Scholarships

The DYB Scholarship Program Selection Process

The founders of DYB, Inc.desired to develop a college scholarship program that would help former players obtain a college education. The first eligible players graduated in 1961, one $500 scholarship and one $250 scholarship were awarded. And from its modest beginning, the scholarship program has grown to an impressive venture in awarding scholarships to college freshmen. - DYB began awarding one hundred (100) $2,000 scholarship awards in 2019 and is committed to continuing to award 100 scholarships annually.

DYB funds its scholarship program through interest on funds earmarked for DYB scholarships, late fees and new donations received annually, and any surplus funds transferred from the program’s general operating fund.

The annual deadline for submitting completed scholarship applications is March 1st . After the applications are submitted to the DYB Scholarship Chairman, a copy of each scholarship application is sent to each member on the DYB Scholarship Committee. The eleven-member DYB Scholarship Committee is composed of eleven National Board members, one from each of the eleven (11) DYB participating states.

Qualifications are simple; actually, there is only one qualification - the person must have at one time played in a Dixie Youth Baseball franchised league, prior to reaching age 13. There is no relationship between the award of a scholarship and athletic ability. The committee gives weight to such factors as financial need, scholastic record, and citizenship.

After the deadline, the DYB Scholarship Committee members begin the arduous task of reviewing each of the 400-500 applications that are received annually. Each committee member reviews all applications and submits a ballot ranking the top 100 candidates and five alternates. All eleven Committee ballots are compiled, and the weighted average ranking of each scholarship applicant is computed. The applicants with the highest weighted average ranking are awarded the 100 scholarships awards. Five alternates are designated in case one of the scholarships is not accepted.

The Scholarship Chairman notifies the Scholarship Committee members of 100 scholarship winners and then notifies the full DYB Board of Directors of the winners in time for plans to be made for the recognition of the recipients at a "High School Awards Day" ceremonies or during a DYB baseball tournament. Scholarship plaques are ordered for each recipient.

Prior to April 1, the DYB Scholarship Committee completes the selection process. Each scholarship recipient is notified of their award in a congratulatory letter from the Scholarship Chairman. Each awardee is requested to return a scholarship acceptance letter confirming the spelling of their name, provide a picture suitable for publication, and asking them to contact their school for their Student ID# or Account # and the correct address of the school’s financial aid office where the scholarship check is to be sent. The acceptance letter must be received before the money is sent to the school.

The Scholarship Chairman sends a letter for each recipient to his school along with a $2,000 check which is deposited into the account of each student at the school. These funds may be used for tuition, books, room & board, school equipment or school supplies. The school is notified that if the student does not remain enrolled at the school, the unused portion shall be returned to the DYB Scholarship Fund. If the student enrolls in another school, the returned funds will be sent to the new school. If the student does not request funds to be sent to another school, the unused funds are deposited into the DYB Scholarship Fund.

If the student goes into the military or has a health issue that delays his enrollment in school, the Scholarship Committee has authorized those funds to be placed in a deferred account to be used when the recipient does enroll in school in the future. If the student has a full ride as an undergraduate student, he/she may request these funds to be deferred for use in graduate school.