Have a Friend on the Team wrote:
They give athletes they want academic scholarships or other grants when athletic scholarships are not available. The bottom line is Oregon is not going to miss out on someone because of a scholarship limit. If there's someone they want they find a way to get the athlete the money they need whether they are really deserving of an academic scholarship or not.
The only financial aid that does not count towards a teams scholarship total number (12.6 for men, 18 for women IIRC) is a university sponsored honors scholarship/grand/aid package. How that is designated by the university varies greatly.
When Vin was at Stanford, due to the outstanding academics and "destination" status of the university, many phenomenal potential student-athletes wanted in and were able to be awarded university honors scholarships (thus not counted towards the 12.6 or 18 scholarship limits). Many other very good academically qualified (but not honors type) and athletically studly kids were put on athletic scholarships.
At one point in the late 90's, Stanford had something like 20-25 kids on the men's team getting full scholarships from either academic honors or athletics.
Vin played the system like an orchestra.