Participation is up 55% over the past decade, with soccer, wrestling and tennis driving the latest gains. 

NEW YORK, NY — Hispanic Heritage Month, observed Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 each year, arrives with Hispanic/Latino student-athlete participation at its highest point on record across the NCAA.

The record-breaking number — 38,778 — reflects a decade of steady expansion rather than a single-year surge. Participation has grown 55% since 2015-16, adding nearly 14,000 student-athletes across all three divisions.

While the year-over-year change is relatively flat, sports like men’s wrestling, men’s golf and women’s beach volleyball all posted gains of more than 8%, while men’s soccer again added more total Hispanic/Latino student-athletes than any other sport between 2024-25 and 2025-26.

The data below, drawn from NCAA research demographics and sports sponsorship and participation data submitted annually by member schools, highlights the continued rise and achievements of Hispanic/Latino student-athletes across the Association.

Growth in Hispanic/Latino student-athlete participation

In 2025-26, there were 38,778 Hispanic/Latino student-athletes, making up 7% of the total student-athlete population. Over the past five years, participation has grown by 7,472 student-athletes (23.9%), and over the past decade by 13,786 (55.2%).

Top sports by total number of Hispanic/Latino student-athletes

Sports with the highest percentage of Hispanic/Latino student-athletes

Sports with the biggest percentage growth of Hispanic/Latino student-athletes*

One-year growth (2024-25 to 2025-26):

Men’s sports, percentage growth

• Wrestling: 8.9%.
• Golf: 8.3%.
• Tennis: 6.9%.

Women’s sports, percentage growth

• Beach volleyball: 28%.
• Wrestling: 18%.
• Acrobatics and tumbling: 12%.

Five-year growth (2020-21 to 2025-26):

Men’s sports, percentage growth

• Golf: 51%.
• Tennis: 44%.
• Indoor track and field: 41%.

Men’s sports, total participant growth

• Soccer: 1,151.
• Football: 706.
• Indoor track and field: 572.

Women’s sports, percentage growth

• Wrestling: 206%.
• Acrobatics and tumbling: 129%.
• Field hockey: 62%.

Women’s sports, total participant growth

• Indoor track and field: 487.
• Soccer: 476.
• Outdoor track and field: 340.

10-year growth (2015-16 to 2025-26):

Men’s sports, percentage growth

• Lacrosse: 93%.
• Wrestling: 91%.
• Volleyball: 80%.

Men’s sports, total participant growth

• Soccer: 1,877.
• Football: 1,266.
• Baseball: 1,252.

Women’s sports, percentage growth

• Beach volleyball: 171%.
• Field hockey: 139%.
• Lacrosse: 98%.

Women’s sports, total participant growth

• Soccer: 991.
• Indoor track and field: 775.
• Outdoor track and field: 713.

*Sports with fewer than 100 Hispanic/Latino student-athletes in 2025-26 are excluded from the percentage-change lists.

Graduation Success Rates

Hispanic/Latino student-athletes continue to excel in the classroom. Their Division I Graduation Success Rate stands at 89%, up 25 percentage points from the first year of GSR data in 2002, when the rate was 64%. The gains are even steeper among Hispanic/Latino men, whose GSR has climbed from 56% to 85% over that span, while Hispanic/Latina women have moved from 79% to 93%.

Information Courtesy of The NCAA

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