First off, there is a lot more money for college for academic scholarships and grants then for athletic scholarships. This can be a place for "this is what I learned" or "how does it work?"
NCAA I and II and NAIA (example DAK) can offer athletic scholarships. NCAA III (example MIAC conference) cannot offer athletic scholarships. Even if your college can offer athletic scholarships - it is my understanding that the conference will limit how many each school can offer. Many schools cannot afford to offer the limit.
So lets say that the NSIC has a limit of 10 basketball scholarships. Moorhead State might have 5 or 6 they can offer. These can be split. My understanding is UND had 10 scholarships last year. Football is even more out of whack. I am not sure if these scholarships cover all expenses of just tuition.
Can somebody define what a "full ride" means? My understanding is even this is different depending on the level and conference. Some levels (NAIA for example) might allow for all expenses to be covered (tuition and room and board) but the conference might limit a "full ride" to mean that total scholarships (athletic and academic) can only cover the tuition.
In any event, all colleges have academic scholarships. Most athletic departments rely on this to offer a better "package" to a recruit. Bottom line, if you are a good athlete and you have goods grades (including a good ACT score) you are much more attractive to a college. For the vast majority, it is the academic portion of college that stays with you for life. High school grades are more important than I thought. It could mean the difference of graduating from college with little or no debt or tens of thousands!