Student athletes have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. At College Factual, we're committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our Best Colleges for Division II Women's Basketball ranking.
After analyzing 276 schools in the United States, we came up with our list of those that offered the best educational experiences for D2 Women's Basketball athletes. Instead of depending on subjective information, we focus on objective factors to determine this ranking. These factors include such things as the athletic competitiveness of the school and the school's overall quality. This means that a school must provide students with a great education in addition to having a good sports team if it wants to rank well.
We know that one set of rankings doesn't always help you determine the best school for you, so we've created the ability to narrow your list by location as well as alternative rankings that prioritize different factors such as those of importance to online students or returning adults or those who value diversity and value for your money.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. If you're torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
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Top Colleges in the U.S. for D2 Women's Basketball athletes
Our 2023 rankings named Bentley University the best school for D2 Women’s Basketball athletes working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in Waltham, Massachusetts, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 1,266 bachelor’s degrees in .
The D2 Women’s Basketball team at Bentley made $1,203,510 in revenue, while incurring $1,122,018 in expenses. Happily, this means that the team turned a profit of $81,492.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. In addition to its great ranking here, Bentley is in the top 5% of all schools on our overall quality list.
Read full sports report on Bentley University
A rank of #2 on our list means Rollins College is a great place for D2 Women’s Basketball athletes working on their bachelor’s degree. Rollins College is a small private not-for-profit school located in Winter Park, Florida that handed out 666 bachelor’s degrees in .
The D2 Women’s Basketball team at Rollins brought home $885,478 in revenue in a single year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Rollins also is in the top 15% of our overall quality ranking.
Full Rollins College Sports Report
The excellent sports programs at Eckerd College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools for D2 Women’s Basketball athletes. Eckerd is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Saint Petersburg, Florida. It awarded 540 bachelor’s degrees in .
The D2 Women’s Basketball team at Eckerd brought home $681,584 in revenue in a single year.
In addition to its great ranking here, Eckerd is in the top 20% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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Out of the 276 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Adelphi University landed the #4 spot on the list. Adelphi University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in Garden City, New York that handed out 1,267 bachelor’s degrees in .
Speaking financially, the D2 Women’s Basketball team at Adelphi took home $570,400 in revenue.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Harding University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Colleges for D2 Women’s Basketball athletes list. Harding is a private not-for-profit institution located in Searcy, Arkansas. The school has a small population, and it awarded 801 bachelor’s degrees in .
Speaking financially, the D2 Women’s Basketball team at Harding took home $486,681 in revenue.
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With a ranking of #6, Augustana University did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Basketball ranking. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and it awarded 569 bachelor’s degrees in .
On the financial side of things, the D2 Women’s Basketball team at Augustana Sioux Falls made $727,391 in revenue.
Augustana Sioux Falls excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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With a ranking of #7, Michigan Technological University did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Basketball ranking. Michigan Tech is a public institution located in Houghton, Michigan. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 1,198 bachelor’s degrees in .
Michigan Tech brought in $708,776 while tallying up $706,525 in expenses for its D2 Women’s Basketball team. Happily, this means that the team turned a profit of $2,251.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Michigan Tech also is in the top 15% of our overall quality ranking.
Read full sports report on Michigan Technological University
Ashland University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Basketball list. Ashland University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Ashland, Ohio that handed out 697 bachelor’s degrees in .
Speaking financially, the D2 Women’s Basketball team at Ashland took home $726,567 in revenue.
Read full sports report on Ashland University
University of California - San Diego landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Basketball ranking. Located in La Jolla, California, the large public school awarded 9,422 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in .
The D2 Women’s Basketball team at UCSD brought home $2,024,814 in revenue in a single year.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. UCSD excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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With a ranking of #10, California Baptist University did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Basketball ranking. Located in Riverside, California, the fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 1,963 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in .
Cal Baptist brought in $2,264,553 while tallying up $2,232,422 in expenses for its D2 Women’s Basketball team. So, the team made money for the school, bringing in $32,131 in profit. The team has a respectable academic progress rate of 946.
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Western Washington University did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Basketball ranking, coming in at #11. WWU is a fairly large public school situated in Bellingham, Washington. It awarded 3,467 bachelor’s degrees in .
The D2 Women’s Basketball team at WWU brought home $842,123 in revenue in a single year.
