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2023 Top Plains States Region Men's D1 (FBS) Football Schools

7 Colleges
$29,615 Avg Tuition & Fees*
49% Avg 4-Year Grad Rate*

When pursuing a degree in today's world, student athletes have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its Best Colleges for Division I (FBS) Men's Football in the Plains States Region ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Our analysis looked at 7 schools in the Plains States Region to determine which ones were the best for D1 (FBS) Men's Football athletes in the Plains States Region. Our ranking is based on several objective factors, including the school's overall quality and the athletic competitiveness of the school. We steer clear of subjective measures since they don't give a clear picture when determining how one school compares to another. So, even if a school has a great team, it won't place well if it is also considered a low quality college or university.

Find out more about our ranking methodology.

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Top Colleges in the Plains States Region for D1 (FBS) Men's Football athletes in the Plains States Region

See which schools came out on top of our ranking:

1
#20 in Quality in the Plains States Region
$95,852,148 Team Revenue
974 Academic Progress Rate

Our 2023 rankings named University of Nebraska - Lincoln the best school for D1 (FBS) Men’s Football athletes in the Plains States Region working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in Lincoln, Nebraska, the large public school handed out 4,494 bachelor’s degrees in . The FBS Men’s Football team at UNL made $95,852,148 in revenue, while incurring $32,957,500 in expenses. So, the team made money for the school, bringing in $62,894,648 in profit. The team has a respectable academic progress rate of 974. In addition to its great ranking here, UNL is in the top 15% of all schools on our overall quality list. Read full sports report on University of Nebraska - Lincoln

2
#6 in Quality in the Plains States Region
$72,562,005 Team Revenue
980 Academic Progress Rate

The excellent sports programs at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools for D1 (FBS) Men’s Football athletes in the Plains States Region. UMN Twin Cities is a large public school situated in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It awarded 8,508 bachelor’s degrees in . The FBS Men’s Football team at UMN Twin Cities made $72,562,005 in revenue, while incurring $38,776,350 in expenses. That boils down to a yearly profit of $33,785,655 for the sports team. The great academic progress rate of 980 shows that team members perform well in the classroom, too. With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. UMN Twin Cities also claimed a spot on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category. Read More…

3
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
#15 in Quality in the Plains States Region
$86,241,489 Team Revenue
971 Academic Progress Rate

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Iowa. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Colleges for D1 (FBS) Men’s Football athletes in the Plains States Region list. Located in Iowa City, Iowa, the large public school handed out 5,533 bachelor’s degrees in . Iowa brought in $86,241,489 while tallying up $49,230,193 in expenses for its FBS Men’s Football team. Thus, the team actually made $37,011,296, which isn’t bad at all. The team has a respectable academic progress rate of 971. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. On top of its placing in this ranking, Iowa also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis. Read full sports report on University of Iowa

4
K -State crest
Kansas State University
Manhattan, Kansas
Top 15% in Quality in the Plains States Region
$50,528,678 Team Revenue
978 Academic Progress Rate

The excellent sports programs at Kansas State University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools for D1 (FBS) Men’s Football athletes in the Plains States Region. K -State is a public institution located in Manhattan, Kansas. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 3,938 bachelor’s degrees in . The team at K -State took home $50,528,678 in revenue and paid out $23,426,696 in expenses in recent times. So, the team made money for the school, bringing in $27,101,982 in profit. The team has a great academic progress rate of 978, signifying that team members care about their grades. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. K -State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our overall quality list. Read More…

5
#25 in Quality in the Plains States Region
$35,849,783 Team Revenue
973 Academic Progress Rate

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Missouri - Columbia. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Colleges for D1 (FBS) Men’s Football athletes in the Plains States Region list. University of Missouri - Columbia is a large public school located in Columbia, Missouri that handed out 5,092 bachelor’s degrees in . Mizzou brought in $35,849,783 while tallying up $32,808,146 in expenses for its FBS Men’s Football team. That boils down to a yearly profit of $3,041,637 for the sports team. The academic progress rate of the team is 973. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. Mizzou excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our overall quality list. Read More…

6
#17 in Quality in the Plains States Region
$55,861,324 Team Revenue
979 Academic Progress Rate

Iowa State University did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Division I (FBS) Men’s Football in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #6. Iowa State is located in Ames, Iowa and, has a large student population. In , this school awarded 6,795 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates. Iowa State brought in $55,861,324 while tallying up $28,615,043 in expenses for its FBS Men’s Football team. So, the team made money for the school, bringing in $27,246,281 in profit. The team has a great academic progress rate of 979, signifying that team members care about their grades. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Iowa State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our overall quality list. Read full sports report on Iowa State University

7
KU crest
University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
#21 in Quality in the Plains States Region
$39,077,010 Team Revenue
960 Academic Progress Rate

University of Kansas landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division I (FBS) Men’s Football in the Plains States Region ranking. KU is a large public school situated in Lawrence, Kansas. It awarded 4,493 bachelor’s degrees in . The FBS Men’s Football team at KU made $39,077,010 in revenue, while incurring $21,282,122 in expenses. That boils down to a yearly profit of $17,794,888 for the sports team. The academic progress rate of the team is 960. In addition to its great ranking here, KU is in the top 15% of all schools on our overall quality list. Read full sports report on University of Kansas

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Notes and References

Footnotes

*Avg Tuition and Fees and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top 7 schools only.

References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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