John McGlashan College has advertised a sports scholarship at its school, while St Kevin's College in Oamaru was also looking for pupils to take up sports scholarships.
Otago Boys' offered sports scholarships and Gore High School offered rugby scholarships last year.
New Zealand Secondary Sports Council operations manager Des Smith, of Dunedin, said what was happening now in terms of sport scholarships was more open than it used to be.
"They are a bit more prevalent now down here but as long as they are advertised then we have no problem with them," he said.
"Schools are looking not only at attracting kids in sport but in a whole lot of things and are using incentives to get pupils into their school."
He said most scholarships were not a lot of money but could cover part of hostel fees or other school fees.
Smith said many schools saw sport as an important part of a pupil's education, and it was seen as similar to having computers in schools or a good library.
It was too simplistic to say money spent on sport was money taken away from other areas in education.
"Sport and academic success to me goes hand in hand . . . For many schools, sporting success is what they are about."
Otago Boys' High School rector Clive Rennie said the school had $10,000 to hand out annually for sport scholarships and had been running this scheme for about three years.
He said pupils had to join the school before they could be considered for the scholarships.
It was not strictly rugby players that would be considered for the scholarships.
He said boys placed a lot of emphasis on sport and viewed it as a viable career.
Rennie was also chairman of the New Zealand Secondary Sports Council and said the council was constantly setting rules and making sure people and schools stuck by them.
He said it was hard to believe some of the figures that he had heard about being spent on sport in some schools in the North Island.
"The rules are being bent by schools which are trying to build their own teams. It is really difficult when we set our rules up and we are dependent on the integrity of some principals to follow them. Some of them do not do that."
Rennie said some schools in Auckland were arguing with the council all the time on the restrictions put on players who are new to a school.
Sporting success for some schools earned great kudos in the North Island, he said.
"But you have boys who start school at year 9 who have ambitions to be part of the first sporting team. That is then taken away from them.
"That is not looking after your own. That is not the community spirit we are after."
Rennie said it had got worse since he joined the council in 1997.
"Lately we have spent far too much of our own time trying to prevent cheating. It is not getting any easier."
John McGlashan College principal Mike Corkery said the scholarship for his school came about after its food supplier Eurest wanted to contribute some money.
He said it was simply a helping hand to someone to come to the school.
It was an opportunity for a pupil rather than a strategy set up by the school.
