2026 Best Colleges for Student Athletes in North Dakota

Choosing a college as a student athlete means weighing both the classroom and the competition. Our ranking highlights 5 schools for Student Athletes by academic-athletic quality, using our 2026 methodology.

To help you decide, College Factual weighs 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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Top 5 Colleges for Student Athletes

Here are the top-ranked colleges for student athletes:

1

University of North Dakota
Grand Forks, ND

85% Academic Quality Percentile

Leading the list is University of North Dakota, our #1 college for Student Athletes. Based in Grand Forks, ND, University of North Dakota is a public institution.

2

North Dakota State University-Main Campus
Fargo, ND

83% Academic Quality Percentile

North Dakota State University-Main Campus is one of the top schools for Student Athletes, at #2. This public school is set in Fargo, ND.

3

University of Mary
Bismarck, ND

85% Academic Quality Percentile

University of Mary ranked #3 among the best colleges for Student Athletes. Located in Bismarck, ND, University of Mary is a private not-for-profit institution.

4

Minot State University
Minot, ND

75% Academic Quality Percentile

Minot State University is one of the top schools for Student Athletes, at #4. Minot State University is a public school based in Minot, ND.

5

University of Jamestown
Jamestown, ND

75% Academic Quality Percentile

University of Jamestown ranked #5 among the best colleges for Student Athletes. This private not-for-profit school is set in Jamestown, ND.

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Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 ranked colleges only.

This ranking is produced by College Factual, 2026 edition. Programs are scored on 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

• NCAA Academic Progress Rate & Graduation Success Rate — National Collegiate Athletic Association (athlete academic outcomes).
• Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) — U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education (team participation, revenue, expenses, and aid).
• Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) — National Center for Education Statistics (institutional data).

Read more about our data sources and methodologies.