NCAA Participate Rates

Below is a cut/paste of a recent NCAA article about participation rates.  Nothing earth shattering, and unlike my usual SOP, I am not bashing anything.  Just wanted to share some interesting numbers about NCAA athletics.  Link to article is here.

NCAA student-athlete participation hits 450,000

By Gary Brown
NCAA.org

The number of NCAA student-athletes participating in intercollegiate athletics surpassed 450,000 in 2011-12, an all-time high.

Participation levels for both male and female student-athletes were the highest in NCAA history, with total at 453,347 student-athletes participating in sports for which the NCAA conducts championships, according to the NCAA’s Sports Sponsorship and Participation Rates report.

The 2011-12 report, the 30th since the NCAA began compiling these data annually, also includes sport-sponsorship data showing that the number of NCAA championship sport teams last academic year – 18,561 – exceeded the previous all-time high of 18,314 in 2010-11. The increase came from both genders, with 154 more women’s teams and 93 more men’s.

As for the participation numbers, male student-athletes make up 56.8 percent of the total, but the gap between the percentage of males and females has decreased over time. In 1981-82, when the NCAA began tracking participation rates annually, males composed 72.2 percent of the student-athlete population. Ten years later, the percentages were 66 male and 34 female. The current 57-43 gap has held steadily for the past decade.

Sport sponsorship data show increases in both genders

The proportion of male to female student-athletes is highest in Division II with 59.1 percent of participants being male. In Division I, the proportion has been slightly decreasing for men with 54.5 percent being male in 2008-09 and 53.7 percent being male in 2011-12.

Football is the primary reason for the male majority. More than 69,600 football players participated last year, while the highest number of participants in a female sport was outdoor track with just slightly more than 26,200. Soccer, the second-place sport in terms of female participation, featured more than 25,000 players in 2011-12.

Sport sponsorship increases

In 2011-12, just as in 2009-10 and 2010-11, 53.0 percent of the championship sport teams were women’s teams. More women’s teams than men’s have been sponsored every year since the 1996-97. The number of women’s teams has increased each year for the past 30 years.

The number of men’s teams has decreased two of the last 10 years but has been steadily increasing since 2003-04 and is at a record high in 2011-12.

Among other highlights in the 2011-12 report:

• In 2011-12, just as in the past three years, the average NCAA member institution sponsored approximately 17 teams, eight for men and nine for women. The trend of sponsoring more teams for women than for men began in the 1997-98 academic year. Compared to the 1981-82 academic year, the average NCAA school now sponsors approximately two more women’s teams and one less men’s team.
• Since the 1981-82 academic year, there have been more women’s basketball teams sponsored than any other women’s team. Volleyball, cross country, soccer, softball, tennis, and track and field are the next most highly sponsored sports for women, in that order. A look at each division separately reveals the same general trend in sponsorship of specific women’s sports, with basketball being the most common, although cross country is nearly as common as basketball in Division I.
• As is the case with women’s sports, there have been more men’s basketball teams sponsored than any other men’s sport. The next most highly sponsored sports for men are, in order, cross country, baseball, golf, soccer, tennis, outdoor track and field, football and indoor track and field. A look at each division separately reveals the same top eight sports, but with some variation in the order. For example, men’s soccer is sponsored nearly as often as basketball in Division III, but in Division II, men’s soccer is the fifth most sponsored team.
• Traditionally, women’s track and field had more female student-athletes than any other women’s sport. But since the 1999-00 academic year, women’s soccer now has replaced indoor track and field, but not outdoor track and field, as the sport with the most female student-athletes. Softball, basketball, volleyball, cross country, swimming and diving, and tennis follow in that order.
• Since 1981-82, football has had the most participants of any men’s sport, and in 2011-12 that trend continues with football having more than twice as many participants as baseball. The next highest participation levels for men are in indoor and outdoor track and field, soccer, basketball and cross country.
• Last year, 187 men’s teams and 231 women’s teams were added at NCAA member institutions. Since 1988-89, there have been 3,450 men’s teams added and 4,872 women’s teams added with each specific academic year having more women’s teams added than men’s. In 2011-12, golf and outdoor track and field were the most-added women’s sports (24 each), followed by lacrosse, cross country, soccer, indoor track and field, and tennis. The women’s sport that has been added the most since 1988-89 is soccer (655 new programs).
• The sports with the highest numbers of men’s teams added in 2011-12 were outdoor track and field and cross country with 19 new programs each, followed by indoor track and field, soccer and lacrosse. The men’s sport that has been added the most since 1988-89 is indoor track and field with 442 new teams. Some of the other sports with large numbers of men’s teams added since 1988-89 are cross country, golf, outdoor track and field, tennis, swimming and diving, and lacrosse.
• In 2011-12, there were 68 men’s teams and 46 women’s teams dropped at NCAA schools. Since 1988-89, there have been 2,816 men’s teams dropped and 1,989 women’s teams dropped with each specific academic year having more men’s teams dropped than women’s teams, except the 2010-11 year when 10 more women’s teams than men’s teams were dropped.
• In 2011-12, the sport with the highest number of women’s teams dropped was golf with eight, followed by swimming and diving, cross country and bowling. The women’s sport that has been dropped the most since 1988-89 is indoor track and field with 230 programs eliminated. Some other women’s sports with large numbers of teams dropped since 1988-89 are, in order, cross country, golf, tennis, and outdoor track and field.
• The sport with the highest number of men’s teams dropped in 2011-12 was golf with 12 teams eliminated, followed by wrestling and cross country. The men’s sport that has been dropped the most since 1988-89 is indoor track and field with 299 teams discontinued. Some of the other sports with large numbers of men’s teams dropped are wrestling, tennis, golf, cross country, and outdoor track and field.

