Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

AffordableSchools.net Releases Its Ranking of Ideal U.S. Colleges and Universities for Student Athletes for 2015

  • 08/24/15

SUNNYVALE, CA – AffordableSchools.net (affordableschools.net), an independent college search and rankings site that centers on unique and affordable offerings within higher education, has released a ranking of the 25 Best Colleges for Student Athletes in America.

Stanford University (CA) leads the ranking, which was compiled by looking at the number of NCAA team sport national championships each school has at the division one level, as well as the academic prestige of the school as noted by other top ranking sites. The University of California Los Angeles (CA) and the University of Southern California (CA) ranked as second and third, respectively.

Other schools in the ranking include (in alphabetical order):

  • Duke University (Durham, NC)
  • Indiana University (Bloomington, IN)
  • Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, LA)
  • Ohio State University (Columbus, OH)
  • Oklahoma State University (Stillwater, OK)
  • Pennsylvania State University (State College, PA)
  • Princeton University (Princeton, NJ)
  • University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, AR)
  • University of California–Berkeley (Berkeley, CA)
  • University of Denver (Denver, CO)
  • University of Florida (Gainesville, FL)
  • University of Georgia (Athens, GA)
  • University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign, IL)
  • University of Iowa (Iowa City, IA)
  • University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
  • University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI)
  • University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, NC)
  • University of Notre Dame (South Bend, IN)
  • University of Texas (Austin, TX)
  • University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA)
  • University of Wisconsin (Madison, WI)
  • Yale University (New Haven, CT)

According to Raj Dash, managing editor at AffordableSchools.net, “While perhaps the centerpiece of fandom, the assumption that the best schools for athletes in America are generally large flagship state schools with potentially less-than-rigorous academics is misplaced. When looking across the wide range of male, female, and coed sports, many of the nation's top performing schools are also many of the most academically rigorous.”

Many of the nation's top schools are also the oldest, allowing them to have developed long lineages of sending student athletes to the Olympics, or on to win individual or team NCAA titles. Notable trends include the inclusion of eight Big Ten teams, four California schools (including all of the top three), four SEC teams, three ACC teams, and two Ivy League Schools. In total, the ranking looked at the top 60 universities in terms of total NCAA team and individual titles, in the end narrowing them down to the top 25 schools in regards to academic rigor as well as athletic performance in the nation.

AffordableSchools.net (affordableschools.net) is an independent college search and rankings site with a focus on affordable colleges and programs within higher education. It publishes a number of rankings series focusing on affordable bachelor's degrees (various topics), affordable bachelor's degree colleges by state, affordable online degree programs, resource lists and much more.

Featured

  • FGCU Breaks Ground on New Health Sciences Building

    Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) has launched construction on a major new academic facility that leaders say will reshape healthcare education in Southwest Florida for decades to come, according to university news.

  • Planning with Clarity: Using AI to Make Better Campus Decisions, Not Just Better Designs

    Higher education leaders are being asked to make increasingly high-stakes decisions about campus facilities amid greater uncertainty than ever before. Social and economic pressures, shifting enrollment, and evolving learning models compete with growing deferred maintenance needs to strain even the most robust infrastructure budgets.

  • University of Kansas Breaks Ground on Entrepreneurship Hub

    The University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new KU Entrepreneurship Hub, according to university news. The Hub is part of the university’s School of Business and will include spaces for experiential learning and programming.

  • Universities Continue to Launch Multimillion-Dollar Campus Transformations

    What makes the current wave of campus development especially noteworthy is its emphasis on multi-use functionality and community integration. Institutions are no longer investing solely in academic or athletic facilities in isolation. Instead, they are creating destinations that blend recreation, health, housing, and event-driven economic activity.