditions that must be met.
Furthermore, in June 2026, Division I adopted a new model that organizes athletic eligibility based on age and enrollment duration. It will be fully applied to athletes who first enroll full-time in a university from the fall of 2027 onwards, and in principle, the maximum five-year eligibility period begins from either the first full-time enrollment at a university or the academic year starting after their 19th birthday, whichever comes first. Transitional measures are in place for those enrolling in the 2026-27 academic year and for current athletes.
Even with this change, the NJCAA does not become a place where you can ‘stop time.’ The time spent at a two-year college is also included within your athletic career.
That is precisely why you must simultaneously manage classes, credits, physical conditioning, game participation, and recruitment to the next university.
It is not free because there are no conditions.
It is because if you meet the conditions, you can re-enter through a different door.
Athletes who advanced from two-year colleges to the top
The value of the NJCAA should not be measured solely by the success of famous athletes. Even so, to understand how the system functions, the paths taken by athletes who passed through it are easy to follow.
Here, in addition to two individuals who played in the NJCAA, we will also feature two who advanced from universities belonging to the CCCAA as examples representing US two-year college sports as a whole.
Aaron Rodgers — The unrated QB who created his own footage
When Aaron Rodgers graduated from high school, he did not receive sufficient evaluation from major universities and went to Butte College, which was close to his hometown.
However, Butte College is not an NJCAA member, but a member of the CCCAA, which oversees two-year college sports in California. Rodgers is not an ‘NJCAA alumnus.’ Nevertheless, he is a symbolic example for understanding the entire JUCO route of building a track record and footage at a two-year college to advance to a four-year university.
After playing there for one season, he transferred to the University of California, Berkeley (Cal). University official articles report that Cal discovered Rodgers when they were watching footage to check on another player at Butte.
Rodgers later became an NFL MVP, and in 2019, he made a large donation to Cal and established the ‘Aaron Rodgers Football Scholarship’ to support junior college transfers like himself.
The evaluation at the high school level is not the final evaluation. If you play in games and leave behind footage, the possibility of being discovered is born. Rodgers’ path demonstrates the basic function of two-year college sports, including the NJCAA.
Josh Allen — The QB who built a path to a scholarship from scratch
Josh Allen also did not receive any sports scholarship offers from FBS schools when he graduated from high school. So, he went to his local Reedley College in California.
Reedley is also not an NJCAA member, but a member of the same CCCAA as Butte College. In the 2014 season, Allen led the team’s offense to an average of 452.2 yards per game and recorded 26 touchdown passes. At the time, this figure was tied for 7th among junior college QBs in California.
Based on that track record, he received a scholarship offer from the University of Wyoming and transferred. In the 2018 NFL Draft, he was selected 7th overall by the Buffalo Bills, and in the 2024 season, he won the NFL MVP.
If Rodgers was a QB discovered by chance from another player’s footage, Allen was a QB who built up his stats at a two-year college and rebuilt his evaluation from scratch.
Even if you don’t have a scholarship out of high school, one season at a college becomes the next material for evaluation. Allen’s path shows that a two-year college is not just a waiting room, but a stage for athletes to put themselves back on the market.
Cam Newton — A Year to Rebuild His Career
Cam Newton left the University of Florida and moved to Blinn College. In 2009, he threw for 2,833 yards and 22 touchdowns, and also recorded 655 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground. He led the team to an 11-1 record and an NJCAA National Championship.
The following year, he transferred to Auburn University and won the Heisman Trophy and the national championship.
For Newton, his year at Blinn was not just a period of playing at a lower level. It was a year to get playing time, build a track record, and return to the center of college football.
Jimmy Butler — From Unknown to Securing a Scholarship
When Jimmy Butler graduated from high school, he received almost no attention from major universities and went on to Tyler Junior College.
In 2007-08, he averaged 18.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists, and was selected as an NJCAA Honorable Mention All-America. That achievement led to his transfer to Marquette University on a scholarship, and he later became a representative player in the NBA.
What is important in Butler’s case is that the junior college did not temporarily house a finished star. An unknown player showed his value in games and entered the four-year university scholarship market for the first time.
The paths of the four are not the same.
Rodgers was discovered from footage. Allen built up his stats and rebuilt his evaluation. Newton changed his environment and rebuilt himself. Butler built a track record and earned a scholarship.
Two-year college sports, including the NJCAA, are not a single story, but a system that accepts multiple fresh starts.
However, not everyone can climb back up.
If you only list success stories, the NJCAA might look like a sure path to four-year powerhouses or the pros.
In reality, some athletes finish their competitive careers in two years. Some athletes never get a call from the universities they hope for. In some cases, credits do not transfer, extending the time until graduation. Even if there is a scholarship, it does not necessarily cover all living expenses.
The NJCAA itself clearly states that recruitment and scholarships from the NCAA and NAIA are not guaranteed.
Therefore, the value of junior colleges should not be measured solely by the number of professional athletes they produce.
Earning an associate degree. Transferring to a four-year university. Receiving vocational training. Continuing to compete while keeping tuition costs low locally. Finding a career path after one’s athletic career ends.
These are also successes supported by the NJCAA.
The NJCAA from the University’s Perspective
From an administrative standpoint, sports also serve as a mechanism to support student recruitment and retention at two-year colleges.
If there is an athletic department, students can be recruited from outside the local area. Students can be given a sense of belonging as part of a team from the moment they enroll. Games connect the university with families, alumni, and local residents. A track record of transfers to four-year universities becomes a promotional asset that attracts the next generation of high school students.
On the other hand, coaches, facilities, travel, safety management, and scholarships all cost money. Simply increasing the roster size does not lead to educational or management success.
What matters is not how many students were recruited, but how many earned credits, graduated, and moved on to the next university or job.
NJCAA sports are not merely an athletic business.
They are an educational infrastructure designed to welcome students to the university, keep them there, and send them off to their next destination.
The difference from Japan is not that one can fail
From a Japanese perspective, it appears that American athletes can easily transfer between universities.
However, the real difference is not the number of transfers.
Even if one’s evaluation upon graduating high school is low, one can accumulate credits and achievements at a different school. Even if the first university is not a good fit, one does not have to end both their education and their athletic career. There is a system in place to carry over what was earned at a two-year college to the next university.
In other words, what the American system recognizes is not ‘unconditional movement’.
It is about not closing off future possibilities based on a single choice.
The NJCAA is not a place to save losers.
It is a place that provides time and games for athletes whose evaluations are not yet settled, students who need time to prepare, and young people who want to change their environment and get back on track, so that they can be evaluated once again.
Junior colleges are not below four-year universities.
They are on the path leading to a four-year university.
In the next installment, Part 4, we will look at the NAIA, a 4-year college sports organization separate from the NCAA. There, we find another college sports market that also functions as a transfer destination from the NJCAA.