Student-athlete participation (five-year increments)

Association-wide
Year	Schools	Males	Females	Total
1981-82	752	167,055	64,390	231,445
1986-87	792	187,561	89,640	277,201
1991-92	847	183,675	94,922	278,597
1996-97*	994	199,391	129,289	328,680
2001-02*	1,036	209,890	153,601	363,491
2006-07*	1,064	230,259	172,534	402,793
2011-12*	1,096	257,690	195,657	453,347
Division I
Year	Schools	Males	Females	Total
1981-82	276	73,742	26,461	100,203
1986-87	291	83,124	36,602	119,726
1991-92	298	81,417	38,572	119,989
1996-97*	307	82,555	52,151	134,706
2001-02*	324	84,532	65,032	149,564
2006-07*	327	86,688	71,473	158,161
2011-12*	340	91,357	78,616	169,973
Division II
Year	Schools	Males	Females	Total
1981-82	192	35,548	14,158	49,706
1986-87	185	34,418	17,521	51,939
1991-92	218	36,692	18,974	55,666
1996-97*	289	44,274	26,129	70,403
2001-02*	290	45,181	30,021	75,202
2006-07*	296	52,441	36,083	88,524
2011-12*	314	63,587	44,077	107,664
Division III
Year	Schools	Males	Females	Total
1981-82	284	57,765	23,771	81,536
1986-87	316	70,019	35,517	105,536
1991-92	331	65,566	37,376	102,942
1996-97*	398	72,562	51,009	123,571
2001-02*	422	80,177	58,548	138,725
2006-07*	441	91,130	64,978	156,108
2011-12*	442	102,746	72,964	175,710

Sponsorship for selected sports (teams; all divisions; 10-year increments)

