by our College Data Analytics Team
Picking a college for your sport means looking beyond the field or court. Our ranking highlights 90 schools for Men’s Basketball by academic-athletic quality, using our 2026 methodology.
So you can compare your options, 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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Learn more about these schools below:
No school ranked higher than Amherst College this year for Men's Basketball. Based in Amherst, MA, Amherst College is a private not-for-profit institution. Team revenue averages $25,886 per participant, compared with $25,886 spent per athlete. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
Williams College is one of the top schools for Men's Basketball, at #2. Based in Williamstown, MA, Williams College is a private not-for-profit institution. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $15,299, compared with $15,299 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Bowdoin College came in at #3 on this year's ranking for Men's Basketball. This private not-for-profit school is set in Brunswick, ME. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $19,878, with expenses of about $18,873 per participant. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Tufts University is one of the top schools for Men's Basketball, at #4. Based in Medford, MA, Tufts University is a private not-for-profit institution. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $16,727, with expenses of about $15,706 per participant. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
Boston University landed the #5 spot for Men's Basketball. Located in Boston, MA, Boston University is a private not-for-profit institution. Boston University records an NCAA APR of 994, and a 93% Graduation Success Rate. Its federal graduation rate is 85%. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $214,024, with expenses of about $214,024 per participant. The school awards about $27,954 in athletic aid per athlete.
Middlebury College ranked #6 on our 2026 list for Men's Basketball. Based in Middlebury, VT, Middlebury College is a private not-for-profit institution. Team revenue averages $19,926 per participant, with expenses of about $19,926 per participant. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Bates College ranked #7 on our 2026 list for Men's Basketball. Bates College is a private not-for-profit school based in Lewiston, ME. Team revenue averages $31,027 per participant, compared with $25,370 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Colby College placed #8 among the best colleges for Men's Basketball. Based in Waterville, ME, Colby College is a private not-for-profit institution. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $21,853, against $21,853 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $0.
University of Connecticut ranked #9 on our 2026 list for Men's Basketball. Based in Storrs, CT, University of Connecticut is a public institution. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 1000, and a 92% Graduation Success Rate. About 67% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $1,551,948, against $1,551,948 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $20,776 per athlete.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology landed the #10 spot this year. Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit school based in Cambridge, MA. Team revenue averages $9,058 per participant, with expenses of about $9,058 per participant. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Babson College came in at #11 in this year's ranking. Based in Wellesley, MA, Babson College is a private not-for-profit institution. Team revenue averages $17,030 per participant, compared with $17,030 spent per athlete. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute ranked #12 on our 2026 list for Men's Basketball. Worcester Polytechnic Institute is a private not-for-profit school based in Worcester, MA. Team revenue averages $19,024 per participant, compared with $19,024 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Bentley University did well this year, earning the #13 position. Bentley University is a private not-for-profit school based in Waltham, MA. The program generates about $90,258 in revenue per athlete, against $87,006 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $8,029.
University of Vermont landed the #14 spot this year. This public school is set in Burlington, VT. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 1000, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. Its federal graduation rate is 82%. The program generates about $196,243 in revenue per athlete, compared with $196,250 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $12,164.
Quinnipiac University did well this year, earning the #15 position. Based in Hamden, CT, Quinnipiac University is a private not-for-profit institution. The team's NCAA APR score is 989, alongside a GSR of 100%. Its federal graduation rate is 67%. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $173,672, against $173,672 in expenses. The school awards about $27,084 in athletic aid per athlete.
Brandeis University came in at #16 in this year's ranking. Based in Waltham, MA, Brandeis University is a private not-for-profit institution. The program generates about $23,495 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $23,495 per participant. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
Boston College did well this year, earning the #17 position. Boston College is a private not-for-profit school based in Chestnut Hill, MA. Boston College records an NCAA APR of 1000, and a 89% Graduation Success Rate. Its federal graduation rate is 29%. The program generates about $664,754 in revenue per athlete, compared with $720,369 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $29,391 per athlete.
Northeastern University ranked #18 on our 2026 list for Men's Basketball. This private not-for-profit school is set in Boston, MA. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 989, alongside a GSR of 92%. Its federal graduation rate is 67%. Team revenue averages $284,724 per participant, compared with $284,724 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $24,558 per athlete.
Saint Anselm College placed #19 among the best colleges for Men's Basketball. Located in Manchester, NH, Saint Anselm College is a private not-for-profit institution. Team revenue averages $85,261 per participant, against $74,817 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $5,219 per athlete.
Connecticut College came in at #20 in this year's ranking. Based in New London, CT, Connecticut College is a private not-for-profit institution. The program generates about $14,770 in revenue per athlete, against $14,770 in expenses. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
College of the Holy Cross came in at #21 in this year's ranking. Located in Worcester, MA, College of the Holy Cross is a private not-for-profit institution. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 978, alongside a GSR of 100%. The federal graduation rate stands at 50%. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $174,981, against $174,981 in expenses. The school awards about $17,801 in athletic aid per athlete.
Fairfield University ranked #22 on our 2026 list for Men's Basketball. This private not-for-profit school is set in Fairfield, CT. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 968, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. About 40% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $196,107, compared with $196,107 spent per athlete. The school awards about $19,587 in athletic aid per athlete.
Emerson College placed #23 among the best colleges for Men's Basketball. This private not-for-profit school is set in Boston, MA. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $11,248, against $10,326 in expenses. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
Merrimack College landed the #24 spot this year. This private not-for-profit school is set in North Andover, MA. The team's NCAA APR score is 1000, with a Graduation Success Rate of 80%. Its federal graduation rate is 64%. Team revenue averages $135,845 per participant, with expenses of about $135,845 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $20,394.
Assumption University ranked #25 on our 2026 list for Men's Basketball. This private not-for-profit school is set in Worcester, MA. Team revenue averages $42,310 per participant, against $40,497 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $4,778.
These schools rounded out the top of the list:
*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
See our data sources and methodologies.