LaMelo Ball Launches College Scholarship Program, School Matters!

LaMelo Ball may not need school, but the NBA star is stressing the importance of an education for others ... by kickstarting his very own 4-year scholarship program!!

The 20-year-old Charlotte Hornets superstar announced the big plan on Wednesday ... saying he'll help one lucky student looking to study sports management or communication/marketing at Long Island University's Roc Nation School of Music, Sports and Entertainment in Fall 2022.

Students with a 1100 SAT score (or 22 on the ACT score) are eligible ... and the app requires a written essay on what the LaMelo Scholarship will mean to them 10 years down the road.

The scholarship will come with some sweet perks -- the Roc Nation school prides itself in its variety of industry resources to help students prepare for the real world.

Ball says he decided to give back in hopes of helping the youth succeed ... just like he did when he entered the league in 2020.

"I want to encourage the next generation of sports executives and leaders to follow their dreams just like I did to make it to the NBA," LaMelo tells TMZ Sports.

"I’m fortunate to have the means and public platform to support others, so I want to do my part and create a lane for a student to get a strong education and be in position to make a meaningful impact in the sports industry."

Of course, Ball recently spoke out about his own educational experience ... saying "school not even teaching you s***" ... but later clarified he didn't mean that was the case for EVERYONE.