Note: This site will shut down at the end of 2026: Due to the dismantling of the US Department of Education, many of the data collection and reporting functions that the department historically conducted are either being severely impacted or discontinued entirely. While we source and integrate data from a number of sources, the data historically provided by the Department is / was a key component in our compilation process. The data currently on this site will remain available during 2026 but will not be updated.
77 US Colleges sponsor varsity Equestrian teams:
| Division | # of teams | % of teams | Total Athletes | % of Athletes | Average Roster | Scholarship limit | Average Scholarship * |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCAA I |  | 20 | | 26% | | 798 | | 39% | | 40 | | 50 | | 16,567 |
| NCAA II | 2 | 3% | 41 | 2% | 20 | 15 | 6,825 | |||||||
| NCAA III | 15 | 19% | 339 | 16% | 23 | - | ||||||||
| IHSA | 40 | 52% | 893 | 43% | 22 | - | ||||||||
| Totals | 77 | 100% | 2,071 | 100% | 27 |
Equestrian is an emerging women’s sport for NCAA I and II schools and an equivalency sport for NCAA II scholarship purposes, so partial scholarships can be awarded to meet the limit per school. For example, an NCAA II school can award 30 participants each a 1/2 scholarship and still meet the limit of 15 per team. The National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) is the governing body for schools competing in NCAA sanctioned equestrian. Many NCAA member schools compete within the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) and are not subject to the NCAA scholarship limits. There are no men’s varsity teams, however some equestrian teams are coed. NCAA I Scholarship limits for 2025-26 have been significantly increased as part of the House v NCAA settlement.
* Average Athletic Scholarship is the average annual amount of athletically related student aid per athlete for ALL varsity sports sponsored by the specific school. Some athletes receive full awards, some receive partial and many receive none. Additionally some sports within a school may be fully funded, some partially and some sports provide no athletic scholarships.
Stats & Links to all US Colleges sponsoring varsity Equestrian teams:
Hover over individual states on the map below to see how many schools sponsor varsity Equestrian programs. The table following the map has information on each sponsoring school and links to all 77 team sites.
Schools sponsoring varsity Equestrian teams 2024-25
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