Athletic Scholarships

Scholarships for our outstanding Waves student-athletes help Pepperdine compete with pride—and create a foundation for success that will benefit our athletes wherever their futures lead.

Ever since the Waves fielded their very first men’s basketball team in December 1938, athletics have been a beloved part of Pepperdine’s campus life, uniting students and our entire University community around the superior achievements of our student-athletes. Despite being surrounded by top athletics programs in Southern California, Pepperdine has been able to maintain a tradition of excellence by recruiting talented competitors of commitment and character. Your support for athletics scholarships will help us continue to attract these outstanding young men and women, and further sharpen the Waves’ competitive edge in an era of transformative change for collegiate athletics.

Of more than 350 schools in NCAA Division I, fewer than 20 have won team national championships in at least five different men’s sports—and Pepperdine is one of them. Despite being the smallest member of that group by enrollment, as well as the only one that does not field a football program, our University can stand toe to toe with powerhouses such as Stanford; the University of California, Los Angeles; and the University of Southern California in terms of achievement. The scholarship opportunities that allow us to attract and retain world-class student-athletes are critical to ensuring that when the Waves stand among giants, they stand tall and proud.

Every athletic scholarship supports an exceptionally gifted athlete committed to Pepperdine’s ideals of purpose, service, and leadership—both on and off the field of play. With a Pepperdine education, these competitors will be poised for lifelong success whether they go pro in their sport or follow a completely different path.