by our College Data Analytics Team
Picking a college for your sport means looking beyond the field or court. This list ranks 6 schools for Men’s Football by academic-athletic quality, using our 2026 methodology.
To arm you with the information you need, College Factual scores each program on 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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Explore the leading programs below:
Kansas State University tops our 2026 ranking of the best colleges for Men's Football. Kansas State University is a public school based in Manhattan, KS. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 991, alongside a GSR of 94%. Its federal graduation rate is 64%. Team revenue averages $216,703 per participant, against $216,703 in expenses. The school awards about $17,682 in athletic aid per athlete.
Pittsburg State University landed the #2 spot for Men's Football. This public school is set in Pittsburg, KS. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $24,852, against $24,852 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $5,160 per athlete.
University of Kansas came in at #3 on this year's ranking for Men's Football. Based in Lawrence, KS, University of Kansas is a public institution. The team's NCAA APR score is 985, and a 83% Graduation Success Rate. Its federal graduation rate is 56%. The program generates about $304,161 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $282,922 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $21,506.
Washburn University ranked #4 among the best colleges for Men's Football. Located in Topeka, KS, Washburn University is a public institution. Team revenue averages $20,761 per participant, with expenses of about $20,761 per participant. Athletic aid averages $5,727 per athlete.
Emporia State University came in at #5 on this year's ranking for Men's Football. This public school is set in Emporia, KS. Team revenue averages $18,712 per participant, compared with $18,389 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $4,709.
Fort Hays State University came in at #6 in this year's ranking. This public school is set in Hays, KS. Team revenue averages $17,191 per participant, against $15,942 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $5,057 per athlete.
*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
See our data sources and methodologies.