Lindenwood University, Cornell University and Harvard University reported the most students participating in athletics in 2016, according to a Higher Education Tribune analysis of federal data.
The U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education collects data, including participation tallies, from from all institutions with intercollegiate athletics programs that receive funding through federal financial aid programs. Data for 2016 – the latest year available – includes more than 2,000 schools nationwide.
Altogether, the top 100 athletic programs have 71,188 student athletes – or 12.5 percent of the 569,475 student athletes reported by all schools that year.
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100 schools with most student athletes participation
School | State | Total undergraduates | Male athletes | Female athletes | All athletes | |
1 | Lindenwood University | MO | 6,755 | 742 | 459 | 1,201 |
2 | Cornell University | NY | 14,461 | 646 | 486 | 1,132 |
3 | Harvard University | MA | 6,931 | 649 | 483 | 1,132 |
4 | Ohio State University | OH | 41,666 | 549 | 501 | 1,050 |
5 | Princeton University | NJ | 5,236 | 610 | 428 | 1,038 |
6 | Robert Morris University Illinois | IL | 2,253 | 665 | 314 | 979 |
7 | University of Michigan | MI | 27,833 | 472 | 469 | 941 |
8 | Dartmouth College | NH | 4,230 | 485 | 428 | 913 |
9 | University of California-Berkeley | CA | 28,107 | 518 | 395 | 913 |
10 | Brown University | RI | 6,556 | 462 | 429 | 891 |
11 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | NC | 17,828 | 463 | 427 | 890 |
12 | University of Pennsylvania | PA | 10,231 | 517 | 373 | 890 |
13 | Stanford University | CA | 7,032 | 446 | 405 | 851 |
14 | Yale University | CT | 5,468 | 490 | 354 | 844 |
15 | Pennsylvania State University | PA | 39,883 | 474 | 347 | 821 |
16 | University of Mount Union | OH | 2,100 | 575 | 246 | 821 |
17 | Sacred Heart University | CT | 4,793 | 399 | 418 | 817 |
18 | Columbia University in the City of New York | NY | 7,552 | 472 | 333 | 805 |
19 | Midland University | NE | 1,168 | 540 | 262 | 802 |
20 | Ithaca College | NY | 6,099 | 440 | 351 | 791 |
21 | Limestone College | SC | 2,156 | 558 | 226 | 784 |
22 | SUNY Cortland | NY | 6,187 | 459 | 320 | 779 |
23 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | WI | 28,201 | 391 | 384 | 775 |
24 | Missouri Valley College | MO | 1,329 | 484 | 289 | 773 |
25 | Indiana Institute of Technology | IN | 4,302 | 477 | 294 | 771 |
26 | University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | MN | 28,782 | 383 | 378 | 761 |
27 | Carthage College | WI | 2,644 | 502 | 256 | 758 |
28 | Williams College | MA | 2,044 | 427 | 317 | 744 |
29 | Tufts University | MA | 5,414 | 415 | 326 | 741 |
30 | Boston College | MA | 9,486 | 358 | 378 | 736 |
31 | St Lawrence University | NY | 2,341 | 424 | 310 | 734 |
32 | University of St Thomas | MN | 5,774 | 475 | 256 | 731 |
33 | Bucknell University | PA | 3,525 | 360 | 361 | 721 |
34 | Michigan State University | MI | 35,280 | 371 | 342 | 713 |
35 | University of Notre Dame | IN | 8,480 | 414 | 295 | 709 |
36 | Middlebury College | VT | 2,496 | 384 | 314 | 698 |
37 | University of Virginia | VA | 15,420 | 361 | 334 | 695 |
38 | The University of Findlay | OH | 2,561 | 370 | 323 | 693 |
39 | Grand View University | IA | 1,643 | 465 | 226 | 691 |
40 | University of Iowa | IA | 20,690 | 347 | 344 | 691 |
41 | Indiana University-Bloomington | IN | 31,884 | 368 | 321 | 689 |
42 | University of California-Los Angeles | CA | 30,329 | 311 | 377 | 688 |
43 | Johns Hopkins University | MD | 5,589 | 404 | 275 | 679 |
44 | Bates College | ME | 1,780 | 394 | 283 | 677 |
