When it comes to choosing a college, student athletes have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its Best Colleges for Division I Men's Swimming ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
We analyzed 21 colleges and universities across the United States to determine which were the best for D1 Men's Swimming athletes. Instead of depending on subjective information, we focus on objective factors to determine this ranking. These factors include such things as the athletic competitiveness of the school and the school's overall quality. This means that a school must provide students with a great education in addition to having a good sports team if it wants to rank well.
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.
Get Recruited to Play Sports in College
Gain Exposure & Get Discovered by College Coaches
Top Colleges in the U.S. for D1 Men's Swimming athletes
Our analysis found The University of Texas at Austin to be the best school for D1 Men’s Swimming athletes in this year’s ranking. Located in Austin, Texas, the large public school awarded 10,374 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in .
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. In addition to its great ranking here, UT Austin is in the top 10% of all schools on our overall quality list.
Full The University of Texas at Austin Sports Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stanford University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Colleges for D1 Men’s Swimming athletes list. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Stanford, California, and it awarded 1,699 bachelor’s degrees in .
With a freshman retention rate of 98%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. On top of its placing in this ranking, Stanford also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 1% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Read full sports report on Stanford University
A rank of #3 on our list means University of California - Berkeley is a great place for D1 Men’s Swimming athletes working on their bachelor’s degree. UC Berkeley is located in Berkeley, California and, has a large student population. In , this school awarded 10,103 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. UC Berkeley also claimed a spot on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
Full University of California - Berkeley Sports Report
Out of the 21 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Indiana University - Bloomington landed the #4 spot on the list. IU Bloomington is located in Bloomington, Indiana and, has a large student population. In , this school awarded 7,504 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. IU Bloomington excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our overall quality list.
Full Indiana University - Bloomington Sports Report
Out of the 21 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Florida landed the #5 spot on the list. This large public school is located in Gainesville, Florida, and it awarded 10,063 bachelor’s degrees in .
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. UF excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our overall quality list.
Read More…
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division I Men’s Swimming ranking. U-M is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan and, has a large student population. In , this school awarded 8,969 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. U-M excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our overall quality list.
Read full sports report on University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
University of Georgia came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Division I Men’s Swimming ranking. UGA is a large public school situated in Athens, Georgia. It awarded 8,790 bachelor’s degrees in .
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, UGA also is in the top 10% of our overall quality ranking.
Read More…
Auburn University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Colleges for Division I Men’s Swimming list. Located in Auburn, Alabama, the large public school awarded 5,764 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in .
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. On top of its placing in this ranking, Auburn also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Read More…
University of Southern California ranked #9 on this year’s Best Colleges for Division I Men’s Swimming list. Located in Los Angeles, California, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 5,642 bachelor’s degrees in .
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, USC also is in the top 5% of our overall quality ranking.
Full University of Southern California Sports Report
With a ranking of #10, The University of Alabama did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division I Men’s Swimming ranking. UA is located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and, has a large student population. In , this school awarded 7,332 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. UA also claimed a spot on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
Full The University of Alabama Sports Report
University of Virginia - Main Campus landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division I Men’s Swimming ranking. This large public school is located in Charlottesville, Virginia, and it awarded 5,483 bachelor’s degrees in .
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. University of Virginia also claimed a spot on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
Full University of Virginia - Main Campus Sports Report
University of Notre Dame landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division I Men’s Swimming ranking. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Notre Dame, Indiana, and it awarded 2,829 bachelor’s degrees in .
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. Notre Dame excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 1% of all schools on our overall quality list.
Full University of Notre Dame Sports Report
University of Missouri - Columbia came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Division I Men’s Swimming ranking. Mizzou is a large public school situated in Columbia, Missouri. It awarded 5,092 bachelor’s degrees in .
With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Mizzou also claimed a spot on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
Full University of Missouri - Columbia Sports Report
University of Louisville landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division I Men’s Swimming ranking. This large public school is located in Louisville, Kentucky, and it awarded 3,008 bachelor’s degrees in .
Full University of Louisville Sports Report
University of Arizona landed the #15 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division I Men’s Swimming ranking. University of Arizona is located in Tucson, Arizona and, has a large student population. In , this school awarded 8,003 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
Read full sports report on University of Arizona
The University of Tennessee - Knoxville ranked #16 on this year’s Best Colleges for Division I Men’s Swimming list. Located in Knoxville, Tennessee, the large public school awarded 5,533 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in .
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UT Knoxville also is in the top 15% of our overall quality ranking.
Read More…
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities ranked #17 on this year’s Best Colleges for Division I Men’s Swimming list. UMN Twin Cities is a large public school situated in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It awarded 8,508 bachelor’s degrees in .
With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. UMN Twin Cities excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our overall quality list.
Read More…
Texas A&M University - College Station ranked #18 on this year’s Best Colleges for Division I Men’s Swimming list. Texas A&M University - College Station is a large public school located in College Station, Texas that handed out 13,536 bachelor’s degrees in .
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Texas A&M College Station also is in the top 10% of our overall quality ranking.
Full Texas A&M University - College Station Sports Report
University of Wisconsin - Madison came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Division I Men’s Swimming ranking. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, the large public school awarded 9,741 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in .
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. On top of its placing in this ranking, UW - Madison also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Read More…
University of South Carolina - Columbia ranked #20 on this year’s Best Colleges for Division I Men’s Swimming list. UofSC is located in Columbia, South Carolina and, has a large student population. In , this school awarded 7,106 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. UofSC excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our overall quality list.
Read full sports report on University of South Carolina - Columbia
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Division I Men’s Swimming ranking, coming in at #21. Located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the large public school awarded 4,990 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in .
On top of its placing in this ranking, Louisiana State University also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Read More…
Get your FREE recruiting profile, assessment & game plan!
Notes and References
Footnotes
*Avg Tuition and Fees and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top 21 schools only.
References
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
The academic progress rate (APR) of each team was made available by the NCAA.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
When it comes to choosing a college, student athletes have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its Best Colleges for Division I Men's Swimming ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
