Is it possible to have college without athletics? The rest of the world pretty much thinks so. But we’re in the United States where college sports is a big business and can be a major selling point for universities. Students are interested in watching big time sports and the shared identity. For players it’s the next step, often the only or final step, in their athletic careers. For better or worse, sports play a major role in college education.
Students interested in big time college sports will find that there are plenty of 50-50 schools to consider. In the NCAA Division 1, the biggest and most competitive division in collegiate athletics, over a third of schools meet the qualification for the 50-50 list
Among the 32 NCAA D1 conferences, all but four have at least 1 50-50 school. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) had the most with 12 schools followed by the Pac12 with 11. The Atlantic 10 and Big 10 tied with 10 each.
In terms of percentage of NCAA D1 conference members qualifying as 50-50 schools, the SEC still leads at 86%, followed by the Metro Atlantic at 82% and the American East at 78%. In 15 conferences, at least half of the schools met the 50-50 requirements. Students looking for D1 colleges on the 50-50 list have plenty of choices.
The following table list NCAA D1 50-50 colleges by conference. As usual, the four-year graduation rate is used for private schools and the five-year rate is used for public schools. Since schools and conferences change yearly, some of the data may not be accurate.
50-50 NCAA D1 Colleges with Graduation Rates