45 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | MA | 4,444 | 388 | 287 | 675 |
46 | Mt San Antonio College | CA | 9,984 | 468 | 205 | 673 |
47 | Utica College | NY | 2,730 | 413 | 257 | 670 |
48 | Duke University | NC | 6,449 | 394 | 274 | 668 |
49 | College of the Holy Cross | MA | 2,689 | 373 | 294 | 667 |
50 | Saint Ambrose University | IA | 2,187 | 451 | 215 | 666 |
51 | Trinity College | CT | 2,132 | 403 | 261 | 664 |
52 | Augustana College | IL | 2,514 | 435 | 227 | 662 |
53 | Colby College | ME | 1,879 | 364 | 296 | 660 |
54 | Georgetown University | DC | 6,874 | 384 | 275 | 659 |
55 | Lindsey Wilson College | KY | 1,984 | 439 | 219 | 658 |
56 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | NY | 6,197 | 415 | 241 | 656 |
57 | Springfield College | MA | 2,082 | 414 | 241 | 655 |
58 | Ohio Northern University | OH | 2,047 | 445 | 205 | 650 |
59 | Tiffin University | OH | 1,748 | 445 | 203 | 648 |
60 | University of Connecticut | CT | 18,538 | 334 | 314 | 648 |
61 | Benedictine University | IL | 2,687 | 428 | 217 | 645 |
62 | Iowa Central Community College | IA | 2,732 | 490 | 155 | 645 |
63 | Stevenson University | MD | 3,065 | 419 | 225 | 644 |
64 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | NJ | 33,939 | 323 | 316 | 639 |
65 | McKendree University | IL | 1,820 | 403 | 233 | 636 |
66 | Bowdoin College | ME | 1,798 | 358 | 277 | 635 |
67 | Colorado Mesa University | CO | 7,252 | 421 | 211 | 632 |
68 | The University of Alabama | AL | 29,071 | 295 | 336 | 631 |
69 | North Central College | IL | 2,534 | 439 | 190 | 629 |
70 | Rochester Institute of Technology | NY | 12,231 | 375 | 254 | 629 |
71 | Villanova University | PA | 6,469 | 301 | 328 | 629 |
72 | Adrian College | MI | 1,604 | 381 | 247 | 628 |
73 | Gustavus Adolphus College | MN | 2,219 | 393 | 232 | 625 |
74 | Lehigh University | PA | 4,990 | 359 | 265 | 624 |
75 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | MA | 21,340 | 347 | 273 | 620 |
76 | Monmouth University | NJ | 4,484 | 374 | 245 | 619 |
77 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | MA | 4,214 | 391 | 228 | 619 |
78 | SUNY College at Brockport | NY | 6,375 | 379 | 239 | 618 |
79 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | WA | 28,165 | 338 | 279 | 617 |
80 | Merrimack College | MA | 3,295 | 308 | 308 | 616 |
81 | Morningside College | IA | 1,293 | 376 | 240 | 616 |
82 | Concordia University-Nebraska | NE | 1,205 | 378 | 237 | 615 |
83 | University of Delaware | DE | 17,736 | 273 | 340 | 613 |
84 | Marian University | IN | 1,761 | 404 | 208 | 612 |
85 | University of Louisville | KY | 12,325 | 289 | 322 | 611 |
86 | Arizona State University-Tempe | AZ | 38,761 | 328 | 280 | 608 |
87 | Franklin and Marshall College | PA | 2,222 | 355 | 251 | 606 |
88 | Notre Dame College | OH | 1,247 | 405 | 201 | 606 |
89 | University of Indianapolis | IN | 3,589 | 397 | 207 | 604 |
90 | Wesleyan University | CT | 2,912 | 363 | 241 | 604 |
91 | Marist College | NY | 4,964 | 349 | 254 | 603 |
92 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | NE | 19,381 | 336 | 266 | 602 |
93 | Mercyhurst University | PA | 2,402 | 378 | 222 | 600 |
94 | Baldwin Wallace University | OH | 3,013 | 436 | 163 | 599 |
95 | Missouri Baptist University | MO | 1,433 | 365 | 233 | 598 |
96 | The University of Texas at Austin | TX | 37,026 | 305 | 292 | 597 |
97 | West Virginia Wesleyan College | WV | 1,362 | 350 | 247 | 597 |
98 | Loras College | IA | 1,400 | 383 | 213 | 596 |
99 | Norwich University | VT | 2,445 | 413 | 182 | 595 |
100 | University of Wisconsin-Whitewater | WI | 10,046 | 328 | 266 | 594 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education