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Molloy College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Basketball ranking. Rockville Centre, New York is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 910 students in .
The D2 Women’s Basketball team at Molloy made $305,866 in revenue, while incurring $293,402 in expenses. That boils down to a yearly profit of $12,464 for the sports team.
On top of its placing in this ranking, Molloy also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Read full sports report on Molloy College
Drury University landed the #13 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Basketball ranking. Drury University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Springfield, Missouri. It awarded 393 bachelor’s degrees in .
Speaking financially, the D2 Women’s Basketball team at Drury University took home $929,542 in revenue.
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Saint Anselm College did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Basketball ranking, coming in at #14. Located in Manchester, New Hampshire, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 611 bachelor’s degrees in .
The team at St. Anselm College took home $878,183 in revenue and paid out $870,744 in expenses in recent times. That boils down to a yearly profit of $7,439 for the sports team.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. St. Anselm College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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Regis University did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Basketball ranking, coming in at #15. Regis University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Denver, Colorado that handed out 756 bachelor’s degrees in .
On the financial side of things, the D2 Women’s Basketball team at Regis U made $643,318 in revenue.
Read full sports report on Regis University
Bellarmine University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Basketball list. Louisville, Kentucky is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 660 students in .
Speaking financially, the D2 Women’s Basketball team at Bellarmine U took home $1,346,150 in revenue.
Full Bellarmine University Sports Report
With a ranking of #17, Grand Valley State University did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Basketball ranking. This large public school is located in Allendale, Michigan, and it awarded 5,413 bachelor’s degrees in .
GVSU brought in $1,095,788 while tallying up $993,162 in expenses for its D2 Women’s Basketball team. So, the team made money for the school, bringing in $102,626 in profit.
Full Grand Valley State University Sports Report
Saint Edward’s University did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Basketball ranking, coming in at #18. Austin, Texas is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 780 students in .
The team at St. Edward’s University took home $1,157,743 in revenue and paid out $965,769 in expenses in recent times. That boils down to a yearly profit of $191,974 for the sports team.
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With a ranking of #19, St. Mary’s University did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Basketball ranking. St. Mary’s is located in San Antonio, Texas and, has a small student population. In , this school awarded 471 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
The team at St. Mary’s took home $675,999 in revenue and paid out $654,961 in expenses in recent times. Happily, this means that the team turned a profit of $21,038.
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Rockhurst University landed the #20 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Basketball ranking. Located in Kansas City, Missouri, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 619 bachelor’s degrees in .
On the financial side of things, the D2 Women’s Basketball team at Rockhurst made $673,265 in revenue.
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With a ranking of #21, Mercyhurst University did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Basketball ranking. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Erie, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 549 bachelor’s degrees in .
On the financial side of things, the D2 Women’s Basketball team at Mercyhurst made $817,323 in revenue.
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Union University landed the #22 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Basketball ranking. Jackson, Tennessee is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 540 students in .
The team at Union took home $903,025 in revenue and paid out $835,243 in expenses in recent times. Thus, the team actually made $67,782, which isn’t bad at all.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. In addition to its great ranking here, Union is in the top 20% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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With a ranking of #23, Lewis University did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Basketball ranking. Lewis is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Romeoville, Illinois. It awarded 1,124 bachelor’s degrees in .
On the financial side of things, the D2 Women’s Basketball team at Lewis made $640,974 in revenue.
Read full sports report on Lewis University
Assumption University ranked #24 on this year’s Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Basketball list. Assumption is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Worcester, Massachusetts. It awarded 548 bachelor’s degrees in .
Assumption brought in $759,643 while tallying up $725,814 in expenses for its D2 Women’s Basketball team. Happily, this means that the team turned a profit of $33,829.
Assumption excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our overall quality list.
Full Assumption University Sports Report
With a ranking of #25, Seattle Pacific University did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Basketball ranking. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Seattle, Washington, and it awarded 735 bachelor’s degrees in .
The D2 Women’s Basketball team at SPU brought home $771,111 in revenue in a single year.
Read full sports report on Seattle Pacific University
Rest of the Top 15% Best Colleges for D2 Women's Basketball athletes
Not only did these schools make the top 42 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*Avg Tuition and Fees and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top 25 schools only.
References
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
The academic progress rate (APR) of each team was made available by the NCAA.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.