by our College Data Analytics Team
Picking a college for your sport means looking beyond the field or court. This list ranks 120 schools for Men’s Soccer by academic-athletic quality, using our 2026 methodology.
To help you decide, 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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Here are the top-ranked colleges for student athletes:
University of Notre Dame tops our 2026 ranking of the best colleges for Men's Soccer. University of Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit school based in Notre Dame, IN. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 997, with a Graduation Success Rate of 100%. The federal graduation rate stands at 94%. Team revenue averages $88,707 per participant, with expenses of about $88,707 per participant. The school awards about $34,391 in athletic aid per athlete.
Northwestern University earned the #2 place for student athletes. This private not-for-profit school is set in Evanston, IL. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 999, and a 95% Graduation Success Rate. About 95% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $25,417, against $56,925 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $53,919 per athlete.
University of Chicago ranked #3 among the best colleges for Men's Soccer. This private not-for-profit school is set in Chicago, IL. Team revenue averages $12,731 per participant, against $12,731 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor came in at #4 on this year's ranking for Men's Soccer. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor is a public school based in Ann Arbor, MI. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor records an NCAA APR of 1000, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. Its federal graduation rate is 92%. Team revenue averages $5,544 per participant, with expenses of about $73,829 per participant. The school awards about $28,650 in athletic aid per athlete.
Michigan State University came in at #5 on this year's ranking for Men's Soccer. Based in East Lansing, MI, Michigan State University is a public institution. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 997, alongside a GSR of 93%. The federal graduation rate stands at 92%. The program generates about $64,164 in revenue per athlete, compared with $64,164 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $22,500 per athlete.
Case Western Reserve University ranked #6 on our 2026 list for Men's Soccer. This private not-for-profit school is set in Cleveland, OH. Team revenue averages $8,443 per participant, against $8,443 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $0.
Loyola University Chicago landed the #7 spot this year. Based in Chicago, IL, Loyola University Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution. Loyola University Chicago records an NCAA APR of 994, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. Its federal graduation rate is 56%. The program generates about $45,004 in revenue per athlete, against $45,004 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $23,325.
Ohio State University-Main Campus did well this year, earning the #8 position. Based in Columbus, OH, Ohio State University-Main Campus is a public institution. Ohio State University-Main Campus records an NCAA APR of 988, alongside a GSR of 96%. The federal graduation rate stands at 65%. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $81,452, against $81,452 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $27,151 per athlete.
Marquette University came in at #9 in this year's ranking. Marquette University is a private not-for-profit school based in Milwaukee, WI. The team's NCAA APR score is 997, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. About 57% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. The program generates about $40,452 in revenue per athlete, against $40,452 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $14,770 per athlete.
Indiana University-Bloomington did well this year, earning the #10 position. This public school is set in Bloomington, IN. Indiana University-Bloomington records an NCAA APR of 995, and a 91% Graduation Success Rate. The federal graduation rate stands at 59%. The program generates about $73,287 in revenue per athlete, against $73,287 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $23,161 per athlete.
Denison University did well this year, earning the #11 position. Denison University is a private not-for-profit school based in Granville, OH. The program generates about $10,831 in revenue per athlete, compared with $10,831 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $0.
Illinois Wesleyan University landed the #12 spot this year. Located in Bloomington, IL, Illinois Wesleyan University is a private not-for-profit institution. The program generates about $6,228 in revenue per athlete, compared with $6,228 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $0.
Calvin University did well this year, earning the #13 position. Based in Grand Rapids, MI, Calvin University is a private not-for-profit institution. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $8,898, with expenses of about $8,831 per participant. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Kalamazoo College placed #14 among the best colleges for Men's Soccer. Kalamazoo College is a private not-for-profit school based in Kalamazoo, MI. Team revenue averages $6,629 per participant, with expenses of about $6,629 per participant. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
DePauw University placed #15 among the best colleges for Men's Soccer. Located in Greencastle, IN, DePauw University is a private not-for-profit institution. Team revenue averages $6,932 per participant, against $6,932 in expenses. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
Cedarville University landed the #16 spot this year. This private not-for-profit school is set in Cedarville, OH. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $16,990, against $16,990 in expenses. The school awards about $5,791 in athletic aid per athlete.
Oberlin College ranked #17 on our 2026 list for Men's Soccer. This private not-for-profit school is set in Oberlin, OH. Team revenue averages $7,037 per participant, against $7,037 in expenses. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
Ohio Northern University placed #18 among the best colleges for Men's Soccer. Ohio Northern University is a private not-for-profit school based in Ada, OH. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $8,731, compared with $8,731 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Kenyon College landed the #19 spot this year. Kenyon College is a private not-for-profit school based in Gambier, OH. Team revenue averages $3,967 per participant, against $3,967 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology landed the #20 spot this year. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit school based in Terre Haute, IN. Team revenue averages $4,367 per participant, with expenses of about $4,367 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $0.
Indiana University-Indianapolis ranked #21 on our 2026 list for Men's Soccer. Located in Indianapolis, IN, Indiana University-Indianapolis is a public institution. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 984, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. The federal graduation rate stands at 69%. Team revenue averages $19,120 per participant, compared with $19,120 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $8,962 per athlete.
Hope College came in at #22 in this year's ranking. Based in Holland, MI, Hope College is a private not-for-profit institution. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $4,504, compared with $4,489 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Western Michigan University placed #23 among the best colleges for Men's Soccer. This public school is set in Kalamazoo, MI. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 993, alongside a GSR of 87%. The federal graduation rate stands at 57%. Team revenue averages $30,350 per participant, compared with $30,350 spent per athlete. The school awards about $19,248 in athletic aid per athlete.
University of Wisconsin-Madison came in at #24 in this year's ranking. This public school is set in Madison, WI. The team's NCAA APR score is 974, alongside a GSR of 80%. About 67% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $28,767, with expenses of about $87,025 per participant. The school awards about $21,586 in athletic aid per athlete.
Milwaukee School of Engineering ranked #25 on our 2026 list for Men's Soccer. Milwaukee School of Engineering is a private not-for-profit school based in Milwaukee, WI. Team revenue averages $5,840 per participant, against $5,840 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Not far behind, these colleges also placed near the top this year:
*These averages are for the top 25 ranked colleges only.
This list is compiled 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
See our data sources and methodologies.