Boys vs. Girls: Same Sport, Different College Participation Rate

In the NCAA's own table, a girl and a boy playing the same high school sport are not counted against the same ratio, and in most sports the girls' ratio is the higher one.

That is a statement about two published percentages, not about any one athlete. Here is how the NCAA builds those percentages, which sports split which way, and one worked example that shows why the gap exists in the numbers.

What the NCAA's percentage is

The NCAA describes its method this way: "High school-to-NCAA percentages were calculated by dividing the number of NCAA participants in 2024-25 by the number of HS participants in that same year." The high school counts come from the National Federation of State High School Associations survey, and the NCAA notes that "data from club teams not included." The table is published separately for men's and women's sports, and for any NCAA division and Division I specifically.

So each percentage is a ratio of two head counts for one sport and one gender. A different head count on either side changes it.

Which sports split which way

Eleven sports appear in both the men's and the women's table. In the 2024-25 table, the any-division percentage is higher for women in nine of them and higher for men in two (lacrosse and tennis):

Sport	Women, any division	Men, any division	Women, Division I	Men, Division I
Basketball	4.7%	3.6%	1.4%	1.1%
Cross Country	8.0%	6.4%	3.3%	2.2%
Golf	6.9%	5.4%	2.7%	1.8%
Ice Hockey	32.1%	14.1%	9.3%	5.2%
Lacrosse	14.0%	14.7%	4.4%	3.4%
Soccer	7.9%	5.9%	2.8%	1.4%
Swimming	9.4%	8.5%	4.2%	3.3%
Tennis	4.0%	4.7%	1.4%	1.5%
Track & Field	6.5%	5.4%	2.8%	1.9%
Volleyball	4.0%	3.6%	1.3%	0.6%
Water Polo	7.4%	5.7%	4.5%	3.3%

At the Division I level the women's percentage is higher in ten of the eleven; tennis is the exception, at 1.4% for women and 1.5% for men.

The gaps are not uniform. Swimming differs by 0.9 percentage points at any division; ice hockey differs by 18.0. Volleyball's two pools differ greatly in size: the NCAA table lists 492,799 women and 95,972 men in high school volleyball.

A worked example: soccer

Soccer shows how a higher percentage can appear with a smaller pool. All figures are the NCAA's 2024-25 counts.

	High school players	NCAA players	Ratio
Women's soccer	393,048	31,200	31,200 ÷ 393,048 = 7.9%
Men's soccer	484,908	28,746	28,746 ÷ 484,908 = 5.9%

Women's soccer has 91,860 fewer high school players than men's soccer (484,908 − 393,048), and 2,454 more NCAA players (31,200 − 28,746). A smaller number on the bottom and a larger number on top produce the higher percentage. Nothing in the table says why the counts differ; the table only reports them.

What a higher percentage does not tell you

A higher percentage is not a sign that a sport is easier, and a lower one is not a sign that it is harder. The percentage describes a whole population of high school players, and says nothing about any individual athlete's talent, position or region. Women's ice hockey, at 32.1%, comes from the smallest pool in the whole table: 9,589 high school players. Men's lacrosse, at 14.7%, comes from 113,696.

The NCAA also states that the calculation "assumes that high school and college rosters are turning over at roughly the same rate," and that the data do not account for multi-sport high school athletes or club team participation. Those limits apply to every row above.

Where this fits in a family's math

The percentage is half of a comparison. The other half is what the family spends and what a scholarship pays. The NCAA reports that Division I and II programs combined award nearly $4.0 billion in athletics scholarships a year to 197,000 student-athletes, roughly $20,305 per athlete per year. That is an all-sport, Division I and II figure; the NCAA does not publish a per-sport dollar amount, so there is no scholarship figure specific to soccer or to either gender.

To see the table for your own sport and gender, any division and Division I side by side, use the NCAA Probability by Sport tool. For how the table is built and how to read any division against Division I, see our guide on what the real probability of playing in college is.

This guide is informational only and is not financial or recruiting advice. These are population base rates for 2024-25, not a forecast for any individual athlete. Last reviewed: October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Is the college rate higher for girls than for boys in every sport?

No. In the NCAA's 2024-25 table the any-division percentage is higher for women in nine of the eleven sports listed for both genders, and higher for men in lacrosse (14.7% versus 14.0%) and tennis (4.7% versus 4.0%).

Why is women's ice hockey's percentage so high?

It is the NCAA's 3,074 women's ice hockey players divided by 9,589 high school players, which gives 32.1%. The high school pool is the smallest in the table, so the ratio is large; it does not describe any individual player.

Does the table count club or travel team players?

No. The NCAA says the high school figures come from the NFHS survey and that data from club teams are not included.

Can I use these percentages to predict my child's outcome?

No. They are shares of a whole population of high school athletes in one year, and they say nothing about an individual athlete's talent, position or region.

Sources

• NCAA, Estimated probability of competing beyond high school (2024-25 figures).
• NCAA, Recruiting Fact Sheet (scholarship aggregate).

Informational only, not financial or recruiting advice. Figures are averages and statistical illustrations, not a prediction or promise for any individual athlete or family.

Last reviewed: October 2026 · Against primary sources cited in the body.