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NCAA Recruiting Facts
College sports create a pathway to opportunity for student-athletes.
Graduation rate for
student-athletes
include those who
transfer from one
school to another.
Revised Fall 2023:
The number of schools
for each division is
current as of the
2023-24 academic
year. This does not
include reclassifying,
provisional or
exploratory schools.
Student-athlete
participation numbers
include NCAA
championship sports
only and are current
as of the 2022-23
academic year.
* Each division also
participates in 11
cross divisional
National Collegiate
Championships.
Want to
play NCAA
sports?
Visit ncaa.org/
playcollegesports
Division I
On average, Division I schools
enroll the most students,
manage the largest athletics
budgets, offer a wider variety
of academic programs and
provide the most athletics
scholarships and additional
financial support.
Division II
Division II provides growth
opportunities through
academic achievement, high-
level athletics competition and
community engagement.
Many participants are first-
generation college students.
Division III
The Division III experience
provides an integrated
environment that focuses
on academic success while
offering competitive
athletics and meaningful
nonathletics opportunities.
PARTICIPATION
188,373
Student-Athletes
351
Colleges and Universities
ATHLETICS
SCHOLARSHIPS
58%
of all student-athletes
receive some level of
athletics aid.
ACADEMICS
2023 Graduation
Success Rate
OTHER STATS
8,500
Median Undergraduate
Enrollment
19
Average Number of Teams
per School
5%
Percentage of Student
Body Participating in Sports
26
*
Division I National
Championships
PARTICIPATION
133,059
Student-Athletes
293
Colleges and Universities
ATHLETICS
SCHOLARSHIPS
67%
of all student-athletes
receive some level of
athletics aid.
ACADEMICS
2023 Academic
Success Rate
OTHER STATS
2,300
Median Undergraduate
Enrollment
16
Average Number of Teams
per School
11%
Percentage of Student
Body Participating in Sports
25
*

Division II National
Championships
PARTICIPATION
202,230
Student-Athletes
430
Colleges and Universities
FINANCIAL AID
80%
of all student-athletes
receive some form of
academic scholarship or
need-based grant.
ACADEMICS
2023 Academic
Success Rate
OTHER STATS
1,700
Median Undergraduate
Enrollment
19
Average Number of Teams
per School
17%
Percentage of Student
Body Participating in Sports
28
*

Division III National
Championships
88%76%89%90%

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NCAA is a trademark of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. December 2023.
Facts About NCAA Sports
Does the NCAA award athletics
scholarships?
Individual schools award athletics scholarships. NCAA
Division I and II schools provide more than $3.8 billion in
athletics scholarships annually to over 195,000 student-
athletes. While Division III schools do not offer athletics
scholarships, 80% of Division III student-athletes receive
some form of merit or need-based financial aid.
Do many high school athletes earn
athletics scholarships?
Very few, in fact. Only about 2% of high school athletes are
awarded athletics scholarships to compete in college.
Do NCAA student-athletes have difficulty
meeting graduation requirements with the
time demands of their sport?
Overall, student-athletes graduate at higher rates than their
peers in the student body, and those rates rise each year.
Click here for more information on graduation rates.
Do many NCAA student-athletes go on to
play professionally?
Of the student-athletes participating in college sports with
professional leagues, less than 2% become professional
athletes. In reality, most student-athletes depend on academics
to prepare them for life after college. Education is important.
There are over 500,000 NCAA student-athletes, and most of
them will go pro in something other than sports.
Estimated Probability Of Competing In Athletics Beyond High School
All Sports
Men’s
Basketball
Women’s
Basketball
Football Baseball
Men’s
Ice Hockey
High School
Student-Athletes
7,200,000 540,800 399,100 1,006,000 482,700 35,300
NCAA Student-Athletes 499,000 18,800 16,500 73,700 36,000 4,300
High School to NCAA 7% 3.5% 4.1% 7.3% 7.5% 12.3%
NCAA to Major
Professional*
2% 1.2% 0.8% 1.6% 9.9% 7.4%
*Percent NCAA to major professional figures are based on the number of draft picks made in the NBA, WNBA, NFL, MLB and NHL drafts.
More than 500,000 Student-Athletes
20,000 Teams
3 Divisions

1 Association