Native American Student Athlete Participation Rises Sharply Across NCAA Divisions

The NCAA community is experiencing significant growth in the participation of Native American student athletes, who are increasingly making their mark across all three divisions. As we honor the diverse heritage and contributions of these individuals, the data for the 2024-2025 academic year demonstrates a compelling trend of rising engagement in college sports.

Over the past decade, the presence of American Indian and Alaska Native student athletes in the NCAA system has seen a remarkable increase. Total participation has climbed by 35%, adding 610 athletes between the 2014-2015 and 2024-2025 academic years. This rate of growth is more than double the overall NCAA student athlete growth rate of 17% during the same ten year span, highlighting the growing impact of this segment of the community.

In the 2024-2025 academic year, there were a total of 2,364 Native American student athletes competing across all NCAA divisions. The distribution of these athletes shows strong representation at all levels of competition:

• Division I: 686 student athletes
• Division II: 916 student athletes
• Division III: 762 student athletes

Sports with the Highest Native American Participation Numbers

While Native American student athletes compete in virtually every sport, certain programs show the highest total numbers in terms of raw participation.

On the men’s side, football remains the sport with the largest cohort of Native American athletes.

• Football: 417 student athletes
• Baseball: 168 student athletes
• Outdoor track and field: 161 student athletes

For women’s sports, the numbers are led by softball and track and field programs:

• Softball: 144 student athletes
• Outdoor track and field: 124 student athletes
• Indoor track and field: 114 student athletes

Sports with the Highest Percentage of Native American Student Athletes

Beyond raw numbers, an analysis of the percentage of Native American athletes within specific sport rosters reveals areas where the community makes up a particularly significant proportion of the total competition pool.

For men’s sports, wrestling and lacrosse lead the way:

• Wrestling: 0.62 percent (representing 55 student athletes)
• Lacrosse: 0.53 percent (representing 89 student athletes)
• Cross country: 0.50 percent (representing 77 student athletes)
• Football: 0.50 percent (representing 417 student athletes)

Women’s sports show high proportionate participation in winter sports and certain team sports:

• Ice hockey: 0.78 percent (representing 24 student athletes)
• Basketball: 0.67 percent (representing 112 student athletes)
• Wrestling: 0.67 percent (representing 11 student athletes)

All data referenced in this report regarding Native American student athletes includes American Indian and Alaska Native student athletes, as reported through the demographic research submitted by each NCAA member institution. The continuing upward trend in participation over the last decade underscores the increasing contributions and excellence of this group within college athletics.