College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
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2023 Top California Men's D1 Football Schools

4 Colleges
$36,769 Avg Tuition & Fees*
48% Avg 4-Year Grad Rate*

It's not easy to decide which college to attend when there are so many options available for student athletes. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our Best Colleges for Division I Men's Football in California ranking is part of that endeavor.

Our analysis looked at 4 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for D1 Men's Football athletes in California. Our ranking methodology focuses a number of different objective factors - such as the overall quality of the school, the school's athletic competitiveness, and the amount of athletic aid per student - to make this determination. Having a great sports team is not enough - the school must also focus on academic excellence.

See what other factors we include in our ranking methodology.

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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 California for D1 Men's Football athletes in California

See which schools came out on top of our ranking:

1
USD crest
University of San Diego
San Diego, California

Our 2023 rankings named University of San Diego the best school for D1 Men’s Football athletes in California working on their bachelor’s degree. University of San Diego is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in San Diego, California that handed out 1,688 bachelor’s degrees in . Speaking financially, the FCS Men’s Football team at USD took home $1,563,603 in revenue. The great academic progress rate of 977 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. USD also claimed a spot on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category. Read More…

2

Out of the 4 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo landed the #2 spot on the list. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public institution located in San Luis Obispo, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 4,987 bachelor’s degrees in . The FCS Men’s Football team at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo brought home $5,757,116 in revenue in a single year. The great academic progress rate of 983 shows that team members perform well in the classroom, too. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also is in the top 20% of our overall quality ranking. Read More…

3

Out of the 4 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Davis landed the #3 spot on the list. Davis, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 9,615 students in . The FCS Men’s Football team at UC Davis brought home $5,852,399 in revenue in a single year. The academic progress rate of the team is 970. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. On top of its placing in this ranking, UC Davis also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis. Full University of California - Davis Sports Report

4

Out of the 4 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Sacramento landed the #4 spot on the list. Sac State is located in Sacramento, California and, has a large student population. In , this school awarded 7,486 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates. On the financial side of things, the FCS Men’s Football team at Sac State made $5,680,853 in revenue. The team has a respectable academic progress rate of 959. Read full sports report on California State University - Sacramento

Best Colleges for FCS Men's Football in the Far Western US Region

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Notes and References

Footnotes

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

References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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