Women’s sports
Basketball
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	705	93.8	9,624	13.7
1991-92	847	810	95.6	10,879	13.4
2001-02	1,036	1,017	98.2	14,524	14.3
2011-12	1,096	1,084	98.9	16,134	14.9
Cross country
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	417	55.5	4,612	11.1
1991-92	847	677	79.9	7,794	11.5
2001-02	1,036	928	89.6	12,008	12.9
2011-12	1,096	1,035	94.4	15,483	15.0
Field hockey
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	268	35.6	5,701	21.3
1991-92	847	213	25.1	4,474	21.0
2001-02	1,036	252	24.3	5,296	21.0
2011-12	1,096	266	24.3	5,742	21.6
Golf
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	125	16.6	1,060	8.5
1991-92	847	162	19.1	1,687	10.4
2001-02	1,036	451	43.5	3,447	7.6
2011-12	1,096	596	54.4	4,752	8.0
Gymnastics
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	179	23.8	2,063	11.5
1991-92	847	96	11.3	1,268	13.2
2001-02	1,036	89	8.6	1,440	16.2
2011-12	1,096	83	7.6	1,440	17.3
Lacrosse
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	105	14.0	2,648	25.2
1991-92	847	122	14.4	2,858	23.4
2001-02	1,036	249	24.0	5,326	21.4
2011-12	1,096	376	34.3	8,482	22.6
Rowing
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	43	5.7	1,187	27.6
1991-92	847	56	6.6	1,547	27.6
2001-02	1,036	140	13.5	6,191	44.2
2011-12	1,096	145	13.2	7,282	50.2
Soccer
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	80	10.6	1,855	23.2
1991-92	847	350	41.3	7,459	21.3
2001-02	1,036	868	83.8	19,467	22.4
2011-12	1,096	996	90.9	25,164	25.3
Softball
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	416	55.3	7,465	17.9
1991-92	847	605	71.4	10,117	16.7
2001-02	1,036	895	86.4	15,514	17.3
2011-12	1,096	976	89.1	18,505	19.0
Swimming and diving
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	348	46.3	6,218	17.9
1991-92	847	394	46.5	7,830	19.9
2001-02	1,036	478	46.1	10,279	21.5
2011-12	1,096	527	48.1	12,206	23.2
Outdoor track and field
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	427	56.8	9,217	21.6
1991-92	847	561	66.2	12,246	21.8
2001-02	1,036	697	67.3	18,433	26.4
2011-12	1,096	801	73.1	26,227	32.7
Volleyball
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	603	80.2	8,418	14.0
1991-92	847	762	90.0	9,934	13.0
2001-02	1,036	974	94.0	13,107	13.5
2011-12	1,096	1,047	95.5	15,890	15.2
Men’s sports
Baseball
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	642	85.4	17,229	26.8
1991-92	847	713	84.2	21,204	29.7
2001-02	1,036	866	83.6	26,343	30.4
2011-12	1,096	927	84.6	31,999	34.5
Basketball
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	741	98.5	11,578	15.6
1991-92	847	814	96.1	12,855	15.8
2001-02	1,036	990	95.6	15,883	16.0
2011-12	1,096	1,060	96.7	17,890	16.9
Cross country
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	650	86.4	8,966	13.8
1991-92	847	706	83.4	9,478	13.4
2001-02	1,036	858	82.8	10,840	12.6
2011-12	1,096	960	87.6	13,991	14.6
Football
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	497	66.1	40,733	82.0
1991-92	847	546	64.5	49,793	91.2
2001-02	1,036	617	59.6	58,090	94.1
2011-12	1,096	651	59.4	69,643	107.0
Golf
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	590	78.5	6,355	10.8
1991-92	847	610	72.0	6,837	11.2
2001-02	1,036	754	72.8	7,631	10.1
2011-12	1,096	812	74.1	8,533	10.5
Gymnastics
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	79	10.5	1,367	17.3
1991-92	847	40	4.7	604	15.1
2001-02	1,036	23	2.2	371	16.1
2011-12	1,096	17	1.6	341	20.1
Lacrosse
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	138	18.4	4,193	30.4
1991-92	847	160	18.9	5,087	31.8
2001-02	1,036	211	20.4	6,551	31.0
2011-12	1,096	295	26.9	10,903	37.0
Soccer
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	521	69.3	12,957	24.9
1991-92	847	581	68.6	14,580	25.1
2001-02	1,036	734	70.8	18,559	25.3
2011-12	1,096	803	73.3	22,987	28.6
Swimming and diving
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	377	50.1	7,746	20.5
1991-92	847	367	43.3	7,684	20.9
2001-02	1,036	388	37.5	7,307	18.8
2011-12	1,096	413	37.7	9,229	22.3
Outdoor track and field
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	577	76.7	18,806	32.6
1991-92	847	580	68.5	18,214	31.4
2001-02	1,036	657	63.4	20,382	31.0
2011-12	1,096	735	67.1	26,416	35.9
Volleyball
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	63	8.4	878	13.9
1991-92	847	58	6.8	925	15.9
2001-02	1,036	81	7.8	1,115	13.8
2011-12	1,096	98	8.9	1,529	15.6
Wrestling
Year	Schools	Teams	% total members	Athletes	Squad size
1981-82	752	363	48.3	7,914	21.8
1991-92	847	275	32.5	6,819	24.8
2001-02	1,036	231	22.3	5,943	25.7
2011-12	1,096	219	20.0	6,622	30.2