by our College Data Analytics Team
Picking a college for your sport means looking beyond the field or court. We have ranked 20 schools for Men’s Basketball by academic-athletic quality, using our 2026 methodology.
To arm you with the information you need, College Factual weighs a blend of academic-athletic outcomes (NCAA Academic Progress Rate and Graduation Success Rate), athletic financial resources (team revenue, expenses, and aid per athlete from the EADA survey), and overall school quality, drawing on NCAA, U.S. Department of Education EADA, and IPEDS data. Learn more about our ranking methodology.
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Leading the list is University of Notre Dame, our #1 college for Men's Basketball. This private not-for-profit school is set in Notre Dame, IN. University of Notre Dame records an NCAA APR of 982, with a Graduation Success Rate of 100%. The federal graduation rate stands at 75%. Team revenue averages $779,135 per participant, against $779,135 in expenses. The school awards about $34,391 in athletic aid per athlete.
Indiana University-Bloomington landed the #2 spot for Men's Basketball. Based in Bloomington, IN, Indiana University-Bloomington is a public institution. The team's NCAA APR score is 994, alongside a GSR of 91%. Its federal graduation rate is 44%. Team revenue averages $2,751,388 per participant, against $1,674,654 in expenses. The school awards about $23,161 in athletic aid per athlete.
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is one of the top schools for Men's Basketball, at #3. Located in Terre Haute, IN, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit institution. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $17,550, with expenses of about $15,029 per participant. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
Purdue University-Main Campus is one of the top schools for Men's Basketball, at #4. Purdue University-Main Campus is a public school based in West Lafayette, IN. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 974, alongside a GSR of 75%. About 50% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $1,164,833, against $780,024 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $19,382 per athlete.
University of Evansville landed the #5 spot for Men's Basketball. This private not-for-profit school is set in Evansville, IN. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 972, with a Graduation Success Rate of 92%. About 60% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. The program generates about $200,801 in revenue per athlete, compared with $200,801 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $16,525 per athlete.
DePauw University ranked #6 on our 2026 list for Men's Basketball. Located in Greencastle, IN, DePauw University is a private not-for-profit institution. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $15,392, with expenses of about $15,392 per participant. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
Purdue University Fort Wayne did well this year, earning the #7 position. Based in Fort Wayne, IN, Purdue University Fort Wayne is a public institution. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 984, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. The federal graduation rate stands at 36%. Team revenue averages $228,055 per participant, with expenses of about $176,451 per participant. Athletic aid averages $7,345 per athlete.
Ball State University landed the #8 spot this year. This public school is set in Muncie, IN. The team's NCAA APR score is 967, with a Graduation Success Rate of 86%. Its federal graduation rate is 75%. Team revenue averages $185,641 per participant, compared with $185,641 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $16,206.
Butler University landed the #9 spot this year. Based in Indianapolis, IN, Butler University is a private not-for-profit institution. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 944, and a 83% Graduation Success Rate. The federal graduation rate stands at 75%. The program generates about $922,718 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $682,877 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $12,113.
Valparaiso University came in at #10 in this year's ranking. Based in Valparaiso, IN, Valparaiso University is a private not-for-profit institution. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 966, and a 92% Graduation Success Rate. The federal graduation rate stands at 50%. Team revenue averages $196,130 per participant, compared with $196,340 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $8,540.
Indiana State University came in at #11 in this year's ranking. Located in Terre Haute, IN, Indiana State University is a public institution. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 971, and a 91% Graduation Success Rate. Its federal graduation rate is 50%. Team revenue averages $185,874 per participant, compared with $185,874 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $9,961.
Earlham College landed the #12 spot this year. Earlham College is a private not-for-profit school based in Richmond, IN. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $14,790, compared with $14,790 spent per athlete. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
Trine University did well this year, earning the #13 position. Trine University is a private not-for-profit school based in Angola, IN. The program generates about $11,223 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $10,091 per participant. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
Indiana University-Indianapolis ranked #14 on our 2026 list for Men's Basketball. Indiana University-Indianapolis is a public school based in Indianapolis, IN. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 953, with a Graduation Success Rate of 100%. The federal graduation rate stands at 40%. The program generates about $173,757 in revenue per athlete, against $173,757 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $8,962.
Hanover College landed the #15 spot this year. This private not-for-profit school is set in Hanover, IN. Team revenue averages $15,672 per participant, with expenses of about $15,672 per participant. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
University of Indianapolis landed the #16 spot this year. University of Indianapolis is a private not-for-profit school based in Indianapolis, IN. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $63,939, compared with $63,939 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $9,002 per athlete.
University of Southern Indiana landed the #17 spot this year. This public school is set in Evansville, IN. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 953, and a 57% Graduation Success Rate. About 86% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. The program generates about $78,916 in revenue per athlete, compared with $78,916 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $6,037.
Franklin College ranked #18 on our 2026 list for Men's Basketball. Franklin College is a private not-for-profit school based in Franklin, IN. The program generates about $7,504 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $5,468 per participant. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
Purdue University Northwest did well this year, earning the #19 position. Based in Hammond, IN, Purdue University Northwest is a public institution. The program generates about $31,706 in revenue per athlete, compared with $31,706 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $3,013 per athlete.
Manchester University ranked #20 on our 2026 list for Men's Basketball. This private not-for-profit school is set in North Manchester, IN. Team revenue averages $8,258 per participant, against $7,755 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $0.
*These averages are for the top 25 ranked colleges only.
This ranking is produced by College Factual, 2026 edition. The methodology weighs a blend of academic-athletic outcomes (NCAA Academic Progress Rate and Graduation Success Rate), athletic financial resources (team revenue, expenses, and athletic aid from the federal EADA survey), and overall school quality. The current methodology measures academic-athletic quality and does not include team win/loss performance.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.