Nearly every young basketballer knows the path that Steven Adams and Charlisse Leger-Walker took when combining basketball with study. Not as many know that there is a viable option much closer to home at Lincoln University in Canterbury.
LU’s Basketball Sports Scholarships cover $6,000 in tuition fees for a full-time course of study each year, as well as providing intensive, sport-specific training delivered by the University’s Sport Scholarship team, and specialist Basketball Coaches.
Other services included in the Basketball Sports Scholarship programme are strength and conditioning, nutrition for sporting performance, mental skills and sports specific skill coaching. Lincoln University Sport Scholars also receive individual performance planning – including technical and tactical development, game analysis, goal setting and long-term career planning services. Accommodation and textbooks/course related costs are the responsibility of the applicant if successful.
The university says its basketball scholarships can be quite flexible, with athletes able to compete (including for teams in the National or Tauihi Basketball Leagues) and study. 2024-2025 saw ten current or former LU scholars signed and playing for a team in their respective National League, or NBL1. Lauryn Hippolite (pictured above) played for the Tall Ferns while on a LU Basketball Scholarship.
Graduates walk away with a well-respected degree from a bona-fide educational institution, the ability to play professionally while studying if they’re contracted, and friends and family being closer than they otherwise might be. LU is focused on having well-rounded individuals come out of their programmes, with sport being one important part of this.
About a third of the athletes selected for Lincoln University scholarships have studied, or explored studying, in the USA. These scholars have decided to attend LU, which they felt was more beneficial to their long-term plans. Some have transferred their papers over, with others undertaking post-graduate study once completing their degree in the USA.
CBA Community Basketball Manager James Lissaman says, “Even if a player is planning to head over to the USA to play college basketball, the knowledge of an alternative pathway in Aotearoa that they can take is valuable, and the selection committee looks very favourably upon athletes who re-apply if given an initial LU offer. The advice therefore is definitely to find out about the courses of study at LU, and apply if you are interested.”
There is no cost to apply to study at LU, and for a scholarship, with applications for Basketball Scholarships closing on 15 August 2025. You can apply via the Lincoln University Website.
Lincoln University has the longest-running university sports scholarship programme in New Zealand and can claim Lauryn Hippolite (basketball), Richie McCaw (rugby), Sam Whitelock (rugby), Kyle Jamieson (cricket), and Amy Satterthwaite (cricket) amongst previous students who have been through the scholarship programme.
After applying for the scholarship and submitting all the necessary documents to LU, applicants should submit video of themselves playing (highlights and a full game) to james@canterbury.basketball
These LU scholarships are only available for NZ/Australian Citizens or Permanent Residents, with offers being sent out in mid-October.
