by our College Data Analytics Team
Choosing a college as a student athlete means weighing both the classroom and the competition. This list ranks 5 colleges 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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Learn more about these schools below:
South Dakota State University tops our 2026 ranking of the best colleges for Men's Football. Located in Brookings, SD, South Dakota State University is a public institution. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 979, with a Graduation Success Rate of 86%. Its federal graduation rate is 65%. The program generates about $51,936 in revenue per athlete, against $51,936 in expenses. The school awards about $6,424 in athletic aid per athlete.
University of Sioux Falls ranked #2 among the best colleges for Men's Football. University of Sioux Falls is a private not-for-profit school based in Sioux Falls, SD. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $16,542, with expenses of about $16,149 per participant. Athletic aid averages $5,811 per athlete.
University of South Dakota ranked #3 among the best colleges for Men's Football. University of South Dakota is a public school based in Vermillion, SD. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 967, with a Graduation Success Rate of 76%. About 60% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $49,099, against $49,099 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $9,323 per athlete.
Northern State University ranked #4 among the best colleges for Men's Football. Located in Aberdeen, SD, Northern State University is a public institution. The program generates about $15,373 in revenue per athlete, against $14,705 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $3,884 per athlete.
Black Hills State University landed the #5 spot for Men's Football. Black Hills State University is a public school based in Spearfish, SD. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $13,385, compared with $13,846 spent per athlete. The school awards about $3,363 in athletic aid per athlete.
*These averages are for the top 25 ranked colleges only.
The ranking above is published by College Factual, 2026 edition. The methodology weighs 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
More about our data sources and methodologies.