by our College Data Analytics Team
Picking a college for your sport means looking beyond the field or court. Our ranking highlights 25 colleges for Men’s Basketball by academic-athletic quality, using our 2026 methodology.
So you can compare your options, College Factual evaluates each program using 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: University of Miami tops our 2026 ranking of the best colleges for Men's Basketball. This private not-for-profit school is set in Coral Gables, FL. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 994, and a 92% Graduation Success Rate. About 67% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. The program generates about $1,276,083 in revenue per athlete, against $1,026,182 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $38,474. University of Florida landed the #2 spot for Men's Basketball. Based in Gainesville, FL, University of Florida is a public institution. The team's NCAA APR score is 983, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. The federal graduation rate stands at 46%. Team revenue averages $958,778 per participant, against $745,985 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $23,180 per athlete. Florida Atlantic University landed the #3 spot for Men's Basketball. This public school is set in Boca Raton, FL. The team's NCAA APR score is 995, alongside a GSR of 100%. About 33% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $321,975, against $321,975 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $16,971. Florida State University is one of the top schools for Men's Basketball, at #4. This public school is set in Tallahassee, FL. Florida State University records an NCAA APR of 988, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. About 50% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. The program generates about $909,849 in revenue per athlete, against $909,849 in expenses. The school awards about $13,364 in athletic aid per athlete.1
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University of Central Florida came in at #5 on this year's ranking for Men's Basketball. This public school is set in Orlando, FL. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 977, alongside a GSR of 85%. Its federal graduation rate is 63%. Team revenue averages $488,251 per participant, compared with $488,251 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $25,195.5
Rollins College landed the #6 spot this year. Based in Winter Park, FL, Rollins College is a private not-for-profit institution. Team revenue averages $61,564 per participant, against $61,564 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $11,632. Eckerd College ranked #7 on our 2026 list for Men's Basketball. Located in Saint Petersburg, FL, Eckerd College is a private not-for-profit institution. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $61,235, against $61,235 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $16,706 per athlete. University of South Florida did well this year, earning the #8 position. University of South Florida is a public school based in Tampa, FL. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 978, and a 90% Graduation Success Rate. About 25% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. The program generates about $535,462 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $535,462 per participant. The school awards about $15,287 in athletic aid per athlete. University of North Florida landed the #9 spot this year. Based in Jacksonville, FL, University of North Florida is a public institution. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 1000, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. The federal graduation rate stands at 54%. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $110,795, against $110,795 in expenses. The school awards about $8,675 in athletic aid per athlete.6
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Nova Southeastern University landed the #10 spot this year. This private not-for-profit school is set in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Team revenue averages $85,627 per participant, compared with $85,627 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $13,636.10
Florida Southern College did well this year, earning the #11 position. Based in Lakeland, FL, Florida Southern College is a private not-for-profit institution. Team revenue averages $81,188 per participant, compared with $81,188 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $8,785 per athlete. Florida Institute of Technology landed the #12 spot this year. Florida Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit school based in Melbourne, FL. The program generates about $63,303 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $63,303 per participant. Athletic aid averages $13,103 per athlete. Florida International University did well this year, earning the #13 position. This public school is set in Miami, FL. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 967, and a 77% Graduation Success Rate. Its federal graduation rate is 38%. The program generates about $177,914 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $177,914 per participant. The school awards about $16,058 in athletic aid per athlete. Jacksonville University did well this year, earning the #14 position. This private not-for-profit school is set in Jacksonville, FL. The team's NCAA APR score is 957, alongside a GSR of 93%. Its federal graduation rate is 44%. The program generates about $149,594 in revenue per athlete, compared with $149,594 spent per athlete. The school awards about $14,287 in athletic aid per athlete.11
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Florida Gulf Coast University ranked #15 on our 2026 list for Men's Basketball. Florida Gulf Coast University is a public school based in Fort Myers, FL. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 951, alongside a GSR of 85%. Its federal graduation rate is 25%. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $148,181, with expenses of about $148,181 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $18,812.15
Stetson University placed #16 among the best colleges for Men's Basketball. Based in DeLand, FL, Stetson University is a private not-for-profit institution. Stetson University records an NCAA APR of 958, and a 67% Graduation Success Rate. About 27% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. Team revenue averages $139,069 per participant, against $139,069 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $17,035. University of West Florida did well this year, earning the #17 position. University of West Florida is a public school based in Pensacola, FL. Team revenue averages $43,589 per participant, with expenses of about $44,283 per participant. The school awards about $7,536 in athletic aid per athlete. Lynn University placed #18 among the best colleges for Men's Basketball. Based in Boca Raton, FL, Lynn University is a private not-for-profit institution. The program generates about $47,772 in revenue per athlete, against $47,772 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $12,987 per athlete. Palm Beach Atlantic University landed the #19 spot this year. Based in West Palm Beach, FL, Palm Beach Atlantic University is a private not-for-profit institution. The program generates about $39,690 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $37,357 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $10,383.16171819
Flagler College did well this year, earning the #20 position. This private not-for-profit school is set in Saint Augustine, FL. Team revenue averages $54,035 per participant, with expenses of about $54,035 per participant. The school awards about $9,076 in athletic aid per athlete.20
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University placed #21 among the best colleges for Men's Basketball. This public school is set in Tallahassee, FL. The team's NCAA APR score is 902, with a Graduation Success Rate of 68%. The federal graduation rate stands at 67%. The program generates about $31,250 in revenue per athlete, against $74,366 in expenses. The school awards about $11,235 in athletic aid per athlete. Barry University came in at #22 in this year's ranking. Based in Miami, FL, Barry University is a private not-for-profit institution. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $39,048, compared with $39,048 spent per athlete. The school awards about $10,733 in athletic aid per athlete. Saint Leo University came in at #23 in this year's ranking. Based in Saint Leo, FL, Saint Leo University is a private not-for-profit institution. The program generates about $20,582 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $16,591 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $5,812. Bethune-Cookman University did well this year, earning the #24 position. Based in Daytona Beach, FL, Bethune-Cookman University is a private not-for-profit institution. Bethune-Cookman University records an NCAA APR of 949, alongside a GSR of 75%. Its federal graduation rate is 17%. Team revenue averages $123,175 per participant, compared with $123,175 spent per athlete. The school awards about $6,940 in athletic aid per athlete. Edward Waters University landed the #25 spot this year. Based in Jacksonville, FL, Edward Waters University is a private not-for-profit institution. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $13,048, with expenses of about $13,048 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $4,248.21
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*These averages are for the top 25 ranked colleges only.
This list is compiled by College Factual, 2026 edition. Rankings consider 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
Read more about our data sources and methodologies.